Yellow Arrows Lesson 7
Hello Parents,
Next Friday I have been asked to give a presentation for hundreds of Let’s Play Music teachers at our annual Symposium. This is a huge honor and I’m so pleased to have this opportunity. Unfortunately, it interferes with our class time. Normally I would just push all future classes forward a week, but because of our reserved recital date we can’t do that. In circumstances like this I’m so grateful that Let’s Play Music has professionally produced online makeup classes that are fun and engaging. Each family will use this link to purchase Yellow Arrows Lesson 8 and then SEND ME THE PROOF OF PURCHASE and I will reimburse the cost to you through Venmo. Then you have until our Parent Day lesson on March 8th to complete the lesson with your child. Some parents find it beneficial to do the online lessons multiple times – you can do it unlimited times until the lesson expires. Use it every day if you want! You will also enjoy the ability to pause and redo tricky concepts as many times as you need. Let me know if you have any trouble.
We also have Spirit Month in March and registration for Fall begins March 1st! Check this post for more details.
I am so happy with the progress of class! One thing I would love them to focus on this week is doing the Alphabet Pieces Game consistently. I know it doesn’t seem like a very important activity BUT, the 3rd year students who did not do it consistently, struggle to know their keys. We will be doing races in class to help them get faster at naming the notes and I want everyone to feel successful.
**Registration for next semester is open March 1st! This is really big news! Your child is about to begin their 3rd and final year of Let’s Play Music! Hooray!! Third year is the time when it all comes together! All the foundational pieces we have been building are going to launch your child into massive musical success!
If you have a 0-4 year old or a 4-6 year old who you want to register for Sound Beginnings or Red Balloons, be sure to reserve their spot as soon as you can because those classes have filled up fast in the past.
**SPIRIT MONTH begins March 1st! Check out THIS POST for more details.
Watch out for the winter blues! Here is a blog post with motivation and a focus on your child’s learning style to make practice time more cooperative and enjoyable.
Celebrate Connections
A few ideas to make the alphabet pieces game more playful!
Alphabet Race:
Have your child take one alphabet piece from the box and quickly set it on the correct white key. Continue until the box is empty! Time yourself and see if you can beat yesterday’s time. For students who struggle, have the student look at the picture (key-group diagram) in the back of the Yellow Songbook and form his own visual conclusion.
Take a Second:
Have your child choose two alphabet pieces and place them on the keyboard. Identify what interval they make, and play the interval. If it’s anything other than a 2nd, play again! The game ends when you take a second to make a 2nd.
Go Fish:
Each player starts with 3 alphabet tiles hidden in his hand. Try to make matches by asking the other player: “Do you have a..” then PLAY the note on the piano to make your request. If you end up with an empty hand, draw 3 more tiles. Keep playing until the tiles are all gone, and see who got more matches.
Melodic Patterns
When learning to play melodic patterns:
1. Play all 5 in Middle C Position.
2. Play at separate times. The clef tells which hand will play. Treble Clef is RH and these patterns go DOWN. Bass Clef is LH and these patterns go UP.
3. What are the notes telling you to play? Steps, skips, or leaps? They ALL end on Middle C.
I am Robin Hood
This theme song is significant because it is the first song we play hands together with each hand playing independently. In class we learned to play the melody with the right hand. Place your RH thumb (1) on Middle C, 2nd finger on Middle D, and the 3rd finger on the black note above Middle D. And then play in the rhythm of BUG-BUG-BEETLE-BUG, BEETLE-BEETLE-SLUG. Practice hands separately this week. We will put it all together soon!
Lullaby and Goodnight
Did you know that we can make a song sound different by changing a block chord to a broken chord? It’s time to break all of the chords in Lullaby and Goodnight. Stylizing the block chords to broken will change the mood of this song into a calm, peaceful lullaby. Played piano (find the p under the music) with broken chords this lullaby will be sure to put you to sleep!
Are you ready for spring to come? Let It (Winter) Go is a cool piece to play now that our students are warmed up with all of the chords in right and left hand.
For my convenience, I have preloaded content for the whole semester. I will update each future post with specific time-sensitive info before I send the link each week. If you choose to read ahead you might see details that don’t apply to your child’s class. For this reason I do not recommend reading ahead. Thank you!
