Purple Magic #12

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #12: Parents, your students are amazing! I love having them in class and hearing the musical things they can do and having them tell me about the musical connections they've made. They are so much fun! 

SHOWTIMES: We did the Showtime for Song of Joy this week. The kids did so good playing as an ensemble! Next class will be the Showtime for Turkey in the Straw. For that song, I'll be looking for them to be able to transpose (playing in both C and F), and being able to play the 2-handed melody. They can absolutely do this already. All I really need to hear is the first line ("MI RE DO DO DO, MI FA SOL SOL SOL" 3-2-1-1-1 with the right hand and 3-2-1-1-1 with the left) in C and then put their hand in F position. They can play more if they want to, but this covers the desigated skill.

PARENT DAY/TUITION DUE: Next week is another Parent Day! Yay! The final tuition installment for this semester will also be due. I'll send an invoice sometime between now and then to remind you. 

JURY DUTY: I have jury duty (for the first time in the twelve years we've lived here!) the week of November 30-December 4. If I don't need to go in on class day (either Tuesday or Wednesday, I'll find out the night before), we'll have Lesson #14 that day as scheduled, followed by the Lesson #15, the last of the semester, on December 8/9. If I DO have to go in, we will take that day off and push the semester out by a week, so we'll have Lesson #14 on December 8/9 and Celebration Day, the last class of the semester, on December 15/16. I will text you the night before class to verify either way.

GOOD TO KNOW

JINGLE BELLS: This fun holiday song gives us a chance to add chords to a melody. Once our fingers get comfortable playing it, we will have another opportunity to transpose from C Major to F Major! 

If your child chose chords that were different than what we did in class, that's okay! There isn't just one answer, and reharmonization is a skill used by many musicians. The Beatles and The Beach Boys and many others used fascinating harmonies in songs that could be broken down to basic chords (red, yellow, blue) but that sound much better with some flair. 

If they didn't do the homework (writing in the chords to Jingle Bells), I had them mark their songbooks today with colors of the standard harmonization. When they play on their own, they can fancy it up however they want.

FIVE FAT TURKEYS: We love the Five Fat Turkeys song from 1st year! Here is a link to lots of Five Fat Turkey activities for all years of LPM students!  

FUN TO KNOW

Our Song of Joy Showtime was so much fun! Even the Muppets have a great time with Ode to Joy!

Purple Magic #11

  

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #11: Your kids are doing some pretty advanced musical stuff this year. They can play cadences in C Major, C Minor, and F Major! They can take songs that are written in C Major and play them in F Major! They are amazing! 

IF YOUR STUDENT FEELS OVERWHELMED: It's okay! They are getting a LOT of music thrown at them quickly. Third Year of Let's Play Music is a thorough introduction to theory, but it doesn't give time for all students to gain mastery in the performing of it. Even if your student struggles with playing the music on the keyboard, know that they absolutely understand the concepts we cover when they're on the "Active" side of the classroom. Connecting it physically to the fingers and keyboard is a developmental level that some kids haven't reached yet. If your student gets frustrated and anxious about keyboard time, here are some steps to help them remember what they have learned, which will prepare their brains to take the next steps.

1. Have them play C position do-re-mi-fa-sol-fa-mi-re-do (like Caterpillar Cousins on page 7) with both hands (together or separately) to solidify the C position in their hands and brains.

2. Then play the C cadence (Red, Blue, Red, Yellow, Red) with both hands (together or separately).

3. Play the whole C scale with both hands (together or separately), popping in the correct places.

4. Change to F position (remember the Bb!) and play do-re-mi-fa-sol-fa-mi-re-do (the little box on top of Turkey in the Straw on page 21) with both hands (together or separately) to shift mental and physical gears to F Major.

5. Play the F cadence (Red, Blue with Bb, Red, Yellow, Red) with both hands (together or separately).

6. Take it step by step and celebrate wherever they are at. Playing hands separately is just fine. That is another developmental thing. Some kids just aren't ready to control both hands at the same time in that detail. Once their brains and fingers connect, they will progress quickly. Make sure they know that they are doing hard work!

HOMEWORK HELP: This week's homework is writing the chords for Jingle Bells on page 26. In class, we played the melody and experimented with which chords sounded best for the notes in the measure. Here is the first two lines filled in (this is what we did in class). They can finish the third and fourth lines for homework. Hint: Line 3 is identical to Line 1 (hence the A and A), and will have the same red chord for the whole line. Line 2 is almost identical to Line 4 (hence the B and B), and will have the same chords except the last measure will be red. If they want a different chord, let them have it. It is not worth the battle, and creative harmonization can be awesome. Their homework is to finish writing the chords in the staff.

JINGLE BELLS CONTINUED: If it would help, here is a supplemental video from the LPM company from the online lessons. It goes step-by-step of figuring out the chords like we did in class.

SHOWTIME: Next week we'll do Showtime for Song of Joy. The fun part about this one is that the Showtime is played all together in an ensemble. Your student gets to choose which part they want to play, and we'll put it all together in class!

GOOD TO KNOW

F MAJOR CADENCE: This week we played the F Major cadence in a broken style. This is layer upon layer upon layer of musical learning! It can be tricky, so here's another skills video from the online lessons to get a visual.

TURKEY IN THE STRAW: We've been transposing our Let's Play Music song for a while, playing in both the key of C and the key of F. This week we used those skills to play Turkey in the Straw in the key of F! This is some impressive stuff.

TWINKLE TWINKLE: When playing the melody of this song, the second two lines (B section) are easy! They are just a variation of the sol-fa-mi-re-(do) pattern, and we play that all the time! The first two lines are the first section of melody we've played that isn't entirely in C position. Remind your student to stretch their right hand into the "blue chord" position to touch 'Huggie G' with finger #4 and 'A' with finger #5. Then when coming back down (end of 2nd line), slide their thumb up to D then back to C, and they'll be back in C position to play the easy-peasy B section!

FUN TO KNOW

Theme and Variation is a style where there is a melody, then a whole bunch of ways to show off that melody. This is what Mozart did with the Twinkle Twinkle variations. Scott Bradlee (who went on to form Postmodern Jukebox), took the same Twinkle Twinkle melody and made 24 new variations, all based on specific styles and eras of music, including 50s Doo Wop, 70s Disco, even 90s Grunge and Gangsta Rap. Check it out here. Creative musicians are so much fun! 

Purple Magic #10

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #10: Your Purple Magic students are doing so great! We did some pretty intense playing this week that they can solidify at home. 

TWO HANDED SCALE: We officially played a Bug Scale with both hands at the same time! This is tricky because the hands have to pop at different times! We went super slow and one note at a time. It helps to remember that finger #3 on both hands play E at the same time, then later in the scale, fingers #3 play A at the same time. Know that most of your students will still need lots of help on this. But they had a great start and I'm excited for them to develop this skill because it's HARD and they are doing SO GOOD! It will take time for this to feel natural for them. It's okay! They absolutely understand the concept and are just needing time to physically achieve it. Here is a clip from Purple #10 of the online lessons going over this concept.

SONG OF JOY: We looked at Part III of this ensemble piece. It's mostly bass clef spaces! There is one fun part on the second line of the second page where the left hand gets to do a triangle dance! Here is a video of how that goes.

SHOWTIME: We did the Halloween Night showtime and they rocked it! C minor cadences never sounded so good!

GOOD TO KNOW

TWINKLE TWINKLE: This familiar childhood song is a great way to learn about theme and variation. You can still hear the main theme in each of the variations, it's just sort of in disguise in different ways each time, kind of like a Halloween costume! As we continue to study this song throughout the semester we will discover that the main melody is in our ABA form. We also get to use an extended C position!

FUN TO KNOW

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star is a very well-known children's song. It combines the French melody "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" with an English poem "The Star," by Jane Taylor. The melody is also used in "Baa-Baa Black Sheep" and the "ABC Song." It is often taught that Mozart was the original writer of the melody, but that isn't correct despite Mozart being the "correct answer" in the original edition of Trivial Pursuit and other trivia places. He DID take the classic melody and wrote variations on it, linking his name to the theme for all time. 

Purple Magic #9

 

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #9: Thank you for coming to class this week! It's so fun showing off for you the things we do in class and the amazing musicians your kids are becoming!

FLASH CARDS: Take the rubber band off the next section and release the bass spaces, adding them into your working cards. The only thing left in the band should be the bass line notes. If you are using the Itty Bitty Flashcards, add the bass spaces there too!

SHOWTIME: Next week is our showtime on Halloween Night! I'm looking for them to understand c minor chords, as well as the 3/4 time signature feel. They all did this in class over the past few weeks and I'm not worried about them at all!

SONGBOOK MARKING: In Song of Joy, we circled all the downbeats and put a star over the important up-beat. We also crossed out the downbeat note tied to the up-beat because we don't play that one... we just keep holding the note from the up-beat. If you missed class, here is what it should look like:

MORE SONGBOOK MARKING: It's time for Turkey in the Straw! The melody of this fun tune bounces between the right hand and the left hand. I highlighted the students' books to show where the melody goes. When the melody bounces to the left hand, it plays "MI FA SOL SOL SOL." The left hand also plays red chords on the second two SOLs as accompaniment. This week, the practice assignment is to play the melody. It's up to your student if they add in those red chords or not. Either way works for me! If your student wasn't there or didn't have his book in class, please mark it like this:

TUITION: Thanks you for paying tuition on time! It helps me so much! If you didn't get it in, I'll send a request/reminder.

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: We've been singing this song since the first day of Red Balloons, and using our very well-known class-opening song is the perfect stepping stone to practice transposition. That's just a fancy word for changing keys, in this case reading notes in one key and playing in another. And it's kind of a big deal! All the background your student has in solfege, intervals, skips, and steps makes transposing simple. We'll practice transposing many more times this year.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT: Improvisation means playing the music in a way that's different than printed. Transposition (what we did in the Let's Play Music song) is one way to improvise. Halloween Night gives us another way. In class, your students read the block c minor cadence chords, and played them as broken c minor cadence chords. They are amazing!

FUN TO KNOW

We have a new puppet show! Banditen Gallopp by Strauss is from an operetta about a bandit gang who wants to overthrow a prince. This piece comes from the scene where the bandits are galloping away. It's pretty exciting! 

* Here is a link to printable mini puppets of the Skaters puppet show.

* Here is a link to printable coloring pages of the Skaters puppet show. (There are also coloring pages in your songbook that your student can color at any time... we won't be using them specifically in class.)

Purple Magic #8

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #8: We are really cruising now! This week in class, we played the transitional key-changing scale from the key of C Major to the key of F Major. Since they already know the C Major Cadence and the F Major Cadence, they are ready to play the whole "Magic Keys" song covering both keys! Oh they are learning so much so fast!

SHOWTIME: Their "Alouette" showtimes were awesome! Everybody knew their left hand intervals, and could identify the A and B sections. Most could play a lot more than that! I hope they are understanding how non-stressful the showtimes should be!

HOMEWORK HELP: This week's homework is a diagram of the Royal Problem puppet show. This one doesn't have pieces to cut out and glue in place like our previous puppet shows. Instead, they'll write directly on the map and insert/identify the items listed at the top. We talked through it in class, so it should be familiar to them. If your student needs some guidance, check out page 60 of the Reference Section in your student's homework booklet.

PARENT DAY AND TUITION DUE: Next week is a parent day! I'm excited to have you back in my classroom! The third installment of tuition for the semester is also due. I'll send an invoice later this week. If you don't receive one, it means you've already paid this portion. Thank you!

GOOD TO KNOW

MAGIC KEYS: Your students now can play the C Major cadence chords and the F Major cadence chords. This week we focused on the transition scale connecting the two keys. They can now play the entire Magic Keys song with their right hand! If they need a reminder, here is a video clip from the LPM online classes reviewing the F Major cadence chords. 

MAGIC KEYS SCALE: We played the transition scale of Magic Keys! Which means that with the C Major cadence chords in the first part, and the F Major cadence chords in the second part, we can play the whole Magic Keys song! So that parents can see what we're doing and students can get a review, here is a video showing the transition scale (on line #3 of Magic Keys).

SONG OF JOY: This week's practicing assignment has your student playing Part I with the right hand. This song is also written to be an ensemble, with multiple players playing multiple parts at the same time (harmony!). You can practice the "ensemble" feel of this song by playing with the app. Tracks 22, 23, and 24 are "Song of Joy" tracks. The parts listed mean that that part is recorded more quietly than the others, so when you play track 22, "Song of Joy Part I," your student can play part I on the piano and the other two parts will be supplied by the app track. It's really pretty cool!

FUN TO KNOW

Speaking of an ensemble, check out this instrumental flash mob of Ode to Joy at a public plaza in Spain!

Purple Magic #7

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #7: It's so exciting to see how much your Purple Magic students have grown and developed over the past three years. Two years ago, they were just learning that the red chord was do-mi-sol. Last year at this time, some of them were still holding up their 2 and 4 fingers to help the 1-3-5 play the red chord. And now they're playing all sorts of music in all sorts of keys! They are comfortable in C major, they understand c minor, and this week we introduced playing in F major. AH-MAZING!

EXPOSURE VS MASTERY: Some of your kiddos (and maybe some of the parents!) are feeling a bit overwhelmed by how fast things are coming at them this semester. IT IS OKAY! Remember that LPM 3rd year is more about exposure and understanding rather than mastery on everything we introduce. Please know that when your students are in the "active area," they know the answers to the questions about lines and spaces and chord theory. When they're at the keyboards, their brains might take a minute to sync up with their fingers. But they are absolutely understanding the concepts. One thing that will help their playing time is to start with what they know. Instead of jumping straight to "play a c minor cadence," start with "play a C Major red chord, now blue, now yellow," then "how do you change that to c minor?" Playing with one hand at a time is completely acceptable. They are doing hard things!

SHOWTIME: Showtime for Alouette is next week (lesson #8). What I'm looking for is that they understand ABA form, and that they understand the differences in the intervals in the left hand (I sometimes sing "Fifth at the start, then a second, and a third, thumb" to the tune of the right hand melody to help them out). Some kids will want to play the whole song with both hands. Others won't, and that's okay too. I'll ask them to play the first line with just the left hand, then ask them to show me (just point to) the A section and the B section, along with the repeat sign. They are totally getting the "pass off" skills, and also show they can accompany, play a harmony part, understand the ABA form, follow the repeat sign, etc.

SONGBOOK MARKING: More songbook markings this week on Alouette! There are empty measures and portions of measures in the B section. We filled them in whole rests in each measure of line three, and half rests in the first measure of line four. Here is what it should look like now. 

HOMEWORK HELP: The "flashcards" section of the homework says to use the "Smart Staff." The Smart Staff is the last page in your songbooks and is the perfect size to use cheerios or smarties or raisins or any other little snack as notes. Put a cheerio on their staff boards (or a smartie or whatever), and when the students names the note correctly, they get to eat it! There is a Skills Video about the note naming in the treble clef. Check it out at this link!

MORE HOMEWORK HELP: Last week's homework was to outline the c minor cadence chords. This week's is to outline the F major chords. The trickiest part is that the black key is in a different spot in the blue chord in each cadence. In c minor, it's on the top (Ab). In F major, it's in the middle (Bb). Page 67 in the reference section of the homework booklet has a great diagram. If pictures are more helpful, here is a chart with pictures of the notes and fingerings of the F major cadence. For future reference, this link is on the "Learning Helps" section of the 3rd Year website page. 

GOOD TO KNOW

F MAJOR CADENCE: How exciting to play our primary chords in a new key! The fingerings will feel familiar, but our newly acquired knowledge about "magic keys" and our ear training will help us play the chords correctly. The blue chord needs a Bb, and we practiced playing the blue-blue-blue chord (with the flat) and the Dracula blah-blah-blah chord (without the flat). Their ears will tell them if they're wrong! For a visual, here is a clip from the LPM skills videos that reinforces the F Major cadence chords.

ROYAL PROBLEM: Like all our puppet shows, 'A Royal Problem' (Mozart's Symphony No 40 in g minor, 3rd movement) aids in the intelligent listening of classical music. In it, we recognized major and minor tonalities, staccato and legato themes, and continued our study of classical ABA form. One more week of this puppet show and we'll start a new one on lesson #9!

STEM DIRECTION: Sometimes note stems go up, sometimes they go down. We talked about the "stem rule" of 1-2-3 WHEE! On the third line, the note flips over like it's going on a roller coaster. Notes on line three and above have the stem pointing down. Notes below the third line have stems pointing up. This is not a hard-and-fast rule, and has many exceptions, including chords. But it's valuable to have a guideline, and to know that the stem direction changes.

FUN TO KNOW

We have moved Do to F! We use "Moveable Do" so that we can use the same words to talk about the scale degrees in each key using the same words. There is another method, called "Fixed Do," where they use do, re, mi, etc as substitute note names for C, D, E, etc. In those cases, they typically use numbers to talk about scale degrees. There is a Great Debate that has gone on between music students for centuries concerning Moveable Do and Fixed Do. Most American-taught musicians (including me!) prefer Moveable Do. And this week your students experienced one of the amazing things that Moveable Do can do, which is to talk about different keys with the same language! The Moveable Do allows the solfege to be vocabulary to talk about a tonal center and use the same words for every key. You don't need to understand the whole concept, but your kids are absolutely experiencing it! If you are interested in knowing more, check out the valid points made by each of the gentlemen in this meme. I laugh every time I see this one! It's truer than you might think!

Purple Magic #6

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #6: It is so much fun watching your Purple Magic kids soak up new information! They are building a solid musical foundation!

SHOWTIME: We had our first Showtime! They all played Bounce and Roll, and everybody was able to play staccato and legato, and everybody got a sticker in their songbook. They're totally getting it! We won't play that song again in class, but they can play it at home any time they want to!

SONGBOOK MARKING: We wrote in our songbooks again! On the song "Alouette," we talked about how the first two lines are similar, but the next two lines are something different. We labeled them A and B, and now have a repertoire song that is ABA form, just like our puppet show! Here's what it should look like now. 

INSTAGRAM: If you Instagram, be sure and follow @letsplaymusic_official. They have great tips and motivations, along with regular freebies and giveaways.

CDs: I finally got the CDs ready! If you requested one in the Parent Orientation form, I gave it to your student today. If you didn't get one and want one, let me know!

HALLOWEEN NIGHT PRACTICE HELP: The practice guide says to "learn the right hand line by line." I feel this is so lacking in options! And totally drops the ball on the c minor cadence skill! We started last week with playing the left hand chords while singing. Here are some options for playing this song.
* Play the song with the left hand playing chords as written, and sing the melody.
* If they want, they can play it with the right hand playing the c minor cadence chords, and sing the melody. And then play the chords with both hands at the same time! 
* If they never want to play the melody, that's okay! They can use this song to understand the c minor cadence, reading the music and playing the chords as written, keeping the 3/4 time rhythm, playing with a steady beat, etc!
* To learn the melody in the right hand, start with the last line. We actually played the last line in class and everybody did it. From here, they can either add the left hand chords with the right hand melody on the last line, or they can use note reading with skips and steps to learn the third line of the melody, then the second, and the first.

Know that it's okay if they never play the melody of the right hand, or never move past the last line. Some students' brains are not physiologically ready yet to do a whole page of note reading. But they're still getting the chord structure, playing with a steady beat, keeping the 3/4 feel of the song, c minor cadence chords, etc. They are doing a LOT!

HOMEWORK HELP: C MINOR CHORDS: This week's theory assignment involves coloring in the c minor cadence chords on a keyboard chart. Some purple Magicians were having some trouble remembering the c minor blue chord, so here are some visuals to help. There is also a great diagram on page #68 of your student's workbook. Remember you can scan the QR code on the back of your workbook (or click this link) to get to the answer key and get help that way too. Here is a link for pictures of the entire c minor cadence. As a reminder, these pictures are always available in the "Learning Helps" portion of the 3rd Year page on the website.

GOOD TO KNOW

ODE TO JOY: Last year we worked on hearing downbeats. Now we're listening for the upbeats! This song helps us feel the upbeat with our bodies, and helps us get to know Ludwig van Beethoven along the way! You can learn more about Beethoven at this link. 

MAGIC KEYS: We've been slowly introducing the Magic Keys song. Next week they'll be playing in F Major and they'll totally be ready for it!

FUN TO KNOW

I love how your Purple Magicians are such flexible thinkers. Each week we do the puppet show, we change up some of the plot points. Sometimes the dragon is the bad guy, sometimes there is no bad guy, but the dragon is a prince that got magically turned into a dragon, and sometimes the knight is the bad guy and the dragon is the hero, like in this comic!

Purple Magic #5

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #5: Thank you for coming to class! Third year is so much fun to teach because we're getting into some really meaty theory. I love watching how naturally your kids understand it. They must have had an amazing LPM teacher for their 1st and 2nd Years to get them prepared! 😉

SHOWTIME: Next week is our first "Showtime" week! I will be having the students show off "Bounce and Roll," and assessing that they understand the pertaining skills (check out inside the back cover of your student's workbook... for this song it is legato and staccato). They'll get a little solo time to show me their stuff. I'll make a little note about how they played (whether they used two hands or one, if they had beautiful bubble hands or flat fingers, what the tempo was etc), and we'll never play that song in class again. Of course, they can still use it to show off to friends and family! If your student is frustrated in playing this song, know that they can totally pass it off by the first measure of line one and the first measure of line three, either with the right hand or left hand only. Easy peasy! 

SONGBOOK MARKING: We wrote in our songbooks again! On the song "Alouette," we identified the intervals of the notes in the bass clef, and wrote those intervals in the lines below the note. This is what their book should look like. If your student wasn't there, help them figure out the intervals and write the number in their book.

FLASHCARDS AND APPS: Flashcards are the best way to learn and drill the notes on the staff. You can do "flashcards" with your actual flashcards, with the itty bitty flashcards I passed out in class, or with other apps and games. (Here is a link to print the itty bitty flashcards on your own, or you can get another copy from me.) You can use time playing apps to mark off the flashcards section on your practice chart. If you know of or find another app that you like, please let me know about it! (If you have an apple device, my suggestion is to use the Music Notes and Bees Keys to drill the basics, then Note Rush to take it to the keyboard. For android users, I have not been able to find Music Notes or Bees Keys. If you find something similar, please let me know!)

    *BEES KEYS (naming white keys): This is a free app that drills the names of the keyboard notes. We've been working on this skill since Yellow Arrows, and most kids have it down. But if your students still need to use the keyboard chart to find the note names on the keyboard, or if they're "counting up" from C to find the right note, this will help! Here is the link for the apple app. I just found it on the Google Play Store as well so android users can do this one too! Here is the link to the app on the Google Play store.

   *MUSIC NOTES (naming notes on staff): This is a free app that is very basic but covers the info. It's the one with the happy face and the pig. You can choose between G/treble clef (what your kids are ready for), F/bass clef (what we will introduce in the next few weeks), or both. It does include ledger lines (notes above and below the staff) that might add some frustration, but they should be able to figure them out by stepping or skipping from Finish F. It is a solid free choice that can help your student solidify the staff note names. Here is the link to the apple app. I can't find this in the Google Play store, but it's possible that it's there... I just don't have an android device and am not used the the layout. It was developed by Simon Ma and is called "Music Notes for Kids."

    *NOTE RUSH (see a note on staff, play it on keyboard): This is the one that used the audio from the keyboard when we did it in class. This is a paid app that focuses on taking the note on the staff directly to the keyboard without doing the middle step of naming the note. This is the ultimate goal of note reading. It uses your own full keyboard so there is no wondering about which octave the notes are in. The gameplay of this one is set up so that there's not a time limit to answer the notes, allowing your student to figure it out without timing pressure. Here is the link to the apple app. And here is the link to the app in the Google Play app store.

    *OTHERS: There are lots of other apps that are helpful and fun, including Flashnote Derby, Ningenius, and Staff Wars. They all have pros and cons in regard to gameplay, keyboard layout, etc. But know that developing note-reading skills is a long process, and all exposure will help!

TUITION: Thank you for getting tuition in! I appreciate you! If you haven't yet, I'll send a request/reminder.

GOOD TO KNOW

MAGIC KEYS: This song is a multi-tasker! It helps us understand key signatures and chord theory, plus give us the opportunity to practice scales and cadences while self-accompanying. Wow! Now that's complete musicianship! Like I said in class, this concept is advanced and will initially overwhelm some students. Just give it some time to sink in! They're going to love being able to move DO around to different notes. Check out this blog post if you're interested in more info on key changes.

C MINOR CADENCE: We started the C minor cadence this week. Is there anything they can't do!? This is already going to be a long parent note, so I won't insert the reminder pictures here, but you can check them out at this link. This link is also always available on the "Learning Helps" section of the website. There is also a chart on page 68 of your student's homework booklet that will help.

SCRATCH MY BACK: Scratch My Back is an old folk song/game that has lots of variations. Sometimes a cadence pattern doesn't make it back "home" to the red chord, and it gets "stuck" on a yellow chord. The official name when this happens is "half cadence." Scratch my Back is a fun activity that not only helps us hear but to feel an unresolved half cadence with our whole body. We didn't get to this one but we will next week! 

POPPING TECHNIQUE:  Here is a great visual of the technique I talked about in class today keeping the whole arm and wrist linear while "popping" in the scale. She uses the word "turn" instead of "popping," but it's the same motion. 

 

FUN TO KNOW

Now that we have unbanded all of the Treble Clef notes in our flashcards, you will enjoy this Treble Clef parody of Taylor Swift's I Knew You Were Trouble!

Purple Magic #4

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #4: We have been doing so much in class! I hope you have been astounded by what they're doing in when they play at home, and I'm excited to have you come next week and see how everything fits together!

PARENT DAY AND TUITION DUE: Next week is a Parent Day and the next installment of tuition is due. I'll send a request through Wave later this week. If you don't get one, it means that you've already paid this portion! Thank you!

FLASHCARDS: We'll be adding new note flashcards next week when parents are in class. Now's the time to make sure your student has a solid handle on the Treble Clef Space Notes! It will be much easier for them to learn new notes if they're already really good at identifying the first batch.

GOOD TO KNOW

ALOUETTE: This song is jam packed with opportunities for musical development. They have identified the rhythm of the melody. They did a GREAT job this week sight reading the second two lines. Next week we'll look at the intervals in the left hand accompaniment. We'll also analyze the classical ABA form. Like I said, packed!

REPEAT SIGN: We added the repeat sign to the bar line and double bar line vocabulary. Ask your Purple Magician to show you the dot-dot-do-it-again dance we did in class!

FUN TO KNOW

We practiced drawing Treble Clefs for the first time. "Make a long J and a capital D. Swirl around the 2nd line 'cause that's a G!" Check out your student's clefs on page 2 of their songbooks. They're doing so good! Even (or maybe especially!) when compared to treble clefs drawn by some of history's greatest composers!

Purple Magic #3

 

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #3: You have great kids! Thanks for sharing them with me!

HOMEWORK HELP: The Let's Play Music company has an online "Homework Booklet Answer Key" page. Check it out any time you wonder about the homework assignment or just want to make sure you're doing it right! You can get there by scanning the QR code on the back of the homework booklet or by clicking this link. That will take you to a page with Skills Videos, and at the very top it has a few links: one to purchase access to full class videos, and another to access theory answer keys. Click on the "3rd Year Theory Answer Key" link and you're there!

ACCIDENTALS: This week we introduced the flat, sharp, and natural. The homework book will remind you to add the flat, sharp, and natural signs to your flashcards. Release them from the banded portion and start practicing with them! 

GOOD TO KNOW

FLAT, SHARP, & NATURAL STORY: We will learn the names of these terms and how they work. We will also use our bodies and our voices to truly internalize and understand how each of these symbols can affect any of our regular music alphabet keys.

NOTE READING: We've been working hard on reading the notes of the spaces of the treble clef staff and matching them to the notes on the keyboard. This is an involved multi-step skill, and time spent on it now will make it so much easier as it solidifies over the next few years. Your kids have a few different tricks for figuring it out and they're doing great! Practice on this skill is actually this week's homework assignment!

FUN TO KNOW

We've been singing and playing ROLL THE BALL for all of Purple Magic. Here is an amazing video of a ball rolling down an entire mountain and making some phenominal music as it goes! This video makes me indescribably happy! This is what happens when science and music come together.

Purple Magic #2

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #2: Your Purple Magicians are so much fun!

PRACTICE BEADS: Your student's practice beads are clipped into their workbooks. You can send the empty baggies back and I'll reuse them (but no worries if I don't get them back! I'm definitely not keeping track!). If you need a reminder of how to "tie on" the beads, check out this video. As always, if your students want to use the beads in a different project, that's fine! If they want to display them on their LPM bags, they can use the plastic landyard strings.

DICTATION CHALLENGE: This week we had our first day of "dictation," a new challenge for our 3rd Year students. As always, we start slowly. We drew quarter notes, or "bugs," as we've known them for the past two years. These are on page 1 of your student's songbook, and they did a great job!

MISSING CLASSES: Life happens and sometimes you miss class. It's no biggie! There is a lot of repetition built into the classes and your student will be just fine. But if you miss a class (or a bunch of classes) for whatever reason and want to do a makeup, you can purchase access to those classes produced for the LPM Online program. You can read more about that at this link. I will suggest using these if you end up missing three or more classes in a row, but overall they're only if you want more exposure. But I do want you to be aware of the option! 

GOOD TO KNOW

CATERPILLAR COUSINS (pg 7): Our favorite caterpillar is BACK! This version of the song is in parallel motion, rather than the easier contrary motion we did in Yellow Arrows. It will require more brainwork. This week's practice outline specifies that they do it hands separately, which will solidify the patterns in each hand. There are some Magician Musicians who are itching to put it hands together! I told them they could work on that at home after they played it hands separately.

SCALE OUT & IN: If your student needs visual help on this, scroll to last week's Parent Note where there is a video. 

BOUNCE & ROLL (pg 15): "Bounce and Roll" highlights legato (smooth) and staccato (choppy). This is the first week of this semester that we've used the songbook as a workbook. If you check your child's book, you'll see that they have a "legato line" underneath the phrases in the first two lines of the song. In class, we talked about dipping our ball into paint and having it roll across the page creating the legato line. Then on the bouncing part, we talked about what it would look like to dip the paint and bounce it on each note, and we ended up with "staccato dots" underneath the notes in the second two lines. They're so smart! Here's what it should look like.

FUN TO KNOW

LEGATO AND STACCATO: Your Purple Magic student will love these!

Purple Magic #1

NEED TO KNOW

Purple Magic #1: THANK YOU for such a great beginning of Purple Magic! It was so nice to have you and your students back in my home and classroom.

PLAYING AT HOME: The outline for playing at home will be similar to last year (plus less than a minute -not too long!- spent on flash cards or other note naming activities). It's worlds better to do a little bit each day rather than cramming it all into one. Here at the beginning, there will be things listed to refresh skills from last year, especially the scales, the primary chords, and note naming. Scroll down for a video of Scale Out & In to help jog the memory of fingerings. Next week, I'll have beads for the number of days that kids sit at the piano at home, and a special bead for anybody coming to class excited to learn! Your student will be able to add some pretty purple beads to their collection!

ADDITIONAL EMAIL ADDRESSES: You aren't the only one who loves your kid! If there are other people (dads, grandmas, aunts, anybody!) who would like to be getting the updates about class, please let me know! I can add email addresses or text numbers to the existing groups. Just send me a text or email with the info you want included!

KEYBOARD ALPHABET: We'll be using keyboard note names all the time! A quick daily review will refresh your students' memories. Get out your letter squares from 2nd year and play any of the multitude of alphabet games! Also, here is a simple and free app called "Bees Keys" to give another review method. The app is made for Apple devices. If you know of a keyboard-note-naming app for android please let me know!

CDs: I totally forgot to burn CDs before class! I'll get them next week to those who requested them in the Parent Orientation form.

TUITION: Thanks for paying tuition! If you haven't gotten it in, I'll send a reminder and/or venmo request. I have also sent receipts for paid tuition. If you need one and haven't gotten it, let me know and I'll figure it out.

GOOD TO KNOW

SCALE OUT & IN: This is a video of Scale Out & In, first with the fingerings in the air, and then on the keyboard. Your students will be back in the saddle in no time at all! On a computer you should see an embedded video here. If you're on a mobile device, here is a link! 

BOUNCE AND ROLL: Complete musicianship is more than knowing WHICH notes to play. We are now ready to add another dimension of HOW to play the notes. This song allows us to physically experience the feel of staccato and legato with the ball activity. We'll transfer that to the keyboard soon!

ONLINE CLASS SERIES: Let's Play Music has adapted their in-person curriculum to include an online option for families who don't live close to live teachers. One benefit we get from that is that every class has a professionally produced video that we can use as "makeup classes" when students miss class. Every class has a lot of overlap repetition to allow the concepts to solidify, so if your student misses a class here and there it will be fine. If they miss three classes in a row, it would be worth purchasing access to the class to make sure you're on track. I believe Third Year classes are $9 for access to a lesson for four weeks. But the first class in each semester is posted for free on YouTube! If you'd like to check out this week's class, click here! 

FUN TO KNOW

Here are some playing at-home tips from LPM's blog. Or check out the series of all the blogposts about at-home playing! And here is a great podcast talking about making practice successful.

PUPPET SHOWS: There are Puppet Show coloring books in the back of your songbooks. We won't be doing these in class, so your student can color them any time and any way! If you'd like more copies, here is the link for the Royal Problem coloring pages. Also here is the link for the mini puppets.

 

3rd Year Parent Orientation

 

Third Year Parent Orientation

NEED TO KNOW

The Parent Orientation information video is ready! Documents referenced are posted below. As I describe in the video, you need to fill out a form as you watch. You can do this digitally, or can choose to print (or answer on another paper), sign, and turn in hard copies.

I experimented with my phone, and I could have the video in the YouTube app open while I also had the Google form open to fill out. I hope it's easy!

For families with multiple students in different levels: There is information in each level's video specialized to that level's curriculum. I need a separate form for each level that your kids are in. However, the studio tour portion and the discussion of Studio Policies and Media Release are the same for each level so once you watch those once, you can skip the video of it in the others and just sign the forms. And if you have multiple kids in the same level, just put both their names on one form.

Link to Parent Orientation Video: Third Year Parent Orientation 2026-2027

Digital form to fill out as you watch (has all of the forms needed)

3rd Year Parent Orientation Google Form

Paper forms you'll need (if you prefer doing it with physical forms)

3rd Year Parent Orientation General Overview
Studio Policies
Media Release

As always, let me know if something seems off or if things doesn't work. I check everything, but that doesn't mean there aren't mistakes! And as always, let me know if you have any questions or clarifications!

GOOD TO KNOW

Let me know if you have any questions or concerns about anything! I'm excited to have you back in class!

FUN TO KNOW

Let's do this!

Summer Check-in

 

Parent Notes: Summer Check-in

Classes start in just a few weeks! Here are some class details if you're wanting to get excited about things!

Materials: Class materials, including books and flashcards, have been sent to me and I will have them ready for your student on the first day of class. Have your student bring their bag that first day to have a place to put everything.

Music access: The albums are available in the app when you register for classes.

*Here is a link to the app on GooglePlay. And a link to the app on the Apple App Store. 

*You can also download the tracks digitally at this link. 

*I will have CDs available for any families who want one.

Parent Orientation: There will be a parent orientation video that I will post before classes start. It will be chock full of important information, and there will be a worksheet to fill out as you watch it that will need to be turned in before you can take your student's materials home. My goal is to get that posted by August 18, the week before classes start. 

Class Starting: Classes start on August 25/26, and the first class is a Parent Day for all classes.

Class Lists: Current classes are listed below. Let me know if you were expecting to be in the other class or would like to switch. Things always balance out.

Tuesdays 2:00-3:00

Vera D

Rustin H

Rosa H

Peter K

Wednesdays 4:30-5:30 

Madeline B

George B

Allyson F

Judah R

Gavin S

Aiden V

Ella V

Anything else?: Let me know if you have any questions or concerns!