Rachel This week, we struggled to learn new concepts as Rachel was very distracted. We began by doing some quick stretches and playing “Twinkle Twinkle” as a review. We were going to review Cuckoo Clock, but Rachel could not remember how the piece worked. I began to review the concepts presented in the song, but Rachel was having a hard [...]
Anna Warm-Up: This week, we started off by reviewing the C scale warm-ups hands together. Anna had a bit of trouble playing the hands at the same time, so I suggested she try to play the scale hands separately first, using her strong fingers. I then asked her to play the scale hands together again. It went a lot more [...]
Rachel This week, we reviewed how to read the "Cuckoo Clock" song. The song uses quarter notes, and is written so that notes that share a stem are played at the same time. This is something that will carry through when she starts to read the musical staff. Notes that have the same stem are always played at the same [...]
Rachel In the lesson, we started by doing some stretches to use up some excess energy. We then did a little bit of ear training. I played some notes and asked Rachel if they were all different notes or the same note. I also asked her to tell me if the music was ascending or descending. We then reviewed the [...]
Anna Warm-Up: This week at home, I want Anna to continue practicing the C major scale hands separately. The reason we are focusing on doing the scale hands separate is so Anna can concentrate on her hands and fingers more effectively instead of trying to concentrate on both hands plus her finger and hand position. While Anna is playing the [...]
Rachel In the lesson, we started by doing some stretches to warm up the body and loosen up the hands and wrists. We then reviewed the sitting position and hand position while playing "Twinkle Twinkle." We learned how to play "Magic Tree House" in her songbook. Like the previous songs "Wendy the Whale" and "Katie Scores," the song has a [...]
Anna This week, we started by doing some basic stretches to loosen up the arms and shake out some of the tension from sitting all day in school. Warm Up: We reviewed the 5-finger C scale first. Anna began the scales strong, but forgot to continue using her "strong fingers." We worked through the scale a few times, reviewing the [...]
Anna In the lesson, we first reviewed right sitting position while playing at the piano. To review, this means: Sit at the edge of the bench (but not so close to the edge you'll fall off) Keep shoulders rolled back Keep back straight We also reviewed the hand position for playing. The most important thing is for Anna to keep [...]
Rachel This week, we made lots of progress in Rachel's lesson! We reviewed the proper piano hand position. I asked Rachel to imagine she were a cat with claws. The shape of the hand when you pretend to be a cat is very similar to how your hand should look while playing piano. To help her with her wrist position, [...]
Rachel We began the lesson by doing some stretching, jumping, and shaking to help loosen the body and focus the brain. At the piano, we reviewed "Twinkle Twinkle" as a piano warm-up. Rachel is very creative in which register on the keyboard she wishes to play the song, which is very fun. We also took a look at "Katie Scores." [...]