Hello everyone! Winter is upon us :) stay safe and enjoy the snowy weather.

Isabella
You’re working on Driving in the G Clef. G clef is what people sometimes call the treble clef because it swirls around the G. This piece is all RH.

You’re also working on Best Friends. This piece uses both hands. When two notes line up vertically (up and down) it means they’re played at the same time.

You learnt your RH C major scale today! So exciting. The fingering is 123 12345, and make sure to just tuck your thumb under a little bit, it doesn’t need to be a big whole arm movement. Please don’t play so close to the edge of the keys, get closer to the black keys.

Jadon
Keep working on the piece from Transformers. Here is a really nice level arrangement of it to refer to, in addition to the video you’re working with – https://musescore.com/user/5801486/scores/2448311

Today we talked about trying to make your melodies more legato and connected (in the context of Amazing Grace). A way to improve this would be to play any of the major scales you know and make the notes have a sliiiiiiiight overlap so there is no “hole” in the sound between them. Work to make them as smooth as a vocalist doing a run.

You can also revisit the 12 bar blues form from last week. In C, It goes C C C C / F F C C / G F C C.

I encourage you to play any songs from your book, like you did with Kumbayah. Next week I will have O Holy Night printed for you.

Marco
You’re working on all of Top Secret. I have circled the chromatic passage, and I would like you to play this 5 times before playing through the rest of the piece each day. Use the written fingering and be picky with it. To warm up for this piece, you can play your C minor and F minor pentascales.

You’re also working on Away in a Manger. This week play through the written melody. The notes I have written above the staff are pop chords we can add later (or you can have your brother/parents play them for you as a duet).

Daniel
You’re working on page 1 of Jingle Bells. I wrote in what harmonies the chords are creating below the staff (a cool jazzy ii-V-I actually!). These chords should be played quieter than the actual melody.

This week will be your last working on the Spring Session. The “pickups”, as in the melodies that begin before beat 1, are the only things giving you trouble now. Try starting in these spots and be picky about where the LH comes in. Go slower and vary the dynamics so the whole piece isn’t the same volume.

For warming up, you can always revisit your C G or F major one octave scales, as they are required at this level.

Shelton
You’re working on Chant of the Monks. Do not play it hands together this week – just play the whole song with one hand, and then other. The point of this piece is to learn legato (smooth playing). Work to connect the sound of all the notes that are connected by the curved line, and then where it breaks, so does our line, and we take a piano breath.

You’re also working on your C Major scale, hands seperate. RH fingering is 123 12345. LH is 54321 321. Be very picky about this fingering, because your brain remembers the feeling of everything you do, so don’t confuse it by sometimes doing the wrong fingering!