Hello Everyone!

Thank you for all your hard work this past week! We’re making some great progress!

Georgia

Today we looked at page 26 of the Alfred’s piano method book. We reviewed note values and time signatures and discussed how many beats can fit in each bar as dictated by the time signature given for the specific song. We also learned what D.C al Fine and Fine mean in music. These are Italian terms that will help guide Georgia through the “map” of the song.  D.C al fine (Da Capo al fine) is used to indicate that the pianist should return to the beginning of the song and play until the bar marked “fine”, this is the “end” of the song. When practicing the song on page 26, please remind Georgia of these markings! Georgia has also been given a new worksheet to fill out this week. The worksheet reviews notes written in the bass clef. Using the mnemonic phrases “Green Bugs Don’t Fly Away” and “All Cows Eat Grass” Georgia should fill in the letter name for each note in her worksheet. We will correct this next week in class. Please also remind Georgia to practice “The Clown”. She can use her new mnemonic sayings to read the notes in the left hand. Remember, please do not write the letters in the book to help challenge Georgia’s sight-reading skills!

Noreet:

Today we reviewed the Elf’s Silver Hammer and talked more about how to tell a story with music based on certain musical choices like which octave to play in and how soft or loud to play a song. We also reviewed the left hand of Ode to Joy and sight-read the left hand. Noreet’s focus this week should be the left hand as it varied between to patterns of notes. When she has played the whole song start to finish with the left hand, encourage challenge her by isolating one phrase in the left hand and asking her to play it for you! Please help Noreet by reminding her that the left hand starts with descending notes before jumping back up. Noreet can start to play the first 3 lines of Ode to Joy hands together! Review the left and right hands separately before practicing these lines hands together. When practicing hands together, encourage Noreet to play slowly so that she can take note of when her left and right hand move in contrary motion (opposite directions) and when they play in parallel motion (same direction).

Benji:

We used Benji’s new Piano Adventures Lesson book in class today! Thank you for picking this up! In the book, we reviewed Little River. When practicing this song at home this week, try using a metronome! You can find this for free via google. The metronome taps the beat of the song to help reinforce a steady tempo (speed). Set the metronome to 85BPM (beats per minute) and encourage Benji to play the notes in time with the metronome. Each quarter note should be the same length as 1 click of the metronome, while each half note is worth 2 clicks. Use the metronome to ensure each quarter note is played for an equal amount of time (1 beat, no more no less). Please help Benji practice Little River by reminding him that the entire first phrase should be played with his right hand as dictated by the treble clef (the tall curly symbol) written at the start of the line, and the entire second phrase is played in his left hand as dictated by the bass clef (the backwards C symbol) written at the start of the second phrase. We will review this next week.

Eva:

Today we learned the first phrase of “Classic Dance”. When practicing Classic Dance, remind Eva that her hands should be in C-Position with the thumb of her right hand, and the 5th finger of her left hand both on a C (they should be one octave apart C-C). Her other 4 fingers should line up with the 4 notes above C (D,E,F,G) with the thumb of her left hand, and 5th finger of her right hand both on a G. When practicing, encourage Eva to not move her fingers from their designated note! She can play the opening two chords in her left and right hands with her 1st, 3rd, and 5th fingers, then step down the scale at the end of the phrase with her 4th finger, 3rd finger, 2nd finger, and 1st finger (thumb). We will review these fingerings next week in class. Please note, the first and last lines of this song are identical!  Encourage by reminding her that she already know two thirds of the song! Have Eva read both lines this week. We can learn the middle line in class together.

Clara:

Today we played The Giraffe! We recorded both The Giraffe and Ladybug today so that Clara could hear her performance for herself. Continue to encourage this listening activity at home so that Clara can decide what she likes about playing a song and where she might want to improve. When reviewing Ladybug, Clara pointed out that her favourie part of the song is the phrase with the F# in it. She likes that this part sounds a little odd compared to the rest of the song. We then learned why it sounds odd by reviewing some scales and key signatures. Clara has a worksheet with the scales C-B Major, she knows these scales up to A, E Major and B Major are new. On the back of this sheet is a Circle of 5ths. We learned that the circle works like a clock to tell us how many sharps or flats a specific key signature has. Clara knows that if you move one space to the right, you add one sharp to the key signature. Using the circle, please have Clara fill in the missing sharps in the E Major and B Major scale of the worksheet. Finally, we started the Haunted Mouse! This is review for Clara as this song appears in the Piano Adventures Level 1 book. Encourage her to practice this song hands together at home and let her record herself when she feels ready.

Christian:

I’ve uploaded a copy of the Scientist for you! You can find that here. For this week, practice forming the chords hands separately. Once you can confidently identify and play the notes used in each chord, you can then practice switching from chord to chord with both hands together – play each chord only once. Pay attention to which inversion of the chord you play and where your fingers have to move to from chord to chord. When you fee confident in building the chords and the chord progression, you can refer back to the sheet music and practice alternating hands – remember, you always start the new chord with your right hand!

Thank you everyone!

Have a great week!