Orange Roots #9

NEED TO KNOW

Orange Roots #9: Thank you for coming to class and for making this journey fun and meaningful for your kids!

SPRING BREAK: No class next week due to Spring Break. Check the calendar in your student's workbook for details. See you on the 24th/25th!

LET'S PLAY MUSIC SPIRIT WEEK: Let's Play Music Spirit Week is all about sharing, and this year I have requested specifically that you share with adding a Google review to my business listing. THANK YOU to those already submitting Google reviews. I am so grateful, and so humbled by your kind words!

* Here is a link to the flyer I gave out in class in case it got misplaced.

* Here is a link to share a Google review.

* Here is a link to share FAQs of the program and my studio with your local friends. Your not-local friends probably have a Let's Play Music teacher by them, so share with them too! 

* Use the hashtag #WeLoveLPM2026 to see what other folks are sharing on social media. 

* The LPM corporate office is hosting giveaways all month long. Check out their IG (@letsplaymusic_official) or FB (Let's Play Music - Making Musicians) for details on how to enter.

REGISTRATION FOR FALL: My fall registration is open. If you have friends who are interested in starting 1st Year, you can send them the link from above for an overview of the program and answers to the most frequently asked questions. Also let me know and I'll invite them for a studio tour and sample class! If you have an upcoming Red Balloon, here is the link to sign up kids who will be 4 by September! As always, if you have any questions or concerns let me know.

PRIVATE COMPOSITION LESSONS: Lesson #11 will be our final private lesson to finish up compositions! Here is the signup for times for that week.

END OF YEAR RECITAL: The End-of-Year Recital will be on Saturday, April 25 at 5pm at the church at 5900 Castle Drive. Get it on your calendar now! If you can't make that time, it will be okay! The magic of LPM happens in class, and the Recital is just a bonus. If your 3rd Year student is going to be gone that night, let me know. I totally forgot to ask in class about having a second 3rd Year only night. If there are a bunch of folks who can't make the full Recital, we can schedule an extra.

TUITION: Thank you for getting tuition in! If you didn't get it in, I'll send a reminder/request.

GOOD TO KNOW

BAGATELLE BRIDGES: This repertoire piece packs it in! Besides the main melody, it also has an introduction, two bridges, a coda, and we transpose, playing in three different keys! It's a total show-off song! 

RUSSIAN SAILOR DANCE: If you or your student would like some help on getting going with this song, here is the skills video from the LPM online lessons that I shared last week walking you through it!

SKILLS VIDEOS: I am so impressed with your students' mojo! If you would like help on the things we did today, here are skills videos for the G major scale and the a minor cadence.

FUN TO KNOW

Our new Circus Puppet Show comes from Gustav Mahler's Symphony #1, 2nd movement. You can get the printable mini puppets at this link, or the coloring pages at this one.

Check out this youth orchestra performing this piece. These performers are not much older than your students!

Orange Roots #8

NEED TO KNOW

Orange Roots #8: Your Orange Roots are amazing. I love hearing them analyze chords and sharing their original compositions. I have always been impressed with LPM's method of education, and I am reminded how amazing it is each year when I see kids approaching the end of the program! As always, keep in mind that 3rd year goes fast! Your students aren't expected to master these concepts. The idea is that they get exposed, and the understanding will solidify as they keep working with music in the future.

SPIRIT WEEK: Next week is Spirit Week! I love Let's Play Music, and I truly believe it is the best music education introduction for your children! We'll have an extra fun class for Spirit Week! There is also an online contest from the corporate office. Find details on Instagram (@letsplaymusic_official) or Facebook (Let's Play Music - Making Musicians).

WHAT TO DO NEXT YEAR: Your students are almost done with the Let's Play Music curriculum. And they are rocking it! I have posted different options for what to do after LPM in this post. If you are planning on retaking 3rd Year with me, please let me know asap so I can plan enough classes. Let me know also if you're interested in taking Bridge with me on Wednesday morning when West Ada has late start school. I am planning a Wednesday 8-9am class and just need to know who is hoping to join it. 

LPM FOR 2026-2027: Registration is open for Let's Play Music classes. If you have a student who will be 4 or 5 (or 6) in September, they can register for 1st Year classes. Info is at this link. If you have friends with littles who are interested in joining, send them my contact or send me their contact or send them a link to the About Let's Play Music page on my website.

PARENT WEEK: Spirit Week always falls on a Parent Week, and the third installment of tuition is due. I'll send an invoice later this week, and I'll see you and your student in class!

GOOD TO KNOW

A MINOR SCALE: We started the last key signature the the kids will learn in LPM. It's an easy one with no sharps or flats! With no sharps or flats, your students will probably find this easy but if you'd like a visual, here is a Skills Video. 

A MINOR CADENCES AND G MAJOR CADENCES: These two keys have a lot in common! The black-note pattern of the cadence chords are identical. In both keys, the red and blue chords use three white keys, while the yellow chord has a black key on the very bottom, the "TI." It makes it easier to practice these together, because they are so similar!

RUSSIAN SAILOR DANCE: Our next repertoire piece reinforces ABA form, stacatto and legato, and uses the a minor cadence chords. And it's so fun! We went over it in class, but it might help to watch the Skills Video, which gives a great overview of how to play this.

FUN TO KNOW

Our Monsters Puppet Show is actually Dance of the Knights from the ballet Romeo and Juliet written by Sergei Prokofiev. A Russian composer, Prokofiev was actually born in an area that would become Ukraine. One of my favorite Prokofiev compositions is Peter and the Wolf, a symphonic fairy tale for children. It uses a narrator to tell the story, while the orchestra illustrates it musically. There are lots of audio versions of this. Look up "Peter and the Wolf"on YouTube or Spotify and choose whichever narrator you'd like to hear! There's Boris Karloff, Sophia Loren, Captain Kangaroo, Patrick Stewart, even Sting! For a video option, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has a marvelous production where the director also narrates and you can see the instruments up close. David Bowie narrates the classic 1978 Disney cartoon, and one we watched when my own kids were little is an Elmo's Musical Adventure production from Sesame Street. Whatever you choose, you'll get a delightful slice of entertainment for all ages!

(a bust of Prokofiev in the Ukraine's Donetsk State Music Academy)