Happy 1st of December everyone! Hope everyone who participates in advent calendars had an exciting morning! I did, as I have a Nespresso one this year :)

Fiona

Your new piece is Mixed Up Rag and you’re working on measures 1-8. This piece introduced the interval of a 4th. A 4th is where, including the first note, there are 4 note names between the notes – like CDEF.

You’re also working on both pages of Jingle Bells. Keep a bouncy light touch as though the notes are the combination of the ringing of actual jingle bells and people singing. You’ve got all the notes and rhythms correct, now just add some repetition to make this awesome!

Recommended practice time: 20 minutes a day

Marita

Missed you this week. Keep working on Jingle Bells and Song of the Dark Woods. Excited to see you next week!

Sara

Your new piece is in In the Spirit. Here is an AWESOME video by Christopher Norton (the composer) himself, please watch it! He explains the really specific articulations that give this piece its attitude. Practice hands seperate and with really specific counting, the same way we approached Lemon Sherbet. Go slow.

For Jingle Bell Rock, beginning in different spots would be beneficial. Practice transitioning from one phrase to the next, like in and out of the B section. You can also start thinking about playing the melody (top) note louder than the other notes. This is a more advanced concept, but you can do it! For example where the lyrics first come in, we don’t really care about hearing the repetitive bottom E in the RH, we want to hear the descending upper notes, so play them louder by aligning your forearm with your pinky in those spots.

For Lemon Sherbet Rag, I have drawn arrows where you have to break the phrase and lift your hand, and then you can really drop into those offbeat accented notes. Otherwise keep up the good work and the steady pace!

Recommended practice time: 30 minutes a day

Julian

Your new piece is the first page of Ode to Joy. Play hands seperate lots this week until you can play each hands part very easily. This will make putting it hands together so much better because your hands will have minds of their own! Great reading today on this one.

You now know all of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer! Yay! I have written in “skip” where the melody skips and it trips you up – keep your eyes on the page and really try and always play the skips. Your mind actually makes neural connections each time you do something, so when you play it wrong lots, your brain is actually recording that data! And then you have to overwrite it with lots of *correct* repetition so keep this in mind! Better to go slow and be accurate than fast and confuse your brain ;) You played the entire thing beginning to end with me in lesson which was awesome! Keep working hard :)

Recommended practice time: 20 minutes a day

Sina

You’re working on the first 8 bars of Frosty the Snowman. Note the Bbs and how both hands work together to form the melody. Great sightreading today! ***DOWNLOAD AND PRINT HERE***

Your other new piece is the final piece in your book! Wahoo! It is When the Band Goes Marching By. Play hands seperate this week please. You decided a bouncy detached LH sounds best and I agree, keep it light. The LH accompaniment pattern is the exact same notes as last week’s Sonatina! Note the D#s in the RH and be careful with which notes play together.

***Please purchase Alfred’s Premier Level 2A LESSON Book whenever possible***

Recommended practice time: 20-30 minutes a day