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Here you can find all the information for the classes each week!
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Orange Roots #12
Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons
Lesson #12
NO CLASSES NEXT WEEK FOR SPRING BREAK! The following week will be parent week and final tuition is due! If you are unsure if you are caught up on your payments or not, please just ask.
I will be printing each child's composition in a book that I will present each child at the recital. I will need to finalize their compositions this week so they have time to practice them. I want them to feel confident playing them in front of an audience. If any changes need to be made, please let me know ASAP!
In class this week we got to experience harmonic dictation. We listened to more than one note played at a time and wrote it in our books. The students are getting really good at knowing the difference between how the red, blue and yellow chords sound!
Any changes your child would like to make to their compositions should be given to me as soon as possible. I'm planning to print final copies pretty soon, so I'd like to be sure they are exactly the way the students want them.
Our compositions are coming along great! Please be sure your student is introducing their piece (as it is written in their homework book) each time they practice it so they can be well prepared for our recital! The introduction should be memorized, but their composition doesn't need to be... although it will help them feel more confident if they do!
We are getting so good at playing our scales in F Major, G Major, and A minor. Check out this fun video to see what it would look like to play your scales with your feet!!!
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 :)
Orange Roots #11
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons
Lesson #11
Notice that this week your child will be practicing most of the same things as Lesson #10. Here's a video that covers some of the songs they will be practicing this week. PLEASE have your child watch it if they are struggling with the songs in the homework this week!
Be sure your child practices any new changes we have made to the composition. We have almost all finished our compositions and they sound great! I’m so proud of all my Orange Roots! Please make sure that your child practices their composition EVERY DAY. Use theory assignment #11 to help your student introduce their recital piece. They should practice saying it out loud EACH TIME they practice their composition. I want them to be prepared and confident at our recital.
The progress that we have made in developing our compositions has been exciting. Our homework is preparing us to perform our composition at our recital. Look how cute this spider is as he introduces his composition!
Practicing Help (Homework)
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 :)
Orange Roots #10
Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons
Lesson #10
Next week for private lessons have your child come 1-3 minutes early. If you haven't already, start writing in possible elements to your child's existing composition--a bridge, a coda, an introduction. Or at LEAST talk to your child about adding some elements and I can work my magic on my end. Either way, send their old composition (with any new notes) in addition to the homework booklet so I can still check practicing and homework (if I have time). I have added a supplemental video (below) that you can watch together this week to help generate some additional ideas for your child's composition!
I will send a text with the times your child is expected to be here for their private lesson. If you need to make a change, please let me know ASAP!
Did you know that Echo Edison's page in your orange songbook (pg. 9) is a GREAT warm up page for any song your child will be playing. See what key the song is in and play Edison's questions and answers for that key. You can call it the "5 finger warmup!" Just for fun, your child can try improvising new QUESTIONS with the same answers!
I'm seeing fewer and fewer flashcard times as the semester progresses! Please don't skip this part of the homework! If your child really doesn't like flashcards (mine didn't!), check out the Quizlet games I made (mainly those listed under Purple Magic because that's where they were introduced). You can select a variety of ways to use the flashcards by selecting the drop down box in the bottom right corner of the Quizlet window.
I still have a few openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!
Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! I have attached the worksheet again, if you need another copy. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.
The Circus
The official name of this puppet show is Symphony No. 1, 2nd movement by Gustav Mahler. Mahler named his entire first symphony 'The Titan'. It was originally written as a symphonic poem, meaning that the music followed a "plot," in five movements instead of the traditional four. The second movement, the finale of which we use as our circus puppet show, is labeled "Set With Full Sails." Interestingly, this melody is in an Austrian folk dance form called a ländler (in 3/4 time). For those of you who like trivia, this is the dance from The Sound of Music during which Maria and Captain Von Trapp fall in love.
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 :)
Orange Roots #9
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons
Lesson #9
Thank you, parents for attending this week!
SPIRIT WEEK IS UNDERWAY! Let me know if you need any substitutions for any of the squares. The BINGO card is in the Student Portal, if you lose yours and need to make a copy! As a reminder, some of the drawing prizes are some instruments and an MP3 player that you can put your class music on!
One of the items on the BINGO card is to leave a Google review. I'm striving for a 5 star rating. If you don't plan to give me 5 stars, please talk to me BEFORE you post a review so I can address any issues you may have. Unfortunately, negative feedback has much more impact than positive feedback does, so please give me the chance to earn 5 stars if I'm not already there. Thanks! Here is the link to post a review on Google: https://g.page/musikandmebethany/review?gm
Bridge is a fun class for Let's Play Music graduates that is a great "bridge" between Let's Play Music classes and private lessons. I will be starting a new Bridge class next year, and will be teaching it as a 2-year program. If you are interested, let me know and I can get you more details.
I just want to remind you of our new puppet show elements that can be incorporated into your student's composition. We have the introduction, which is at the beginning of a piece, the coda, which is at the tail (end) of the piece, and the bridge that leads from one section to another, often when changing keys.
We've been working on our G Major scale this week. Don't forget that the key of G has the F# as the magic key!
Bagatelle Bridges
This repertoire piece has all the elements that we've learned about in our puppet shows! It has an introduction, a CODA (special ending) and it has 2 BRIDGES. We will actually learn the theme in C Major and then we will get to show off our transposingskills to play it in F and G.
G Major Scale
This is the last of the major scales we will learn during our time in Let's Play Music. All of our scales have taught us finger technique and strength, but also allowed us to understand key signatures and scale compositions. Just as our Magic Keys Song will tell us, Do is G because the F# is a ti-- so don't forget to play that F# on ti!!!
Even Disney's Aristocats know how important it is to practice their scales (and arpeggios)!
Also, it's in the book, but you can also download the coloring pages for our new Circus Puppet Show in "Online Resources" when you go to the student portal of my website!
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 :)
Orange Roots #8
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons
Lesson #8
Parents come next week, tuition is due, and it's SPIRIT MONTH! (See separate email with details.)
1st Year Registration & Enrollment:
If you have a child you want to go through 1st year and aren't on my waiting list, or you know someone who wants to do Let's Play Music, email back and let me know their name and email address so they can get registered ASAP. After next week I'll open registration up to the general public.
Thank you for sending the Marco Polo videos this week. It really helps us get through more fun things in class when we don't need to take the time for each student to play their song during class.
We started working on the A minor scale and cadences this week! The best part about A minor is that the scale feels just like playing a C Major scale, with no sharps or flats! We did have to change our solfege words though. A minor scale is DO, RE, ME (pronounced "may"), FA, SOL, LE (pronounced "lay"), TE (pronounced "tay"), DO. Our cadences are almost the same, but when we play the yellow chord, we do have to remember to play the G#!
Our dictation exercise was different today. We had all the same notes, but we had to listen to the rhythm and write the rhythm we heard. We also practiced drawing a bass clef, which is also called the "F clef" because the big dot is on the F line and the two dots are on both sides of the F line.
Next week we will do Showtime as a class with New World Symphony. Have your child practice the part they want to play in class and we'll all play our parts at the same time to make a beautiful ensemble!
Students should now have all orange rhythm flashcards unbanded so they can practice all 16 cards! They can also use Quizlet from my website to practice the same things!
Optional: if you'd like to have your student practice more rhythms in a super fun way, you can print off the orange counting cards. They are in the student portal (www.musikandme.com) in the online resources section. There are 3 sets with 2 pages each. You can print them front-to-back and you'll have the same rhythms with bugs to help on one side and no bugs on the other side!
Russian Sailor Dance
This song is ALWAYS a student favorite. Another great repertoire piece that reinforces ABA form, improvisations, and provides a study in legato and staccato themes. But it's the the accelerando at the end that will have your student BEGGING to practice it all the time!
Have you already found a private teacher for when your student graduates from Let's Play Music? It is best if you can meet in person with the teacher before the summer break to help the new teacher get to know your child's progress while its still fresh. Here is a great post on our Let's Play Music Blog with tips on how to interview and what to look for in a private teacher.
Bridge is a really fun class for Let's Play Music graduates that is a great "bridge" between Let's Play Music classes and private lessons. I will be starting a new Bridge class next year, teaching it as a 2-year program. The kids will learn lots of new songs, scales, musical concepts, and so much more! It is more self-paced than LPM, so it's perfect for if you feel like your child has missed out on some musical concepts or skills in Orange Roots. If you are interested, let me know and I'll get you more information.
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 :)
