Romain
Good job with “Oom Papa” and “The Clown”. Remember to play everything in one tempo – no getting faster or slower. To check your tempo, it’s a good idea to count and play at the same time. In “The Clown”, I’d like to hear it again next time – keep working on all the dynamics (the crescendo in measures 3-4 and decrescendo in measures 7-8). You can practice the crescendo and decrescendo slowly until it is comfortable for you to get louder and softer. You also have two new pieces – “Waltz Time” and “Good King Wenceslas”. Waltz time is a “Valse” – it has three beats per measure, so if you count while you practice this, make sure to count only 3 beats, not 4. Also remember that the left hand has the melody here, and the right hand has the chords – this means to play the left hand louder. For “Good King Wenceslas”, learn as much as you can and also don’t forget to practice hands separately!
Juliette
Good job with “Happy Birthday!”. I’d like to hear “The Rainbow” again next week – remember that it is in 3/4, so three beats per measure. When you practice this piece by playing and counting, remember to only count to 3 instead of 4. The Adagio section at the end can go very slowly – much slower than the beginning. You also have two new pieces – “Yankee Doodle” and “The Windmill”. “Yankee Doodle” was very easy for you, but keep practicing it until you can play it very fast. It’s much more fun to play this one fast, and then we can play this piece together after the holidays. For “The Windmill”, this will need some hands separate practice and also practicing while counting. You also learned two new words – “ritardando” means to gradually get slower, and “A Tempo” means to continue at the original tempo.
Happy Holidays to all!