Hello Piano Explorers and Parents

Read below for your assignment this week.

 

Milena

Great job so far in When the Saints Go Marching In. This week, practice to the end of the song. Be sure you’re starting in G, not C position. Try to notice which line the treble clef notes are (G, B, D can be easily confused).

In The Bubble, practice slowly and carefully. Bar 10, 12: hold the dotted half note for 3 beats (no less). Bar 25-28: play these notes louder, but resist the urge to play faster. Aim to practice each song 4 times daily.

 

Veda

London Bridge doesn’t start with finger 5 on G. This starts to get the student playing OUT of C position. This is tricky for Veda, because she’s learned to associate middle C with finger 1, and finger 5 with G, and so on. Be sure to check that she’s actually playing the correct notes and not just going by finger number. Just focus on the RH for this song this week.

Lightly Row is making progress. She is making a conscious effort to play different dynamics, which is great! I’m encouraging her to play continuously without stopping, even when she is playing softly (she tends to slow waaaay down when she plays quietly).

 

Zoe

I Would Like to Go to Mars is making progress. The first page is confident and played correctly. She is having a more challenging time on the second page, where the pattern changes. Encourage her to go slowly and to check the starting note on the second page.

Pearl in the C: This piece introduces another “C” in the left hand.

Octave Blues: This piece incorporates the new C learned in the LH (Left hand) as well as other notes learned already (F’s and G’s). We highlighted them so they’re easy to spot. Continue to encourage Zoe to play the piano at home, 10-15 min. daily.

 

Alyssa

Her Can Can is sounding great! Now that she has all the elements (notes, rhythm), she can begin to ramp up the tempo (speed) of the song.

Surprise Symphony is a bit more challenging. She should be practicing slowly. In the sfz part, drop your arms down and let the weight of the arms help create a big sound!

Freres Jacques and Alouette introduce a new hand position. Keep up the great practice and progress!

 

Edwardo

We began The Can Can (practice carefully so you develop good habits early on). He did fine on the C Major scale, so we are doing the song incorporating the C scale called C Scale Stomp. This is more complicated as he will need to move his LH to the different chords.

In Cowboy Song there is a challenging section in the first page where he has to move his fingers up to A and coordinate both hands. Scan the music up and down to make sure you’re playing both hands correctly. Keep up the great work!

 

Madeleine

We reviewed the position of the “cats” and learned where E is located on the keyboard. You can also ask her to show you where to find them. We talked about different note values, and how long different notes are held for. You can work on C Me Play and if she is ready, you can begin the second song Cha Cha Cha (but we will work on this is class next Wednesday as well so this is not required).   

Thanks for starting the Piano Maestro app!  Happy playing!

 

 

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Hannah