Orange Roots #2

NEED TO KNOW

Orange Roots #2: Your students are amazing! They are understanding complex musical ideas, and are using correct musical language to describe them! I love it!

NOTE-NAMING: Flashcards and/or note naming apps are still in your students' weekly homework outline, when it asks for "Purple Flashcards." Do what works for your kid. Some students do well with flashcards, some get frustrated by them and do better with the keyboard games and apps. The "Don't Swipe My Sharp" game from Celebration Day last month is a great option. If you haven't gotten an app and want to try them, here is a link to the post where I outlined the top note-naming apps I've found. If you have another app you love, let me know! There is a spot in the homework section that asks you to time your student. If your kid reacts well to timing, then go for it. If timing adds a level of stress and doesn't accurately show his performance, then don't. What matters to me is that the spend time on it, whether with cards and keyboard games or with an app. You can write in there that they do it in game form if that is less stress for your student.

SONGBOOK AS WORKBOOK: We added another layer in Cockles and Mussels. The left hand is mostly all root position chords, so we wrote the name of the root of each chord. The student just needs to put the left hand pinky on the root and play a snowman-shaped chord! This week, the practice outline says to practice RH and LH separately, then combine them when they're both solid. If practicing both hands is too much for your student, focus on the left hand for this song. They can learn all the concepts by playing the left hand and singing the melody.

NEXT YEAR: This is the last semester of the Let's Play Music curriculum. If you didn't check it out last week, here is an outline of what you could do next. One of the options is the Bridge program (more details in the link), which was created by an LPM teacher and sponsored by the LPM company. I have taught the program and love what it covers. It really is the best next step for LPM grads. I am considering teaching Bridge in the fall on Wednesday mornings. I know that Wednesdays are late start in West Ada district. Keep in mind that there are never Parent Days in Bridge, so you don't have plan for babysitters! Let me know and I'll see if there are enough students to make it work. There is a Bridge teacher who lives by Capital High and another at Eagle and Floating Feather who both have after-school class times.

NEXT YEAR AGAIN: On the list of options for next year is retaking 3rd year. It's a great experience! We cover so much stuff in 3rd year that a redo can be really helpful, especially if your student resists playing hands together! If you want to retake 3rd year, let me know so I can include your student in my schedule plans for the fall. 

AND SPEAKING OF NEXT YEAR: Do you have any future Let's Play Music students? Or have friends with littles who want their kids to be just like yours? Let me know so I can add them to my waiting list! Kids who will be 4 can start Red Balloons in the fall! Early registration opens in March! 

GOOD TO KNOW

C MAJOR SCALE FINGERING: If you need a visual of the C major scale with both hands, here's a link to a skills video.

ECHO EDISON: The newest member of our Echo family has arrived! He is Echo Ed and Echo Edna's grandfather, Echo Edison! He likes to ask musical questions and have the kids give him musical answers. He will help us create our compositions this semester.

FUN TO KNOW

We call the newest puppet show "Monsters," but the real name is Dance of the Knights from the ballet 'Romeo and Juliet' compost by Sergei Prokofiev (the same guy who wrote Peter and the Wolf). It comes from the section of the story where the Montagues and the Capulets are showing off to each other how tough they are. The themes are layered on top of each other, and it's fun to identify the individual layers of sound. I love this fun post on our Let's Play Music blog imagining all of the characters from the Monsters Puppet Show as friends in their LPM (Lamba Pi Mu😉) fraternity at Monsters U. So much fun!