Thanks for a great second week everybody!
Dvorah
Let’s keep the C position 5-note warmup this week. Take one hand at a time and try to connect between the fingers (I call this “sticky fingers” since you can pretend that one finger is stuck to the keyboard until the next finger presses down). Work on keeping your fingers bent – it will make it easier to connect.
Try to find all the Cs AND all the Gs on the keyboard this week! Remember that G is within the group of three black keys, and is in the middle of the first two.
Frère Jacques – If we play this song without LH hopping up for that one note, you will have to move RH up to D position for those two phrases, then back to C position for the final phrase.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat – This song again is mainly RH in C position, with LH popping up to that high C for the “merrily, merrily” section. We will try looking at the sheet music I sent if you could please have that printed for next week’s lesson.
Marco
This week for theory homework please complete the rest of page 28 and 29
Frogs on Logs – Note how in this piece finger numbers that are circled indicate that you are switching your hand position. Be careful that even when we play notes with different fingers we are still playing the correct letter name. Sing along with counting before switching to lyrics (if you’d like!).
Let’s Play Ball – We have a new note for LH! B is one step below C and we play it with finger 2. Do be careful when reading the RH part – the second line on the staff is a G, and repeats quite a bit. Double check you’re on the correct note by looking down at your hand from time to time.
Oliver
It was nice to meet you today! This week we will play G’s in the BAG as a review song, and also Let it Rain, Let it Pour.
We will add a short warmup to your practice routine – in G position (so the same position as your two songs), step the fingers all the way up and then back down, doing your best to connect between the notes. I call this “sticky fingers” since you can pretend that one finger is stuck to the keyboard until the next finger presses down. If you feel comfortable, play hands together! We tried it in class today and it went well.
When reading notes on the staff, there are some sayings that can really help with figuring out letter names: in the treble clef, the 5 lines are Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, and the spaces are FACE in the space. In the bass clef we use animal sayings: Good Birds Don’t Fly Away for the lines, and All Cows Eat Grass for the spaces. Please feel free to write these on your music and use them as you play your pieces this week to get really comfortable identifying notes.
Alice
We have a piano warmup this week – same way we do a vocal warmup before singing, play this short piano warmup before jumping into your songs. With both hands in C position (so thumb of RH on a C, and pinky of LH on a C), walk up and then back down the 5 notes, trying your best to connect between the fingers.
My Invention – This will be a review song for us this week – really solidify your starting notes/position by using the labels and then identifying the order the hands play in.
March on D-E-F – We have new notes in the treble clef! RH will now also play D, E and F (use your labels and the diagram in the top left corner to help with identifying what each of these look like on the staff). Note that stepping between C-D-E-F is always line-space-line-space in order.
Linda
Thank you for showing me the chords you were working on – it’s nice to have a variety of things to work on!
When we have a chord progression, it’s helpful to also think in terms of the “number” of that chord in your key (so for example if we are in C major, C is 1, D minor is 2, etc.). As an exercise for your RH, try playing the progression starting in a different inversion of C (so if you originally start in 2nd inversion, you will also try in root position, then 1st inversion) – and from there moving to the closest inversion of the next chord. For your Dm7 and Am7 chords, since LH is playing the root you can eliminate it from your RH’s shape if you’d like.
Foggy Beach – While you’re still getting comfortable with the 6/8 time signature, count out loud with your playing. In class we discussed how different interval distances look on the music (2nds, 4ths, 6ths, etc. having notes on line-space or space-line and 3rds, 5ths, 7ths having notes on space-space or line-line). LH is playing a chromatic line, which means that all your notes are semitones apart. Do notice that new fingering we wrote in for LH; it will help you avoid having to play your pinky on the D#. As the week goes on and you grow more comfortable with the piece I think you can try it hands together!