Lesson #3

Your keyboard will now look like this!

We can play a red chord now! Help your little piano players remember which fingers to use by using a red marker or nail polish to put a red dot on their right fingernails on the THUMB (finger #1), MIDDLE FINGER (finger #3), and PINKY (finger #5). These are the finger numbers that are used to play the RED chord. Put the RED stickers on your piano at home and match the dots on their fingers with the stickers. They’ll be ready to play Old Paint next week in class! Be sure they are using the correct fingers EVERY TIME they play the red chord! 

Skill of the week: red chord with fingers 1-3-5, ROUNDED like a bubble, fingers flat are trouble! Build a good habit from the beginning and it will be so much easier! Can your child play a red chord on ALL the C's of the keyboard?

 

Celebrate Connection   
Here are some ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Sing Old Paint with a western accent.
• Kit Kat Keyboard: With the stopwatch on Mom or Dad's phone, time yourself (and Mom or Dad) to see how fast you can play ALL the C's! Now all the F's!
• Primary Chords: When you play the red chord this week, sing, "Red" each time your play it.

 

Kit Kat Keyboard
Now that we know the black keys ‘sol’ well we are ready to master the white keys! Notice that the grouping of the black keys influences the grouping of the white keys. It is important for them to look closely and frequently at the keyboard in the beginning to reinforce keyboard geography. When they are hunting for those C's and F's refrain from giving too many verbal cues- or talking too much. Just keep chanting the key phrases "find a group of 2 down one is C" and "a group of 3 leads to F Yippee!" and saying, "look again" "does that look right?"

C Position Chant
We learned ‘C POSITION’ this week which means our right “Thumb’s on Middle C and a finger for each key!" When we are in ‘C Position’ each finger is assigned to play the note it is sitting on. We will sing this chant A LOT in class! This week we practiced floating our bubble hands over the keys and then letting them land on ‘C Position’. Continue this at home!

Don’t feel frustrated if it’s tricky for your child at this point to press down ONLY the 1,3,5 fingers… we’ll keep strengthening those fingers and soon it will be easier. Learn more here on how muscle memory works when learning to play the piano and why is it soooo important to emphasize that correct fingers are used when learning chords from the very beginning! Practice makes PERMANENT, not perfect! Perfect practice makes perfect!

Finger Numbers Matching Game

I've added a fun matching game to the download area on my website! Go to 

www.musikandme.com and click "student login". Once you are in the Student Portal you can go to Online Resources > Let's Play Music > 2nd Year, and download the "Finger Numbers Matching Game". It's very simple: print both pages, glue thicker paper to the back (if desired), cut out all 20 cards, and play "Memory" with them. Laminate them if you want, or simply print on business card paper and tear apart. This game is most effective if you have your child say out loud what each card is AND wiggle the proper finger, as EACH CARD is turned over, even when it is not their turn. If they seem overwhelmed, just remove all the left hand cards and start with just the right hand. Feel free to sing the appropriate parts of the 3rd verse of the Bubble Hand song as you play the game: "Where is one? That's your thumb!" My daughter LOVED this game when I made it for her a few years ago and it really helped her learn the finger numbers in a fun way! Another suggestion for a super quick game is to simply mix all the cards face up in a pile and have your child pair them all together! Then go through each pair saying what it is and wiggling the correct finger. The key is to JUST HAVE FUN!!! Please let me know if you have any questions about this or anything else! I'm here to help!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Lesson #2

Just a reminder, students DO NOT need to bring bubbles to class. I have a set for the class to use. You can keep yours next to your piano at home. If you haven't yet sent a side picture of your child at the piano or keyboard, I need that ASAP! We don't want the kids to get into bad habits, so we're going to do it correctly from the beginning!

Our reward system for class is this: Each child has a treasure map with a turtle and they get to earn stickers for being on time and completing both parts of their homework (it must be signed or they don't get a sticker!) Also, they can earn a star for not playing their keyboards when they aren't supposed to. So they can get 4 stickers every class! Each time they get to the dark circles on the map, they get to pick a prize out of the treasure box!  

Our skill of the week is recognizing which side is high and low on the piano. Quiz them by asking them to play a group of two (or three) up high or down low or in the middle of the keyboard.  

Celebrate Connection   
A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Play Kit Kat Keyboard with your elbow!
• Lay on the floor (or upside down on the couch) to when you hold your bubble and wiggle your fingers as you sing along with the Bubble Hands song.
• Play Say, Say, Oh Playmate with your family or teach some friends! Don't forget to use the CD while you sing and play!

Echo Edna 
Edna will teach us how to sight sing and sight read. Ask your child about what Edna did in class today.   

Kit Kat Keyboard
If you have a digital keyboard at home, discover the fun, groovy beats to chant and play Kit Kat Keyboard with!   

Bubble Hands
This week we learned our fingers have numbers. When they do their bubble exercise, ask them to wiggle their 3 finger, their 5 finger, etc. This exercise is important for finger strength and dexterity.

In Let’s Play Music we learn that intervals are Turtle Shells! An interval is the distance between 2 notes. Learn more about the importance of melodic and harmonic intervals in learning how to read and play music here!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)