Hi everybody! Report cards went home today, or if you are a remote student yours was mailed earlier this week. Let us know if you have any questions:)

Isabella

I missed you today! Keep playing Driving in the G Clef, Best Friends, and your RH C Major one octave scale.

Jadon

You’re working on O Holy Night from the beginning until measure 27. Work to make the melody connected and smooth, so no holes in the sound as you lift your finger to play the next note. Make it connected like a singer would. There is a finger 2 in the RH of measure 16 that is crucial to making the line smooth. Amazing job picking up the LH chord changes.

Keep playing any songs you have interest in and let me know how they go!

Grace

Nice work on Sunset in Rio. To further secure your feeling of the beat, please play the LH by itself lots. We discussed different ways to break up this piece today, like playing only the soprano (upper) voice, or even playing the soprano voice and the bass voice together by themselves. Or in the second line you can even play just the solid 3rds, and none of the individual notes in between to feel the offbeats. Experiment with a few of these techniques to get to know the piece and genre better. Great work! Be proud.

You’re also working on the piece #10 from the Seven Deadly Sins soundtrack. Upon listening to recordings in class today I think this piece should be played rubato and freely so the melody has more to chance to be as beautiful as it can be. Focus on playing the RH in a singing style this week, and mark in the phrases with a curved phrase marking on your paper to remember and be consistent. The LH will be much easier to add in when we know how the RH works and where it pushes and pulls.

Daniel

(first a side note for Marco and Amazing Grace: Upon doing some research I learnt that the melody I gave last week is the one more popular in the USA, whereas the melody found in your Mom’s book is most popular in the UK and Ireland. This article summarizes it well and includes videos of both.)

You’re working on page 2 on Jingle Bells. Practice hands separate first to get the articulation on the LH part correct. The first two notes are staccato and the 3rd and 4th notes are connected as a two note slur. Play this section medium loud, since so many notes are playing all together, it can sound really stompy and un-Christmas-like if too loud.

Your new piece is Four Wheel Drive. Only work on the first 3 lines this week. Here is a recording by Christopher Norton himself. Give it a listen. Play the LH 2-bar pattern lots until it’s comfy. The piece relies on having that hand be so secure you barely think about it, as the RH does lots of cool offbeat things overtop. Also play the RH separately, being very aware of the counting.

Shelton

You’re working on Planetarium. If your piano/keyboard at home has a pedal, you get to hold it down the whole song! This piece has a very smooth spacey texture so press the piano keys like they’re clay and connect the sound of the notes together. Look at the page while you’re playing (you already do a great job of this, keep it up).

You’re also working on Minuet. This piece uses all 5 RH fingers, and any finger you want on LH G (I would use finger 2 or 3). When you count yourself in to begin this song, be sure to count 1-2-3 because this song only has 3 beats per measure. This piece should feel dance-y and more light and bounces than the Planets one.

Keep practicing your C major one-octave scales with both hands! You did great this week! Remember your fingering: RH 123 12345. LH 54321 321.