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.
