Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the fall 2020 semester. Here you will find your homework each week. I will also suggest how long to practice and provide a few helpful hints to get you prepped for the following week. This will provide you with some guidelines to allow your child to progress. Good luck practicing and have fun!

Fiona

Recommended daily practice time is 5-10 minutes per day

Technique:

This week we learned about

  • 1. Groups of 2 black keys and groups of 3 black keys
  • 2. The musical alphabet forwards and backwards – ABCDEFGA
  • 3. Finger numbers 1-2-3-4-5
  • 4. Groups of 2 go down to C

For homework I have provided a couple worksheets to help you practice!

Songs:

This week we learned a new song! Mary Had a little lamb. This one uses finger numbers and is on the group of 3 black keys. You can use the handout provided to help you practice this one!

How parents can help: Encourage your child to have a daily practice routine and ensure that they are filling out their homework logs correctly. In addition to the online homework posts, I recommend that each student keep and maintain a homework journal. This is where they can fill in how long they practice and what they worked on that week. You can decorate it to make it fun!

Danny

Recommended daily practice time is 15-20 minutes per day

Theory:

This week you have pages 2,3,4 to work on in the theory book. They match with the songs in your lesson book.

Songs:

For the song Firefly, be sure to let your wrists stay relaxed and straight. Try not to hug the piano with your palms. There are a few new songs we learned. Little River, Sailing in the Sun and Ferris Wheel. Each of these songs experiments with the new term Legato. Legato means to play connected and smooth. Try thinking about the keys sticking together before you lift them to really achieve the connected sound.

How parents can help: Encourage your child to have a daily practice routine and ensure that they are filling out their homework logs correctly. In addition to the online homework posts, I recommend that each student keep and maintain a homework journal. This is where they can fill in how long they practice and what they worked on that week. You can decorate it to make it fun!

Kate

Songs:

We will continue to work through Dido’s lament. Experimenting with the character and physicalizing the emotions the character is feeling. We will also continue to work on connecting the phrases and thoughts together. Even when there isn’t any singing the character is still thinking and emoting. See how far you can take it! We will also begin the 2nd piece in Frauen-Liebe und Leben. Begin with learning the piece and sorting out the diction and pronunciation. We will work through it together next class.

Matthew

Recommended daily practice time is 15-20 minutes per day

Technical work:

Prepare C major and G major scale for next week. You can play hands separately.

Songs:

Continue working on Grandmother. Be sure to fill in the counting for this piece. We also have lemonade stand. Fill in the counting for this one as well, then you can try clapping and counting out loud. We will continue to practice counting out loud next week in class.

How parents can help: Encourage your child to have a daily practice routine and ensure that they are filling out their homework logs correctly. In addition to the online homework posts, I recommend that each student keep and maintain a homework journal. This is where they can fill in how long they practice and what they worked on that week. You can decorate it to make it fun!