BLT Elementary School Wed. June 25 2.00-3.00pm

Thanks to all the parents and students for making our final-class recital a success.
I hope to see you next year Connor, Cameron, Haylea, Billy, Jacob and Abbey.

Have a great summer!

Westmount Elementary School Tues June 20 12.15-1.15pm

We had a great recital today!
Thanks to all the parents for coming out to show their love and support.
We enjoyed performing for you.

Please remember to register for the next level of your MusIQ Club program next school year.
It's been a pleasure teaching this class and I hope to see them all again.

Have a safe and happy summer Brett, Ivan, Dylan, Stephen, Justin and William.

BLT Elementary School Thurs. June 19 2.30-3.30pm

Congratulations to all the students on a very successful final class recital!
I am very proud of you and hope that you will all continue in your musical studies.
Thanks especially to the parents for all their support and encouragement this term with home practice and continuing lessons.
It's been a pleasure teaching this class.

Have a great summer.
Don't forget to register for the next level of your MusIQ Club program, come Fall term '08.

Kingswood School Thurs. June 19 11.40-12.40pm

Nice playing today Josh.
We went over every song you learned this term: Ode to Joy (2 hands), Ten Little Indians, The Baseball Game and The Blue Danube Waltz. We also played Let it be, performance style.
We talked about what aspects of the songs could be better. Timing, hand position changes, specific notes to watch for... and practiced those parts in isolation.
We then reviewed triads, and practiced playing them and writing them on the board.
You can try this at home. Choose a key and then play a triad on each scale degree, making sure to keep the same key signature as you go (sharps/flats).

At the end of class I gave you your composition assignment, report card and certificate for the term. Excellent work. Enjoy your summer, and I hope to see you again next year in MusIQ Club.

BLT Elementary School Wed. June 18 2.00-3.00pm

Today we did a complete run-through of what we will be doing at the final class recital next week. Our group piece is sounding much better. We worked individually and together, going through the piece one section at a time. To practice it some more at home, here are the finger numbers (Right Hand thumb on C):

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

Then I asked if anyone would like to play a solo for the recital and we had three volunteers: Cameron - Row Row Row, Jacob - Catch me if you can, and Billy - Old Grey Goose.

We did a little bit of work in CMJ: Connor, Cameron, Haylea and Jacob finished most of lesson 40. Billy completed lesson 28. And Abbey completed lesson 10.

We then played games and reviewed some of the things that we'd like to show at the recital.

Well done today. See you all next week.

Westmount Elementary School Tues June 17 12.15-1.15pm

Nice playing today Aoiffe, Sophia, Iris, Sean and Ryan.

We had a good recital with your parents - you did very well playing the group piece without the help of the grade 2's. Thanks to all the friends and family who came out to show their love and support for these young music students. It was fun showing you some of the things we've learned to do.

Please remember to register for the next level of your MusIQ Club program, come Fall term '08.
Have a great summer.

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. June 16 2.15-3.15pm

It was great meeting all the parents and friends of our class today.
We had a good recital, although the heat in the room became a little overwhelming.
At least, the students had lots of love and support for all their good work this term. It's been a pleasure to be their music teacher and see them progress from week to week.

Don't forget to register for the next level of your MusIQ Club program, come Fall term '08.
Have a good summer.

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. June 13 2.45-3.45pm

Congratulations to all the students on a very successful final class recital!
I am very proud of you and hope that you will all continue in your musial studies.
Thanks especially to the parents for all their support and encouragement this term with home practice and continuing lessons.
It's been a pleasure teaching this class.

Have a great summer.
Don't forget to register for the next level of your MusIQ Club program, come Fall term '08.

Westmount Elementary School Fri, June 13 12.15-1.15pm

Nice to see you again Westmount.
We had a productive class today, although it was a bit noisy at times.
In order for us to effectively get things done, it's important to listen during instruction time.
We began by working on our group piece 'Ode to Joy'. Then we split up and worked on our individual pieces; Ivan practiced Old Grey Goose, Twinkle, Pop goes the weasel and On top of Old Smokey. William and Brett practiced Let it Be, Happy Birthday and Clementine. Stephen, Justin and Dylan practiced Ten little Indians, The baseball game and the Blue Danube.
We then played some ear training games and went over our program for the recital next week.

We're looking forward to showing you some of the things we've learned this year in MusIQ Club.
It should be a fun concert. Hope to see you there!

BLT Elementary School Thurs. June 12 2.30-3.30pm

Nice to see you again BLT.
We had a productive class today.

We reviewed our note naming, note values, intervals and scales.
Then we practiced our group piece Ode to Joy.
Dylan and Taylor practiced Old Grey Goose, Twinkle, Pop goes the weasel and On top of Old Smokey. Jazlyn, Rama, Krista and Savannah practiced Let it Be, Happy Birthday and Clementine. Rachelle, Grace and Kara practiced Ten little Indians, The baseball game and the Blue Danube.

Then we played some ear training games and spent some time going over our program for the recital next week. We're looking forward to showing you some of the things we've learned to do this year in MusIQ Club. It should be a great concert. Hope to see you there!

Kingswood School Thurs. June 12 11.40-12.40pm

We had a good class today.

For Ben and Aidan this was their last MusIQ Club class of the year.
We reviewed our Group Piece: Ode to Joy, and practiced our Solos: Ten Little Indians, The Baseball Game and The Blue Danube. We also spent some time singing along to the theme song 'Superman', which was a lot of fun.
We played Interval Faceoff and worked on our 4-beat rhythm clapbacks.
Then we reviewed Triads: a group of 3 notes. The bottom note is called the 'root', the middle note is the '3rd' and the top note is called the 'fifth'. You can build a triad on any degree of the scale. This is the basic concept behind Chord Theory. Soon you will be able to play songs by reading chords, and maybe even write your own songs using chords.

Next week Josh and I will have one last music lesson and I will distribute your certificates and report cards. Please remember to pick these up from the office after your field trip, Ben and Aidan. It's been a pleasure working with you and I hope to see you again next year.

BLT Elementary School Wed. June 11 2.00-3.00pm

Well done everyone - we had a good class today.
I was glad to see that our group piece Ode to Joy is sounding much better since I last heard it before my trip. This week, everyone should try to learn the third part of Ode to Joy. We worked on this in class, but it could still use some more practice at home.

Here are the finger numbers for Ode to Joy, in case you don't have a copy of the sheet music I handed out. Begin with your Right Hand thumb on C:
3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--


Level 2A (Connor, Cameron, Haylea and Jacob) completed lesson and practice 39.
Level 1B (Billy) completed lesson and practice 24.
Level 1A (Abbey) completed lesson and practice 9.

At the end of class we talked about what we learned in our lessons, drawing examples on the white board. We also played the 4-beat rhythm game with the hand drum. Then we played the musical alphabet hot potato game with Monkey. You know your musical alphabet very well going forwards now, but going backwards still needs practice (G-F-E-D-C-B-A).

See you all next week.

Westmount Elementary School Tues June 10 12.15-1.15pm

Great work today - it was nice to see you again!

This week, I would like everyone to practice Ode to Joy at home for our recital next week.

Beginning with your Right Hand thumb on C, the finger numbers are:
3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--


Level 2A (Morgan, Josie, Aoiffe and Sophia) completed lesson and practice 40.
Level 1B (Sean, Ryan and Iris) completed lesson and practice 25.

At the end of class we talked about what we learned in our lessons, drawing examples on the white board. We also played the 4-beat rhythm game with the hand drum.
Next week is our final class recital. We are going to play our group song for your Moms and Dads and show them how well we can play the piano now.
It should be very fun. Hope to see all of you there!

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. June 9 2.15-3.15pm

Great to see you again!
We had a good class today, aside from a little bit of confusion at the start due to my lab kits being set up just a few minutes later than usual. I was glad to see that Melissa has been helping everyone with the group piece 'Ode to Joy' for the past 2 weeks.
It's sounding better and better.

This week, I would like everyone to practice Ode to Joy at home for our recital next week.

Beginning with your Right Hand thumb on C, the finger numbers are:
3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--


Level 2A (Jansyn, Reece, Brianna, Aly, Noah and Jared) completed lesson and practice 34.
Level 1B (Jacqueline, Jessica, Emma and Lauren) completed lesson and practice 21.
Level 1A (Benjamin) completed lesson and practice 10.

At the end of class we talked about what we learned in our lessons, drawing examples on the white board. We also played the 4-beat rhythm game with the hand drum.
Next week is our final class recital. We are going to play our group song for your Moms and Dads and show them all the interesting new things we've learned about music this year.
It should be very fun. Hope to see all of you there!

Westmount Elementary School Tues. June 3 12.15-1.15pm

From Aleysha Mullen:

The Westmount class went very well, really cute kids. Hannah was absent today.
Everybody remembered middle C position and the notes on the grand staff no problems. After brief technical difficulties, everybody got into their lesson and nobody had any problems. The level ones all insisted that they were on lesson 25 so thats what they did, they didn't have any problems with it. They all played a few games and composed a song before we started the group piece. We got through the first 4 lines of Ode to Joy all together. We played it very slowly but it was still together. Then there were 5 minutes left and they wanted to play the musical hot potato game singing the letters of the notes so we played that. They were all very good for me and they are excited to hear about your trip when you get back!

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. June 2 2.15-3.15pm

From Melissa Mackie:

Monday's class at Flemming Tower was great. We played a timing game at the begining of class and then the students went through their lessons, practice, and games. I went around to each keyboard and went through Ode to Joy with them, making sure the students really understood the concept of finger numbers and that they were getting through the first two lines. The last 10 min was spent going through Ode to Joy. Some of the students were having a bit of difficulty keeping their fingers in the proper positions so we worked on this as a class.

In Attendance:

Benjamin - Completed CMJ 1A level 9
Ryan was absent
Emma - Completed CMJ 1B level 20
Lauren - Completed CMJ 1B level 20
Jessica - Completed CMJ 1B level 20
Jacqueline - Completed CMJ level 20
Noah was absent
Jared - Competed CMJ 2B level 33
Reece - Completed CMJ 2B level 33
Brianna - Completed CMJ 2B level 33
Christopher was absent
Jansyn - Completed CMJ 2B level 33

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday May 30 12.15-1.15pm

From Emily Nguyen:

The lesson went well today. We picked out 2 recital songs and the level 3's worked on Ode to Joy together with the group performance tool, although they still need practice playing together. We learned how to play an e minor scale and next week will begin learning about triads (three note chords). Some of the students worked on Day dream believer and Will played farewell to Nova Scotia. This is a great group of students!

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. May 30 2.45-3.45pm

From Melissa Mackie:

Fridays class went well though everyone was very anxious to get outside (it was a nice day and the school was preparing for the Spring Fair which was happening Saturday). First we reviewed the scales and then we went over triads (everyone had a very good understanding). Everyone had a chance to draw a triad on the board and play one for me on their keyboard. Everyone then worked on their songs and then played games. The last 10 min was spent on Ode to Joy.

In attendance:

Miguel and Erika
Victoria and Hannah
Jeremey and Gabriel
Rose and Chloe
Antony

Kingswood School Thurs. May 29 11.40-12.40pm

From Aleysha Mullen:

Class went very very well today!
Everyone was in attendance and you all listened very well. You were really enthusiastic about playing your pieces. I showed you the video that goes with Ten Little Indians and you got pretty excited about that. You also LOVE to sing! So far I haven't taught a class where the students sing out loud together. Aidan and Josh had a little extra time before I introduced triads so they were browsing the library and found superman. I was helping out Ben with Ode to Joy and they started singing together, then of course Ben wanted to sing too so I let them all sing it once together. You had no problem at all with the Triads. You were all able to write a triad on the board and play them on your keyboards as well. You did ok with the group piece and we got all the way through it, however we did not get to try it with the accompaniment yet.

BLT Elementary School Wed. May 28 12.15-1.15pm

From Melissa Mackie:

Today's class went well.

We started out with a review, then went through the lessons, practice, and games on the computer. Only a few groups had time to record in the improv room before we began working on Ode to Joy.. they were very eager to practice this. We reviewed the first line and began working on the second line. Students picked it up very quickly. We then played the first three lines together as a group and continued to practice it. For the last five minutes of the class we played the monkey game that they love!

Everyone was in attendance
Abbey - finished CMJ 1A Level 6
Kyheem - finished CMJ 1A Level 6
Billy - finished CMJ 1B Level 22
Connor - finished CMJ 2A Level 36
Cameron - finished CMJ 2A Level 36
Jacob - finished CMJ 2A Level 36
Haylea - finished CMJ 2A Level 36

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. May 26 2.15-3.15pm

From Melissa Mackie:

The lesson went very well today. This class is so well behaved!

We started out with a review and then each child did their lesson followed by practice and games. During the last 20 min we talked about the concert, I played Ode to Joy for them, and we began working on the first line. Benjamine, you picked up on finger numbering very quickly!

Attendance was as follows:
-Benjamin (completed CMJ 1A level 7 and 8)
-Emma (completed CMJ 1B level 19)
-Jaqueline (completed CMJ 1B level 19)
-Lauren (completed CMJ 1B level 19)
-Jessica (completed CMJ 1B level 19)
-Jacqueline (completed CMJ 1B level 19)
-Noah (completed CMJ 2B level 32)
-Jared (completed CMJ 2B level 32)
-Reece (completed CMJ 2B level 32)
-Brianna (completed CMJ 2B level 32)
-Jansyn (completed CMJ 2B level 32)

ABSENT - Ryan & Christopher

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. May 23 2.45-3.45pm

Great class today! We missed you Erika - get well soon.

To warm up, we practiced our scales. Miguel played the C major scales hands separately. Jeremey, Rose, Chloe, Victoria, Hannah and Anthony practiced C chromatic scales and the C, F and G pentatonic scales, as well as the A minor scale. Good work.

Next, we practiced our songs. Miguel worked on Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle, Pop Goes the Weasel and On Top of Old Smokey. The rest of you are playing Ode to Joy, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians and the new song Strauss - Blue Danube Waltz. We are working on playing in time and holding all our notes for the correct values. Watch out for hand position changes!

Finally, we played a game of 'Interval Face Off' and practiced our group song, Ode to Joy, for the recital that's coming up. Parents will be receiving an invitation to our final-class recital this week.

For the next 2 classes you will have a substitute teacher, Melissa. She will continue helping you with the songs and musical skills we have been working on, as well as some new things.
Have fun everyone :)

BLT Elementary School Thurs. May 22 2.30-3.30pm

I was impressed your work today, we had a good class.

To warm up, we all practiced our scales. Level 1 (Taylor, Tyrique and Dylan) played C major scales, hands separately. Level 2 (Veronica, Rama, Jazlyn, Krista and Savanna) practiced C scales in contrary motion (hands together) and F major and G major scales. Remember F major has one flat, so you will play the 4th note, 'B', one semi-tone lower. G major has one sharp so you will play the 7th note, 'F', one semi-tone higher. You will review this again next class. Level 3 (Grace and Rachelle) practiced C chromatic scales and the C, F and G pentatonic scales, as well as the A minor scale.
Wow, that's quite a few scales - nicely done!

Next, we practiced our songs. Level 1 - Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle, Pop Goes the Weasel and On Top of Old Smokey. Level 2 - Let it Be, Happy Birthday and Clementine. Level 3 - Ode to Joy, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians and the new song Strauss - Blue Danube Waltz. I circulated to hear how each of you were doing and for the most part you're sounding great.

Finally, we worked on some theory exercises together with paper and pencil. We practiced our group song, Ode to Joy, for the recital that's coming up. Parents will be receiving an invitation to our final-class recital this week.

For the next 2 classes you will have a substitute teacher. She will continue helping you with the songs and musical skills we have been working on, as well as some new things. Work hard and have fun - I want to see all of you complete your level of the MusIQ Club program this term! It's been great getting to know you.

Kingswood School Thurs. May 22 11.40-12.40pm

Excellent work today.
We warmed up with our A minor scales, as well as C, F and G major scales. We reviewed chromatic scales, and scales in contrary motion. (That's a lot of scales!)
Then we went to practice our songs: The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians, Ode to Joy and the Strauss - Blue Danube Waltz. Josh also perfected 'Let it Be' from level 2 using the metronome to play in time. We then worked on the group song that are planning to present for the Last-Class Recital, on June 12th. We learned how to play Ode to Joy all together, through one pair of speakers.
Finally, we watched a short video in the Theory Thinker on the topic of Relative Minor Keys.

For the next 2 weeks you will have a substitute teacher. Work hard and be nice to her :)

Looking forward to putting on a great recital for your moms and dads!
Hope to see you all there.

BLT Elementary School Wed. May 21 2.00-3.00pm

Hi there. We had another great class today.

Level 1A (Kyheem and Abbey) completed lesson 4 and 5 with Mr. Beethoven. We practiced 4-beat rhythms and we are now working with note shapes. Notes above the line are high notes with your right hand, notes below the line are low notes with your left hand. Notes on the line are played as Middle C with either hand. Make sure to keep a steady beat and curved fingers.

Level 1B (Billy) completed lesson 20 with Ms. Mendelssohn and lesson 21 with Mr. Villa Lobos. Remember what country Mr. Villa Lobos is from? (Brazil, which is in South America). What instruments does he play? (Guitar and piano). You are learning how to keep both hands in the middle C position, reading notes that move by step and by skip. Notice when the note is on a line, or in a space. Soon you will be reading music on the Grand Staff!

Level 2A (Connor, Cameron, Haylea and Jacob) completed lesson 35 with Mr. Mozart. Next week you will have a new teacher. You are learning about the treble clef AND the bass clef. Remember what notes your right hand plays in Middle C position - C, D, E, F and G (going up). And for your left hand - C, B, A, G and F (going down).

At the end of class we practiced a Group Song that we will perform at the End-of-the-year Recital for the parents. We are going to play Ode To Joy.

With your right hand thumb on Middle C, the finger numbers for this song are:

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--


We just tried the first 3 lines of Ode To Joy today.
For practice, try playing this song on your piano at home. Next week your substitute teacher will continue working on this with you. I will be away for the next 2 weeks to take a music course of my own. I'll look forward to seeing you again on June 10th.
Have fun :)

Westmount Elementary School Tues May 20 12.15-1.15pm

Hello again. We had another good class today.

Level 1 (Hannah, Sean, Ryan and Iris) completed lesson 23 and part of lesson 24 with Mr. Villa Lobos. You worked on keeping both hands in the middle C position, reading notes that move by step and by skip. Also notice when the note is on a line, or in a space. Soon you will be reading music on the Grand Staff.

Level 2 (Aoiffe, Josie, Morgan and Sophia) completed lesson 35 with Mr. Mozart. Next week you will have a new teacher. You are learning about the treble clef AND the bass clef. Remember what notes your right hand plays in Middle C position - C, D, E, F and G (going up). And for your left hand - C, B, A, G and F (going down).

At the end of class we practiced a Group Song that we will perform at the End-of-the-year Recital for the parents. The song is Ode To Joy.
With your right hand thumb on Middle C, the finger numbers for this song look like this:

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 2, 2--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--

2, 2, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 1,
2, 4, 3, 2,
1, 2, 5--

3, 3, 4, 5,
5, 4, 3, 2,
1, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 1--


Today we just practiced the first part of Ode To Joy. For practice this week, try playing this song on your piano at home! Great work everyone.
Next week class will be canceled due to a schedule conflict with the school. The week after that you will have a substitute teacher. I will see you again for our final class and recital on June 9th.
See you then!

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. May 16 2.45-3.45pm

Good work today.

The level 3 students all completed their composition assignments (homework for last week) and practiced their songs, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians, Ode to Joy and The Blue Danube Waltz. We also reviewed Relative Minor Scales this week. For every major scale there is a relative minor scale. For example, C major has no sharps or flats. To find the relative minor key, simply begin the scale on the VI degree, in this case, the note A. A minor will also have no sharps and flats, and will use the same fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 as the C major scale.

Level 1 practiced their C major scales and their songs, Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle and Pop Goes the Weasel. We also tried a new song 'On Top of Old Smokey' and played some Grand Staff note placement game.

At the end of class we all listened to the final drafts of everyone's pentatonic melody compositions.
Sounding beautiful!

Have a good week everyone.

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday May 16 12.15-1.15pm

We had a good class today.

LEVEL 1 (Ivan):

• Warmed up with C major scales.
• Reviewed naming notes on the grand staff, time signatures and note values.
• Practiced Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Pop Goes the Weasel.
• Played a game of Tone/Semitone 'Go Fish'.
• Grand Staff Match up Worksheet, to complete at home.

LEVEL 2 (Brett and William):

• Warmed up with C scale in contrary motion. Learned a new scale, G major, that has 1 sharp. A sharp is a symbol in music that makes a note one semitone higher. In G major, the seventh note of the scale is sharpend, meaning F is played one semitone higher (the black key above). We also discussed flats. The opposite of a sharp, a flat makes a note one semitone lower.
• Practiced Let it Be, Happy Birthday, and Clementine.
• Played a game of Tone/Semitone 'Go Fish'.
• Grand Staff Note Placement exercises, and a worksheet on flats to complete at home.

LEVEL 3 (Dylan, Stephen and Justin):

• Warmed up with C chromatic scales. Learned a new scale - A minor. For every major scale there is a relative minor scale. For example, C major has no sharps or flats. To find the relative minor key, simply begin the scale on the VI degree, in this case, the note A. A minor will also have no sharps and flats, and will use the same fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 as the C major scale.
• Practiced The Baseball Game, Ode to Joy and Ten Little Indians, as well as a little bit of The blue danube waltz.
• Played a game of Tone/Semitone 'Go Fish'.
• Ear Training Exercises - rhythm and melody playbacks, as well as a COMPOSITION ASSIGNMENT, due next week.

Please do complete your homework for next week's class. Just try your best. Even if your work is not 100% perfect, it is much better than nothing, and I can help you to correct mistakes.
Thanks for all your hard work. The song are sounding better and better.
Have a good week!

BLT Elementary School Thurs. May 15 2.30-3.30pm

We welcomed Tyrique Bowden to our class today. Hope you will like the MusIQ Club lessons!

LEVEL 1 (Tyrique and Dylan): Worked on their songs Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Pop Goes the Weasel for Dylan. Remember where Middle C is in the treble clef. We're still working on note recognition and understanding the different parts of the grand staff. We reviewed half notes, quarter and whole notes as well as time signatures. Good work.

LEVEL 2 (Jazlyn, Savanna, Rama, and Krista): Learned a new scale that has one sharp, G major. The seventh note of the scale is sharpened, which means you have to play it one semitone higher. What is the seventh note in a G major scale? Remember to use the correct fingering when practicing this at home. We reviewed our songs, Let it Be, Happy Birthday and Clementine. We also played some games and improvised for the last few minutes of class.

LEVEL 3 (Grace, Kara and Rachelle): Learned a new scale - A minor. For every major scale there is a relative minor scale. For example, C major has no sharps or flats. To find the relative minor key, simply begin the scale on the VI degree, in this case, the note A. A minor will also have no sharps and flats, and will use the same fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 as the C major scale. We then practiced our songs, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians and Ode to Joy. You're all sounding great!

Today we decided on a few students to learn and memorize their songs for the upcoming End-of-the-year Recital. Parents will be invited to come in and hear what we've been working on for the past few weeks on the last day of class. Remember what songs you were assigned and let's put on a great concert everyone.

See you next week :)

Kingswood School Thurs. May 15 11.40-12.40pm

Nice work today. We completed our composition assignments (homework for last week) and practiced our songs, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians, Ode to Joy and The Blue Danube Waltz. There was a bit too much noise from the three of you, Aidan, Ben and Josh. I hope that next week will be better for listening and working quietly... We also started learning about Relative Minor Scales this week. For every major scale there is a relative minor scale. For example, C major has no sharps or flats. To find the relative minor key, simply begin the scale on the VI degree, in this case, the note A. A minor will also have no sharps and flats, and will use the same fingering 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5 as the C major scale.

We played some ear training games and improvised a bit at the end of class.
See you next week!

BLT Elementary School Wed. May 14 2.00-3.00pm

We had a fun class today.

Here's what we covered:

LEVEL 1A (Kyheem and Abbey):

• Completed Lesson 3 and a little bit of Lesson 4 with Mr. Beethoven.
• Learned about rhythms and where to find Middle C on the staff.
  
• Taped over your keyboard letters, so that now you have to remember Middle C is in front of the group of 2 black keys.
• Practiced songs with high, low and middle C notes. Keep a steady beat and curved finger hand position.
• Learned a new game, Bongo Boy, and improvised/recorded some tunes.

LEVEL 1B (Billy):

• Completed Lesson 19 and a little bit of lesson 20 with Miss Mendelssohn.
• Practiced stepping and skipping in Middle C position with both hands together.
• Played songs, including Love Somebody and Sound Familiar.
• Taped over your keyboard letters, so that now you have to remember where Middle C is and count up or down to find all the other letters of the musical alphabet.s.
• Played games and improvised/recorded some tunes.

LEVEL 2 (Haylea, Connor, Cameron and Jacob):

• Completed Lesson 33 and a little bit of Lesson 34 with Mr. Mozart.
• Practiced reading music in the Grand Staff. We discussed where middle C is found on the staff, and how to read by step and skip based on middle C position, using line notes and space notes.
• Practiced some easy songs with the right hand, playing the Treble Clef (upper staff), such as 'Alouette' and 'Hot Crossed Buns'.
  
• Reviewed half notes, quarter notes and whole notes and played the game Metronome Soup.
  
• Improvised in the improvisation room.

We played a drum game, Musical Alphabet Hot Potato and played some songs for each other at the end of class.

We will have a recital in about one month's time where parents can come and check out what we've been learning and how far we've come over the past few terms. If you have the CMJ software at home, review your lesson and choose a song you would like to perform. If not, that is ok and we will choose a song in class next week to memorize and play at the recital. See you then!

Westmount Elementary School Tues May 13 12.15-1.15pm

Great work today. It was nice to have Hannah back with us in MusIQ Club.

LEVEL 1 (Sean, Ryan, Iris and Hannah):

• Completed lesson 22 with Mr. Villa-Lobos.
• Discussed Mr. Villa-Lobos' life. Can you remember where he is from? (Brazil.) What instruments did he play? (the piano, and guitar.) Anything else? (composed music for South America, speaks Portuguese, etc.)
• Practiced songs with both hands in middle C position. Make sure to count the correct number of beats for your long notes and keep a good hand position!
• Practiced 4-beat rhythms and learned the game Falling Leaves.
• Improvised in the improvisation room.

LEVEL 2 (Aoiffe, Josie, Morgan, Lidya and Sophie):

• Completed lesson 34 with Mr. Mozart.
• You are learning how to read music on the Grand Staff. We discussed where middle C is found on the staff, and how to read by step and skip based on the middle C position, using line notes and space notes.
• Practiced some easy songs with the right hand, playing the Treble Clef (upper staff).
  
• Practiced drawing half notes, quarter notes and whole notes.
• Improvised in the improvisation room.

Finally, we played a drum game where everyone made up 4-beat rhythms for their friends in the class. Please choose a song to memorize and practice at home. We will have a recital in about one month's time where parents can come and check out what we've been learning and how far we've come over the past few terms. If you have the CMJ software at home, review your lesson and choose a song you would like to perform. If not, that is ok and we will choose a song in class next week to memorize and play at the recital.

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. May 12 2.15-3.15pm

Well done everyone. It was nice to have Brianna back with us today, although Aly was sick - get well soon!

LEVEL 1 (Benjamine and Ryan):

• Completed lesson 6 and part of lesson 7 with Mr. Bach.
• Discussed Mr. Bach's life. Can you remember what country he is from? (Germany.) What instruments did he play? (the piano, violin and organ.) Anything else? (22 children, wears a funny wig, composed music for the church.)
• Practiced songs with holding notes. Make sure to count the correct number of beats for the holding notes, and keep a good hand position!
• Practiced 4-beat rhythms and learned a new game - Hold the Train.
• Improvised in the improvisation room.

LEVEL 2 (Lauren, Jessica, Jacqueline and Emma):

• Completed lesson 18 with Miss Mendelssohn.
• Discussed stepping and skipping in Middle C position. That means both thumbs share middle C with all the other fingers aligned on the neighbor keys.
• Practiced our stepping and skipping songs. Make sure to keep a steay beat and your fingers curved and wrists up!
• Practiced 4-beat rhythms and played some ear training games.
• Improvised and recorded some tunes.

LEVEL 3 (Noah, Jared, Reece, Brianna and Jansyn):

• Completed lesson 31 with Mr. Mozart.
• You are now learning how to read music on the Staff. You learned where middle C is found on the staff, and how to read by step and skip based on the middle C position, using line notes and space notes.
• Practiced some easy songs with the right hand. Try to remember where the notes on your keyboard fall on the Treble Clef staff.
  
• Practiced drawing half notes, quarter notes and whole notes.
• Improvised in the improvisation room.

Finally, we played a drum game where everyone made up 4-beat rhythms for their friends in the class. Please choose a song to memorize and practice at home. We will have a recital in about one month's time where parents can come and check out what we've been learning and how far we've come over the past few terms. If you have the CMJ software at home, review your lesson and choose a song you would like to perform. If not, that is ok and we will choose a song in class next week to memorize and play at the recital.

Have a good week!

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. May 9 2.45-3.45pm

We had a very good class today. The level 1 students, Miguel and Erika, were especially sounding well today. Chloe completed her composition assignment. I'm looking forward to next week where I am sure I'll be hearing compositions by the rest of you, Gabriel, Victoria, Anthony, Hannah, Rpse and Jeremey. To print off a new copy click HERE.

LEVEL 1 (Miguel and Erika):

• Warmed up with C major scales for the right hand and left hand.
• Practiced songs, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Old Grey Goose and learned a new song, Pop goes the Weasel. Talked about playing loud and soft, legato (smooth) and staccato (detached).
  
• Watched a video on time signatures, note values and ties.
• Played games and improvised using the C major scale.

LEVEL 3 (Everyone else):

• Warmed up with C chromatic scales, C, F and G Pentatonic scales, and learned how to play the A minor scale (Same fingering as C major).
• Played songs The Baseball Game, Ode to Joy and Ten Little Indians. Started learning a new song, The Blue Danube Waltz.
  
• Discussed scale degrees and practiced naming intervals.
• Played games and improvised using the C pentatonic scale.
  

Excellent work. Have a good week everyone.

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday May 9 12.15-1.15pm

Great work today guys. It was nice to welcome our guest, Micheal to the class today.

LEVEL 1 (Ivan and Micheal):

• Warmed up with C major scales for the right hand and left hand.
• Micheal learned how to play the song Old Grey Goose. 100% on his first try! Excellent sight reading.
• Practiced songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Pop goes the Weasel.
• Completed the worksheet on naming notes.
• Played games and improvised using the C major scale.

LEVEL 2 (William and Brett):

• Warmed up with C major scales in contrary motion.
  
• Played our songs Let it Be, Happy Birthday, and Clementine.
• Reviewed the terms legato and staccato. Practiced the exercise.
• Watched a video on time signatures, note values and ties.
• Played games and improvised in C.

LEVEL 3 (Dylan, Stephen and Justin):

• Warmed up with C chromatic scales, C, F and G Pentatonic scales, and learned how to play the A minor scale (Same fingering as C major).
• Played songs The Baseball Game, Ode to Joy and Ten Little Indians.
• Completed 2 worksheets on the C major scale and C pentatonic scale. Next week we will have a take home assignment that builds on the concept of the C pentatonic scale.
• Discussed scale degrees and practiced writing down roman numerals I-VII.
• Played games and improvised using the C pentatonic scale. Dylan created a wonderful piece based on a 'hip hop' rhythm using the C pentatonic scale. Well done everyone!

At the end of class we played a game of interval Faceoff as per request.
Happy playing this week!

BLT Elementary School Thurs. May 8 2.30-3.30pm

Today we had a fun class. I was very pleased with how much we accomplished, except we were missing quite a few of you.
Tyrique, Savanna, Krista, Kara and Jazlyn, hope to see you next week.

LEVEL 1 (Taylor and Dylan):

• C major scales. Right hand and Left hand.
  
• Songs: Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle, Pop Goes the Weasel and new song, On top of Old Smokey. Hands separately and then together.
  
• Review of note values, note naming and intervals.
• Games in the CMJ software,
• Improvisation with the C scale.

LEVEL 2 (Rama):

• C scale in Contrary Motion. New scale, C pentatonic (only 5 notes long).
• Try playing your scales legato and staccato. Here is an exercise to help you practice these two piano techniques: Legato/Stacccato Exercise
• Songs: Let it Be, Happy Birthday and new song, Clementine.
  
• Practiced playing with the metronome and reading by intervals.
• Ear training with CMJ.
• Improvised and recorded some C pentatonic melodies.

LEVEL 3 (Rachelle, Veronica and Grace):

• C Chromatic scale and C, F, and G Pentatonic scales.
• Songs: Ode to Joy, The Baseball Game, and new song, Ten Little Indians.
• Try playing your C pentatonic scale using this worksheet: C Pentatonic Scale. This will give you some practice with writing out your scales as well.
  
• Played a game of interval Face Off to help us in recognizing harmonic 4ths and 5ths.
• Improvised and recorded some C pentatonic melodies using the CMJ software.

Excellent work from all of you. The songs are sounding better and better.

Kingswood School Thurs. May 8 11.40-12.40pm

Great work today!
We got a lot done:

• C Chromatic scales, and C, F and G Pentatonic scales.
• Songs: Ode to Joy, The Baseball Game, Ten Little Indians and new song, The Blue Danube.
• Theory worksheet: Compose your own Pentatonic Melody. Please complete this assignment for next week's class.
• Reviewed time signatures, key signatures, dynamics (forte means loud, piano means soft, etc.) and the terms Legato and Staccato.
• Improvised C pentatonic melodies over the Blue Danube Waltz using the Children's Music Journey software.

Have a good week Josh, Aidan and Ben.
I'm looking forward to hearing what you come up with for your first composition assignment!

BLT Elementary School Wed. May 7 2.30-3.30pm

We had a great class. We had Kyheem Bowden join us this week. Welcome to MusIQ Club.
We were missing Cameron, Abbey, Connor and Jacob today though.
Don't forget next Wednesday!

LEVEL 1A (Kyheem):

• Completed Lesson 1 and 2 with Mr. Beethoven.
• Learned about high 'bird' notes and low 'whale' notes. Remember, right hand plays high, left hand plays low.
• Learned where to find Middle C. Either hand can play middle C.
• Practiced songs with high, low and middle C notes, keeping a steady beat and curved finger hand position.
• Played games and improvised/recorded some tunes.

LEVEL 1B (Billy):

• Completed Lesson 18 and a little bit of lesson 19 with Miss Mendelssohn.
• Reviewed stepping and skipping in Middle C position. (Thumbs share middle C.)
• Played songs, including Mary had a little lamb and Mary had a big fat sheep.
  
• Talked about the musical alphabet and practiced naming notes backwards.
• Played games and improvised/recorded some tunes.

LEVEL 2 (Haylea):

• Completed Lesson 32 and 33 with Mr. Mozart.
• Began learning how to play in the grand staff. Your right hand plays the top staff and left hand plays the bottom staff. Remember where middle C is found on the grand staff. It has it's own line underneath the top staff.
• Learned how notes moving by step will follow the pattern, line-space-line-space-etc.
• Practiced drawing quarter, half and whole notes and line notes/space notes.
• Played games and improvised some tunes.
  

We also played a game of keyboard race to help us remember our musical alphabet. Haylea won, and we all had a lot of fun. We also practiced rhythm playbacks with the hand drum. Kyheem is already able to clap rhythms like a pro after only 1 lesson.

Excellent work.

Westmount Elementary School Tues May 6 12.15-1.15pm

Nice to see you again after the two week break. We had a good class today.

LEVEL 1 (Iris, Ryan and Sean):

• Completed lesson 21 and a little bit of lesson 22 with Mr. Villa-Lobos.
• Reviewed Middle C position and notes moving by step. Make sure both your thumbs are on middle C and you are using all five fingers in order when you play.
• Learned some new songs and some new games. Make sure you hold down your notes for the correct number of beats; quarter, half and whole.
  
• Talked about line notes and space notes and the musical alphabet, and drew some examples on the board.
  
• Practiced rhythms playbacks with the hand drum and improvised some tunes in the CMJ vol. 1 software.

LEVEL 2 (Sophia, Morgan, Aoiffe, Josie, Lidya and Cameron)

• Completed lesson 33 and a little bit of lesson 34 with Mr. Mozart.
• Reviewed the grand staff: Right hand plays high notes in the upper staff, left hand plays low notes in the lower staff. We are trying to memorize where the notes (C, D, E, F, G, A, B) are found on the staff. Remember that the notes go in order of the musical alphabet from bottom to top. If you know where middle C is, you can figure out any other note.
  
• Learned some new songs and the new game Guitar Girl. Very good note reading.
• Practiced drawing quarter, half and whole notes, as well as the Treble Clef.
• Ear training with 4-beat rhythms and improvised tunes in the CMJ vol. 2 software.

For homework you can review the lessons we completed this week and practice 4 or 5 note playback exercises with your Mom or Dad. Have them call out a series of four letters, or four numbers and you play them back. You should try this with your right and then your left hand in middle C position, keeping a steady beat.

Have fun and see you next time.

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. May 5 2.15-3.15pm

Great work today! We missed Brianna and Aly - they are on a trip to Cuba.
Welcome back Emma.

LEVEL 1 (Emma, Benjamine and Ryan):

• Completed Lesson 4 and 5 with Mr. Beethoven.
• Learned more about Rythms and started reading 'circle notes'.
• Played songs and rhythm exercises on my hand-drum.
  
• Practiced finding Middle C, High C and Low C.
• Improvised and recorded some songs.

LEVEL 2 (Jessica, Lauren and Jacqueline):

• Completed Lesson 16 and a little bit of Lesson 17 with Miss Mendelssohn.
• Learned about Middle C position and notes moving by step.
• Practiced songs in Middle C position.
• Played games and exercises for hearing notes getting higher and higher and notes getting lower and lower.
  
• Reviewed 5 finger numbers: Thumbs are 1, Index fingers are 2, Middle fingers are 3, Ring fingers are 4 and pinkies are 5.
• Improvised and recorded songs using the CMJ software.

LEVEL 3 (Noah, Jared, Reece and Jansyn):

• Completed Lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak and Lesson 30 with Mr. Mozart.
• Practiced Rhythms and songs we from last term (Frere Jacques, Goin' Home, etc.)
• Talked about line notes and space notes and moving by step and skip.
• Played games and exercises for remembering Note Values: quarter, half, dotted half and whole notes. We also practiced drawing different types of notes on the white board.
• Improvised and recorded some songs.
  

For practice, try out all the songs on the computer in the Library with your CMJ software at home. You can also review the lesson and practice for your level this week.

For those students with pianos but no software, please practice finger number exercises in middle C position, keeping a steady beat. Mom or Dad can call out a sequence of 3 to 5 finger numbers and then you play them back keeping a steady beat and curved finger hand position. Try this with your right hand and then your left hand. See you next time.

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. May 2 2.45-3.45pm

Great class today. We accomplished quite a lot.

LEVEL 1 (Miguel and Erika):

• Practiced C major scales in group mode with the whole class.
• Songs, Old Grey Goose and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. These are getting better, but still not quite 100%.
• Reviewed note naming and watched the video on the Grand Staff in the Theory Thinker.
• Practiced counting exercises with the right and left hands.
• Played games in the Childrens' Music Journey Software.

LEVEL 2 (Jeremey, Gabriel, Hannah, Victoria, Chloe, Rose and Anthony):

• Practiced C major scales in group mode, with the metronome.
• Songs, Ode to Joy, The baseball game and Ten Little Indians.
• Discussed your homework assignment: Compose a melody using the C pentatonic scale.
• Reviewed time signatures. 4/4 means four quarter beats in a bar. 3/4 means three quarter beats in a bar. You can use either of these time signatures for your homework assignment.
• Improvised and recorded some pentatonic melodies in the Childrens' Music Journey Software.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with for next week. Remember that if you have piano books at home, or specific songs that you want to learn, you can bring in extra music to class and I'll be happy to hear you play and answer any questions you may have.

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday May 2 12.15-1.15pm

Hello again.
You all did very well today, although I felt there was too much noise from some of you during lesson time. Let's not be distracting to others in the class. We all want to learn and have fun, so let's listen and try to stay on task while we are in class. Next week will be better.

Today we tried out the Group Performance Tool with our scales. Ivan played the C major scale with just his right hand. Brett and William tried playing it in contrary motion with both hands. Stephen, Dylan and Justin played their C chromatic scales for us hands separately. Scales are something all of you can work on at home. Remember to use the correct fingering and try to keep a steady beat - like we did with the metronome.

Next, we worked on songs. Ivan is playing Old Grey Goose and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Brett and William are playing Let it Be and Happy Birthday. Stephen, Dylan and Justin are working on Ode to Joy (hands together), The baseball game, and the new song Ten Little Indians.
We also practiced exercises in the theory thinker for reading notes by step and by skip. Ivan practiced his note naming.

We played a game of Interval Faceoff and the competition was fierce! All of you are really quick at recognizing intervals!
At the end of class we improvised some tunes in the CMJ software and played melody and rhythm eartraining games. Excellent work all of you :)
See you next time.

BLT Elementary School. Grades 3 to 6. Thurs. May 1 2.30-3.30pm

Today was a busy class - all of you are learning new songs, and we're adjusting to a new seating plan as well. Next class I will arrange for everyone to be sitting with the best partner for your level, and learning style. There were a couple of disagreements today between classmates. Let's all try to cooperate and help each other to learn and have fun in MusIQ Club.

LEVEL 1 (Dylan and Taylor):

• C major scale, hands separately. Taylor also tried the C scale in contrary motion - hands together. Great playing!
  
• Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle and Pop goes the Weasel. Watch out for counting quarter, half and whole notes.
  
• Theory Thinker - note naming and time signatures.
• Pop goes the Weasel has a 3/4 time signature, which means there are three beats in each bar. Also, notice whether you are moving by step or by skip when you read your music. Counting and playing the correct notes are the two most basic concepts that we are trying to master right now.
  
• Rhythm playbacks.
  

Level 2 (Jazlyn, Savanna, Krista, Rama - I am moving Rama to level 2 because she has successfully completed all the songs in level 1):

• C major scale in contrary motion. Hands start with both thumbs on Middle C (Middle C position).
• Let it be. Who wrote this famous song? Can you tell me for next week?
  
• Happy Birthday. Hands separately, than together.
• You watched the video about ties and odd note values (dotted half notes and dotted quarter notes) in the theory thinker software today.
• Improvised and played ear training games in the Children's music journey software.
  

Level 3 (Grace, Rachelle, Veronica and Kara):

• C Chromatic scale and pentatonic scales.
• Ode to Joy and The Baseball game. Hands separately, than together.
  
• Watch out for sharps and flats. We reviewed the theory lesson on 'accidentals' today, to practice the exercises again. Sharps make a note a semitone higher. Flats make the note a semitone lower.
• Talked about intervals and worked on ear training.
• Played games in the Children's Music Journey software.

Finally, I distributed your assessments, report cards and certificates for the work you did in the previous term and the first few weeks of this term. That's a lot of work~ I also gave out some treats, just to say congratulations.

You're all doing great and I'm really impressed with the progress everyone is making from week to week. See you next time.

Kingswood School Thurs. May 1 11.40-12.40pm

Great work today Aidan, Ben and Josh. It was nice to have all three of you in attendance.

Here's what we learned together:

• Warmed up with the C, F and G pentatonic scales.
• Reviewed writing down major and pentatonic scales. Next week we will have a composition assignment where you will have to write an 8 bar melody using the C pentatonic scale.
  
• Practiced Ode to Joy, The Baseball Game and Ten Little Indians, hands separately, than together.
• Talked about triads. A triad is a three-note chord. A chord is a group of notes played at the same time.
• Played the Interval flashcard game, and worked on ear training - identifying the difference between an interval of a 3rd and an interval of a 5th.

Well done! I'm happy with the progress we're making in this class.

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. April 28 2.15-3.15pm

What a fun class we had today!
Here's what we did:
LEVEL 1 (Benjamine and Ryan)

• Lesson 3 and 4 with Mr. Beethoven.
  
• Reviewed high bird notes and low whale notes.
• Learned about Middle C. The note that comes right before the group of two black keys in the middle of the piano keyboard.
• Keeping a steady beat and curved finger hand position.
• Long sounds and short sounds. We learned about rhythm and how often times we divide music into groups of 4 beats. Very good work here.
  
• Practice lessons 1-4 if you have the CMJ software at home. If not, practice clapping four beat rhythms for your Mom and Dad. For example: My Par-rot talk a- lot (there is rhythm in language isn't there!), Long short short short short long!
  

LEVEL 1B (Jessica, Jacqueline, Lauren - we missed you Emma)

• Lesson 15 with Scott Joplin and a little bit of lesson 16 with Miss Mendelssohn.
  
• You're learning how to set both hands in Middle C position with all five fingers on the keys.
• Make sure to keep your wrists up and fingers curved.
• Keep a steady beat.
• You're learning about notes moving by step, one finger after the next. You can step higher (going up the keyboard) or lower (down the keyboard).
• We are becoming more familiar with note names now, A-B-C-D-E-F-F and back to A.
• For practice, try Folk Tunes for Both Hands, in the CMJ software. If not, practice your stepping exercises, and try playing different finger number patterns in Middle C position.

LEVEL 2A (Noah, Jared, Brianna, Reece, Aly and Jansyn)

• Lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak.
• We talked about Dvorak's life. He came from the Czech republic. He moved to the U.S. when we was a little older and wrote the "New World" Symphony. Can you remember anything else about Dvorak?
• Practiced quarter, half, dotted half and whole notes.
  
• Practiced folk tunes for both hands.
• Play exercises stepping and skipping in Middle C position.
• Pretty soon you will be learning how to read notes in what we call the Grand Staff. Try looking at any music books you may have at home to see what this looks like. Can you see how your right hand plays the notes on top and the left hand plays the notes on the bottom. You've been learning how to do this all along - how exciting that you've come this far in such a short time!

At the end of class we played Keyboard Race, drawing cards to move our game pieces higher up the keyboard to learn the musical alphabet. Finally, we had a chocolate chip cookie and then went home. Have a good two day break everyone.
I'll see you next week.

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. April 25 2.45-3.45pm

Great work today. I'm happy with the progress we're making in this class.

Level 1 (Miguel and Erika):

• Warmed up with C major scales, hands separately.
• Practiced the songs Old Grey Goose and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
  
• Practiced note naming in the Grand Staff note placement game.
• Watched the video on intervals in the Theory Thinker. (An interval is the distance between two notes.)
  
• Played a game of Interval Face off with the whole class.
• Played games and improvised some new songs in the Children's Music Journey software.

Level 3 (Jeremey, Anthony, Victoria, Hannah, Gabriel, Chloe and Rose):

• C Chromatic scales. C, F and G pentatonic scales.
• We did a theory sheet to review scale degrees and the pattern of notes for major and pentatonic scales.
• Practiced 'Ode to Joy', 'The Baseball game' and learned the new song 'Ten Little Indians'. Hands separately then together.
• Played some exercises reviewing accidentals (sharps and flats) in the Theory Thinker .
  
• Reviewed Intervals and played interval Face off with the whole class.
• Improvisation in the CMJ software, using the C, F and G pentatonic scale.
  

Practice your songs at home if you have the Piano Suite software - if not, please try sight reading any music books you may have at home, and review your scales.

Thanks everyone. See you next week.

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday April 27 12.15-1.15pm

We had a good class today - it was nice to meet Brett today.

Level 1 (Ivan):

• Warmed up with C major scales, hands separately.
• Practiced the songs Old Grey Goose and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
  
• Practiced note naming in the Grand Staff note placement game.
• Discussed intervals - the distance between two notes.
  
• Played a game of Interval Face off with the whole class.
• Played games and improvised some new songs in the Children's Music Journey software.

Level 2 (Brett and William):

• C major scale in contrary motion.
• Practiced 'Let it Be' and 'Happy Birthday'; hands separately, then together.
• Reviewed Note Values. Practiced clapping different rhythms.
• Reviewed Intervals and played interval Face off with the whole class.
• Improvisation in the CMJ software, using the C pentatonic scale.
  

Level 3 (Stephen, Dylan and Justin):

• C Chromatic scales.
• Practiced 'Ode to Joy', 'The Baseball game' and learned the new song 'Ten Little Indians'. Hands separately then together.
• Worked on playing in time with the metronome.
  
• Discussed intervals and reviewed ledger lines.
• Ear training - rhythm playbacks and identifying intervals of 3rds and 5ths.
  
• Played Interval Face off with the level 1 and 2 students.

At the end of class I handed out invitations. All of you can bring a friend next week if you like.
Great playing everyone! We had fun and learned a lot.

BLT Elementary School. Grades 3 to 6. Thurs. April 24 2.30-3.30pm

Great work today everyone. I'm happy with the progress all of you progress making.

Level 1 (Taylor and Rama - We missed you Dylan!):

• Warmed up with C major scales, hands separately.
• Practiced the songs Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle and Pop goes the weasel (Rama went ahead to do On top of Old Smokey and Get up).
• Practiced note naming in the Grand Staff note placement game.
• Discussed intervals - the distance between two notes.
  
• Played a game of Interval face off with the whole class.
• Played games and improvised some new songs in the Children's Music Journey software.

Level 2 (Savannah - We missed you Krista and Jazlyn!):

You completed your written test today. It covered everything from note naming, to time signatures to musical terms. I think you did quite well. Next week, you will receive your report
card and certificate.

Level 3 (Rachelle, Veronica, Grace and Kara):

• We did a lot of ear training work today.
• First we practiced rhythms playbacks. 4-beats long, and different combinations of note values.
• Then we practiced Melody Playbacks, something you'd never tried before. I play a 4-note melody on my violin that moves by step or by skip. It always starts on middle C. If you hear the melody going higher, use your right hand. If it's going lower, use your left hand. Try to play back all the right notes, listening for movement by step or by skip.
• We reviewed Intervals and played Interval Faceoff with the level 1 students.

Great work!! Looking forward to our next class - some of you will be officially starting Level 3 of MusIQ Club.

Kingswood School Thurs. April 24 11.40-12.40pm

We had a great class today - we missed you Ben.

Here's what we covered:

• C chromatic scales. C, G and F pentatonic scales.
• Ode to Joy and the Baseball game.
• Review of Intervals - the distance between two notes. Learned about the difference between harmonic and melodic intervals. Harmonic intervals are 2 notes played at the same time. Melodic intervals are played one note after the other.
• Learned a new song - Ten little Indians. Watch out for the B-flat in the key signature.
• Exercises on accidentals in Theory Thinker.
• Ear Training on Intervals - hearing the difference between an interval of a 3rds and an interval of a 5th with the Ear Training Coach software.
• Improvisation with pentatonic scales in the Children's Music Journey software.

Excellent work Aidan and Josh. See you next week!

Westmount Elementary School Tues April 22 12.15-1.15pm

Well done today. We were happy to welcome Cameron to our class. He will be visiting us from the Thursday class a couple of weeks. Nice to meet you Cameron.

LEVEL 1B (Sean, Ryan and Iris):

• You completed lesson 20 with Miss Mendelssohn today.
• Practiced clapping 4-beat rhythms.
• Reviewed Middle C position.
• Learned about line notes and space notes. Middle C is an example of a line note.
  
• Practiced some Finger Number Exercises moving by step and moving by skip with our fiver-finger ant tunnels legato (smooth) and staccato (bouncy).
• Played five different music games and improvised some new music in Middle C position.

LEVEL 2 (Aoiffe, Sophia, Morgan, Lidya, Josie and Cameron)

• Completed lesson 31 and 32 with Mr. Mozart.
• Practiced clapping 4-beat rhythms.
• Practiced drawing the four types of notes we've learned so far: quarter, half, whole and dotted half notes.
• Today we began reading note in the Grand Staff. Your Right hand plays the notes that are in the upper set of lines and spaces and your Left hand plays the notes that are in the lower set of lines and spaces.
• Learned that Middle C is on its own line, for both the Right hand staff and the Left hand staff.
  
• Played 4 different games and spent some time writing our own music in the Improvisation room.

Finally, we played another game of Hot Potato with my friend Monkey. We helped each other remember the letters of the musical alphabet forwards and backwards and had a lot of fun.

Have a good week!

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. April 21 2.15-3.15pm

We had a great first class of the Spring term.
It was nice to welcome Benjamin, Ryan, Jessica, Jacqueline and Emma to the class today!

Level 2 (Reece, Brianna, Aly, Jansyn, Noah, Jared, Lauren, Jessica and Jacqueline):

• Finished the lesson 28 with Mr. Dvorak, and practice with the new Miss Melody in Children's Music Journey Volume 2. Can you remember a few historical facts about Mr. Dvorak to tell me for next week? (What country is he from? What instruments does he play? What did his father do for a living?) We'll learn more about Dvorak's life - it was very interesting, and he certainly wrote some beautiful music.
  
• We reviewed playing high notes with the right hand, low notes with the left hand, and middle C position.
• We reviewed half notes, quarter notes and whole notes.
• We also reviewed line notes and space notes and sightreading music by step and by skip.
• Finally we played some 4 beat rhythm playbacks, leapfrog and cliffhanger and spent some time in the improvisation room.
• We also played hot potato with Monkey, saying our musical alphabet backwards and forwards! This is something everyone really loved and you can practice naming your notes on the piano at home to get better at this game.

LEVEL 1 (Emma, Benjamin and Ryan):

• You completed lesson 1 and part of lesson 2 with Mr. Beethoven today. Can you tell me a few facts about his life for next week? (What country is he from? What was different about Beethoven as a composer? What instruments did he play?) We'll learn more about Beethoven's amazing music next week... Maybe you are familiar with some of the music he composed already. Can you think of any? (Symphony no. 9?)
  
• You learned about high notes and low notes. Play the high 'bird' notes with your right hand and the low 'whale' notes with your left hand. Remember that high and low does not mean loud and soft. It has to do with the sound of the notes, not the volume.
• You learned where to find middle C. (Group of 2 black keys, down to C.)
• You learned how to set up a good curved finger hand position on the keyboard.
• We played hot potato with Monkey and practiced drawing some high, low and middle C notes on the board. You spent time in the games room and improvised and recorded some of your own songs using the Children's Music Journey Volume 1 software.

Excellent work today. As always, please review the lessons and practice sessions outlined for your level, if you have the CMJ software for home practice. Check the musiqclub.com website for ordering information, and feel free to Email me anytime with your questions or concerns regarding the class.
Thanks everyone!

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. April 18 2.45-3.45pm

We had a very good class today.

LEVEL 1 (Erika and Miguel):

• C major scales
• Old Grey Goose (you can click HERE to print off a copy for practice).
• Review of note naming in the Treble Clef.
• Theory thinker lesson on the Bass Clef, with technical exercises.
• Review of time signatures and note values. Quarter, Half and Whole notes.
• Rhythm playbacks, and games in the Children's Music Journey software.
• Practice these songs by letter names to help you play with curved fingers and a steady beat: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and more.
  

LEVEL 3 (Chloe, Rose, Hannah, Gabriel, Anthony and Jeremy):

• C chromatic scales.
• Review of whole-tones and semi-tones, sharps and flats.
• Ode to Joy - hands separately and then together. Watch out for the descending chromatic line at the end. Use the correct fingering and hold notes for their full values!
• Practiced reading ledger lines - notes outside the Grand Staff. Middle C is an example of a ledger line note. There can also be ledger space notes.
• Played a game of Face Off to help us with ledger line/space note recognition.
• Practiced the Baseball Game. A song with all ledger line/space notes. Everyone had a chance to play this along to the metronome.
• Melody playbacks in the Ear Training Coach software.

Great work everyone. Have a nice weekend.

BLT Elementary School Thurs. April 17 2.30-3.30pm

We had a good class today.

LEVEL 1 (Dylan, Rama and Taylor):

• Warmed up with C major scales. Right hand and Left hand separately.
• Practiced Old Grey Goose.
• Practiced Note Naming. You should try sightreading music at home, to improve the rate at which you recognize notes and play them on the keyboard.
  
• Practiced Pop Goes The Weasel. Make sure to count your rest values and keep three beats in a bar. Taylor, you were quite good with this.
  
• Rama learned how to play On Top of Old Smokey. Good work.
• Worked on three note playbacks, and 4-beat rhythm playbacks.

LEVEL 2 (Savannah, Jazlyn and Krista):

• Reviewed Note Naming, Note Values, Intervals, and Terms (Legato, Staccato, Piano, Forte)
  
• Completed the written part of your Level 2 test. You will do the performance part of you test next week.
• Make sure you know the songs: Old Grey Goose, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Pop Goes the Weasel, On Top of Old Smokey and Get up for next week! You will be asked to perform one of these songs for your grade.

LEVEL 3 (Grace, Veronica and Kara):

• Reviewed Scales (Major and Pentatonic), Note Values, Tones and Semi-tones, and Terms (Allegro, Roman Numerals, Legato, Staccato, Piano, Forte, etc.)
• Completed the written part of your Level 3 test. You will do the performance part of you test next week.
• Make sure you know the songs: Let it Be, Happy Birthday and Clementine for next week. You will be asked to perform one of these songs for your grade.

Finally we played a game of Faceoff with the whole class, to help us with naming notes.
The team on my Right side won, but everyone did an amazing job. I'm very happy with the progress everyone is making.

I let you play games in the Children's Music Journey software for the last five minutes of class. Some of you chose to record your own songs in the Improvisation Room.
Well done!

Kingswood School Thurs. April 17 11.40-12.40pm

Today, we started off by warming up with Chromatic Scales.
The right hand fingering is 1-3-1-3-1-2-3-1-3-1-3-1-2
Try it with your left hand: 1-3-1-3-2-1-3-1-3-1-3-2-1.

We talked about whole-tones and semi-tones, sharps and flats. A sharp makes a note one semi-tone higher. A flat makes a note one semi-tone lower. Here a couple of worksheets you can do to help you remember how sharps and flats work: L2_Flats and L2_Sharps

Then we practice Ode to Joy. Ode to Joy has both sharp notes and flat notes in it.
Near the end, remember to use the left hand thumb tuck, just like you do in your chromatic scales.

Next, we played a game of Face Off, to help us remember notes outside the staff. We call these notes Leger Line and Space notes. If you can remember where Middle C, Treble C and Bass C are in both the Treble and Bass Clefs, you can figure out any other note on or outside the Grand staff.

We learned a new song: The Baseball game, that uses only leger line notes.

Finally, we spent some time in the Ear Training Coach software. We are learning 3 and 4 note playbacks. You have to set your right hand in the proper key (for example: F major = thumb on F). Then listen to the melody twice. Press the spacebar to start your assessment, and then play back the notes after the metronome counts you in.

Excellent work today. We made a lot of progress together.
See you next week!

BLT Elementary School. Grades P-2. Wed. April 2 2.00-3.00pm

Excellent work today. Here is what we covered:

LEVEL 1A (Abbey)

• Lesson and practice number 3 with Mr. Beethoven.
• You were learning about rhythms today. There are short sounds and long sounds that happen in music. You can play any combination of both, but you should always keep a steady beat underneath. We did some examples of rhythms in language: "I like puppy dogs" and "My parrot talks a lot"
• You practiced high notes and low notes.
• Reviewed Middle C.
  
• You played a new game today, Bongo Boy, which is a drumming competition to see who can remember and playback 4-beat rhythms the best.
• Recorded some new songs in the improvisation room. When you use notes from the C major scale (no black keys) your songs sound fantastic Abbey!
  

LEVEL 1B (Billy)

• Lesson and practice number 17 with Miss Mendelssohn and Miss Melody.
• We learned about Middle C position. Both thumbs are on middle C with the wrists up and fingers tips resting gently on the keys.
  
• Reviewed moving by step and moving by skip with our fiver-finger ant tunnels.
• Practiced playing legato (smooth) and staccato (bouncy).
• Played a new game - treasure hunt. You have to use your ears to hear what note to play. High notes are played with the right hand in middle C position, and low notes are played with the left hand in middle C position. You only get three tries to find the note, otherwise there is no treasure and only a hole.

You were amazing at this game Billy. You were able to find all the treasure 10 out of 10 times. Very impressive.

LEVEL 2 (Connor, Cameron, Jacob and Haylea)

• Completed lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak, as well as lesson 30!
• We practiced drawing the four types of notes we've learned so far: quarter, half, whole and dotted half notes.
• Practiced clapping these note values along to a drum beat.
• Learned new songs, played the Soup game and spent time in the improvisation room.
  
• Your songs are sounding better and better. You're getting very comfortable with playing melodies, hands together in middle C position.

Finally, we played hot potato with Monkey. We all sit in a circle and pass around the Monkey saying one letter each, keeping a steady beat. We tried doing this forwards and backwards. This game is harder than it sounds. You have to pay attention!

I handed out invitations, postcards and a little treat for everyone at the end of class.
Have a good week.

Westmount Elementary School Tues April 15 12.15-1.15pm

Excellent work today. Here is what we covered:

LEVEL 1 (Iris, Sean and Ryan)

• Lesson and practice number 19 with Miss Mendelssohn and Miss Melody.
• We learned about Middle C position. Both thumbs are on middle C with the wrists up and fingers tips resting gently on the keys.
  
• Reviewed moving by step and moving by skip with our fiver-finger ant tunnels.
• Practiced playing legato (smooth) and staccato (bouncy).
• Played a new game - treasure hunt. You have to use your ears to hear what note to play. High notes are played with the right hand in middle C position, and low notes are played with the left hand in middle C position. You only get three tries to find the note, otherwise there is no treasure and only a hole.

All of you were very good at this game and were able to find the treasures on your first or second try! Very impressive.

LEVEL 2 (Aoiffe, Sophia, Morgan, Lidya and Josie)

• Completed lesson 30 with Mr. Mozart, as well as lesson 31!
• We practiced drawing the four types of notes we've learned so far: quarter, half, whole and dotted half notes.
• Practiced clapping these note values along to a drum beat.
• Learned new songs, played the Soup game and spent time in the improvisation room.
  
• Your songs are sounding better and better. You're getting very comfortable with playing melodies, hands together in middle C position.

Finally, we played a game that would help us remember our musical alphabet really well.
It is like hot potato. We all sit in a circle and pass around the monkey beanie saying one letter each, keeping a steady beat. We tried doing this forwards and backwards. Not bad - this game is harder than it sounds. You have to pay attention!

I handed out report cards, invitations, postcards and a little treat for everyone at the end of class.
See you next time.

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. April 14 2.15-3.15pm

Today was our official last class of the Winter Term!

Level 2:

• Completed CMJ Volume 1 in Lesson 25 - Recital with Mr. Villa Lobos.
• Reviewed quarter notes, half notes and whole notes.
• Talked about line notes and space notes.
• Practiced playing songs that move by step and songs that move by skip.
• 4 beat rhythm playbacks.
• Melody playbacks.

Level 1:

• Completed Lesson 15 with Mr. Scott Joplin.
• We learned about Middle C position and reading music by finger numbers.
• Practiced songs with holding notes and double notes.
• Played a new game that teaches us the Musical Alphabet. A-B-C-D-E-F-G
  
• 4 beat rhythm playbacks.

We played another game of Hot Potato. This time with my friend Monkey (or as Sergio calls him - Punkey). We helped each other remember the letters of the musical alphabet forwards and backwards. That was really fun.

Finally, I handed out certificates and report cards for everyone, as well as a small treat to say:
Great job with your MusIQ Club lessons this term!

Hope to see you back next week. From what I hear, the Monday class is now full, but there is still room in the Wednesday after-school class. Register at www.musiqclub.com.
If you have any questions, please call the office at 453-4464 or Email me.

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. April 11 2.45-3.45pm

We had an excellent first class of the Spring term today.
Welcome Miguel, Erika and Jeremy!

Level 1:

• You learned how to play a C major scale, starting on middle C.
• Recognizing notes in the staff using the musical alphabet.
  
• Practice naming notes with this game: Note Trainer
  
• You learned how to play 'Old Grey Goose' and I gave Jeremy 'Pop goes the Weasel' for an extra challenge (Jeremy, you will be moved ahead to the level 3 class next week :)
• You learned about holding notes for their correct values. Check out this Note Value Chart.
• Finally, we played the grand staff note placement game, bongo boy and made up our own songs in the Improvisation room.

Level 3:

• We reviewed your tests: Note naming, note values, semitones/tones, sharps and flats.
• We reviewed the song 'Ode to Joy' - hands separately, than together.
• We played a game of Faceoff to help us learn about notes on leger lines. Middle C is an example of a leger line note - a note outside the 5 lines and/spaces of the grand staff.
• We learned a new song 'The baseball game'.
• Finally, we played some games in the CMJ software and made up songs in the Improvisation room.

Great work - I'll see you again next week.
Miguel and Jeremy, don't forget to bring a friend !

Westmount Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Friday April 11 12.15-1.15pm

Nice to meet you William, Dylan, Steven, Justin and Ivan!

We got a lot of good work done today.

Level 1 (Ivan):
You are learning the song 'Old Grey Goose' and practicing your Note Naming.
Also, start familiarizing yourself with Note Values.
We practiced some 4-beat rhythm playbacks and talked about some ways of sightreading music bu step and by skip.
We also learned how to play a C major scale, hands separately.
Try playing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' on your piano at home.

Level 2 (William):
You are learning the song 'Let it Be' by the Beatles.

We played some Grand Staff note placement game and also reviewed Note Values.
You played your C major scale in contrary motion for me - excellent coordination!
We also reviewed 'On top of Old Smokey' from last term, and did the Theory Thinker lesson on Rests. Finally, you spent some time in the improvisation room in the CMJ software.

Level 3 (Justin, Steven and Dylan):
You learned about leger lines today.
We learned a new song called 'The baseball game' and played a game of 'Faceoff' with leger line/space notes.
You reviewed the song 'Daydream Believer' and brushed up on 'Ode to Joy'.
Great playing.
Finally, you learned a new scale 'C Chromatic'. Remember the fingering: 1-3-1-3-1-2-3-1-3-1-3-1-2. Then, back down.

I look forward to seeing you again next week! Happy practicing :)

BLT Elementary School. Grades 3-6. Thurs. April 11 2.30-3.30pm

Great class today. Also, thank you to the parents who responded to my initial Email, I hope these blogs will continue to be useful in keeping up to date with your child's progress.

Level 1 (Dylan, Rama and Taylor):
You worked on 'Old Grey Goose' and started a new song 'Pop goes the Weasel'.
We worked on memorizing note and rest values. Check out this note value chart.

We also worked on 4 beat rhythms and did some work naming notes in the Theory Thinker. If you would like to practice your note reading skills. try out this game: Note Trainer.

Level 2 and 3 (Kara, Grace, Rachelle, Veronica, Jazlyn and Krista - we were missing Savannah today):

Today we did a practice test for your assessments next week. Here is a copy for your to print out: Level 1 and Level 2.
We talked about naming notes, writing down scales, finding the distance between two notes (intervals), and note values.
Please review this Note Value Chart so that you are familiar with the different types of notes and rests and how many beats they are worth.
You can also practice naming notes with this Note Trainer.

Finally Level 2 practiced their songs 'Pop goes the Weasel', 'On top of Old Smokey' and 'Get Up'.
Level 3 practiced their songs 'Let it be', 'Happy Birthday', and 'Clementine'.

Very good work today.
See you next week.

Kingswood School Thurs. April 10 11.40-12.40pm

Nice to see you again Josh, Aidan and Ben.

Today we reviewed what was on your tests and started working on Level 3 material.

• C Chromatic scale. 1,3,1,3,1,2,3,1,3,1,3,1,2. Then backwards.
• Tones/Semitones. Sharps and Flats.
• The song 'Ode to Joy', hands separately then together.
• Leger lines. Notes above or below the staff.
• 2 bar rhythms.
• Improvising and Melody playbacks in the CMJ software.

Please get started on 'Ode to Joy' and 'The baseball game' if you have the Piano Suite software at home.
Good work!

BLT Elementary School Wed. April 9 2.00-3.00pm

We had a great first class of the Spring term.
It was nice to welcome Abbey to the class today!

Level 2 (Billy, Connor, Cameron, Haylea and Jacob):

• Finished the lesson 28 with Mr. Dvorak, and practice with the new Miss Melody in Children's Music Journey Volume 2. Can you remember a few historical facts about Mr. Dvorak to tell me for next week? (What country is he from? What instruments does he play? What did his father do for a living?) We'll learn more about Dvorak's life - it was very interesting, and he certainly wrote some beautiful music.
  
• We reviewed playing high notes with the right hand, low notes with the left hand, and middle C position.
• We reviewed half notes, quarter notes and whole notes.
• We also reviewed line notes and space notes and sightreading music by step and by skip.
• Finally we played some 4 beat rhythm playbacks, leapfrog and cliffhanger and spent some time in the improvisation room.
• We also played hot potato with Monkey, saying our musical alphabet backwards and forwards! This is something everyone really loved and you can practice naming your notes on the piano at home to get better at this game.

LEVEL 1 (Abbey):

• You completed lesson 1 and part of lesson 2 with Mr. Beethoven today. Can you tell me a few facts about his life for next week? (What country is he from? What was different about Beethoven as a composer? What instruments did he play?) We'll learn more about Beethoven's amazing music next week... Maybe you are familiar with some of the music he composed already. Can you think of any? (Symphony no. 9?)
  
• You learned about high notes and low notes. Play the high 'bird' notes with your right hand and the low 'whale' notes with your left hand. Remember that high and low does not mean loud and soft. It has to do with the sound of the notes, not the volume.
• You learned where to find middle C. (Group of 2 black keys, down to C.)
• You learned how to set up a good curved finger hand position on the keyboard.
• We played hot potato with Monkey and practiced drawing some high, low and middle C notes on the board. You spent time in the games room and improvised and recorded some of your own songs using the Children's Music Journey Volume 1 software.

Excellent work today. As always, please review the lessons and practice sessions outlined for your level, if you have the CMJ software for home practice. Check the musiqclub.com website for ordering information, and feel free to Email me anytime with your questions or concerns regarding the class.
Thanks everyone!

Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. April 7 2.15-3.15pm

Nice to see you again, after another 2 week-long break.

Today level 1 completed lesson 14 with Mr. Scott Joplin. You are learning how to use all five fingers on the keyboard. To practice this, maybe you can do some finger-number playback exercises with Mom or Dad at home. Parents, have your child sit at the piano with both thumbs on middle C (middle C position). Then, call out what hand to use, and 4 finger numbers (for example: 'Right Hand 1-2-4-5). Try different patterns that move up or down by step and skip.

We learned a new game - the Leapfrog game today. Very well done!

Level 2 completed lesson 23 with Mr. Villa Lobos. You are getting much better at recognizing the letter names of the keys on your piano. You are also learning about quarter notes, half notes and whole notes. Can you remember how many beats each type of note will hold for? Make sure to watch for notes moving by step (from line to space or space to line) and by skip (from line to line or space to space). Your songs are sounding great.

Everyone should review their lessons and practice during the week if they have the CMJ software at home. The more your child is able to sit down and play through their songs, the more they will enjoy sightreading music and learning new material in class.

The last activity we did was a game, kind of like hot potato, where we all sat down and passed around Ted (the bear) saying our musical alphabet backwards!
We'll try that again next week, because it was fun and it really got you thinking! Good work :)

J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. April 4 2.45-3.45pm

Today was the last class of the term and we wrote our assessment tests.
Overall, everyone did a good job, and tried their best.
Some of you, I think, should prepare more for assessments in the future. If you don't understand a concept, or, if you're not clear on what to study, you should ask me. For example, if you're not following my explanations on how to name notes, take some time after class to talk to me about it, and then check this blog for exercises on what you can do at home, in order to really understand it.
Some of you took extra time, and did not complete the 'melody playback' portion of the test. For these students, I will base the grade on the melody playback work they did in class.

Finally, we all had a piece of cake and a sip of juice to celebrate completing MusIQ Club level 2. I'm very proud of your hard work this term and hope to see you back again next week.

I will have your corrected tests and certificates to hand out to those of you who return. For those of you not returning, I will leave the documents in the office for pick up.

Thanks for the fun and productive classes :)

BLT Elementary School. Grades 3 to 6. Thurs. April 3 2.30-3.30pm

Hello, and welcome to our MusIQ Club blog, BLT 3-6.
It was great meeting you today. Here is a summary of what we covered:

LEVEL 1 (Dylan and Taylor)

• Middle C.
  
• C major scales. Hands separately.
• The Grand Staff and Music Notation.
• Note values. Quarter, Half and Whole notes.
• Finger numbers. Thumbs are 1. Pinky fingers are 5.
• You played the Grand Staff spelling game.
• You learned how to play 'Mary had a little Lamb' and clap four beat rhythms.
• Here is the song 'Old Grey Goose', for you to print off and try at home.

LEVEL 2 (Rama, Jazlyn, Veronica, Rachelle, Krista, Grace, Savanna, Kara.)

• Reviewed how to play C major scales, and note naming.
• Reviewed note values and finger numbers.
• Talked about key signatures and time signatures.
• Your right hand plays in the treble clef and your left hand plays the bass clef.
• We practiced Let it be and Happy Birthday - Hands Together. Practice these songs at home, if you have the Piano Suite software.
• Played the Grand staff spelling game.
• 4-beat rhythms.

Excellent work today. I will be assigning some history homework for next week.
Can any of you in Level 2 tell me what famous band wrote the song 'Let it be'?

See you again next time. Feel free to Email me anytime if you have questions or concerns related to home practice or what we are learning in class.

Kingswood School Thurs. April 3 11.40-12.40pm

Today was the official last class of the Winter term.
We had our assessment tests today. This may surprise some of you, but I actually think everyone did quite well. I know for level 2 the material we are learning can be a challenge, but you've learned a great deal - especially with your scales and your songs. Laura, great effort with the written test. It ended up taking you a little longer than expected, but I will give you a grade for the performance and ear training parts of the test based on your work this term.

I hope to see all of you back for the Spring term, which will start immediately next week. I will have your corrected tests and certificates to hand out to those of you who return. For those of you not returning, I will leave the documents in the office for pick up.

Congratulations on successfully completing the program requirements for MusIQ Club levels 1 and 2.

BLT Elementary School Wed. April 2 2.00-3.00pm

Today was the official last class of the term.
If you would like to pick up your child's progress report/certificate, I will bring them with me to class, same time next week. Please let me know if you have any questions about re-registration.

Level 1 finished lesson 15 with Mr. Joplin. You are getting better and better at keeping your five-finger ant tunnels (side of the thumb on Middle C, and the other fingers resting on the keys. Lightly on their tips.)
You practiced rhythms and played 4 different games today.
We also did finger number playbacks and talked about loud and soft, smooth and bouncy, playing the piano. At the end of class everyone composed some music for me in the improvisation room.

Level 2 completed Volume 1 of Children's Music Journey today. You practiced hard for the pretend 'recital' with Mr. Villa Lobos.
Your songs are sounding much better. Remember to read by step and by skip, line notes and space notes. We played all the games from the past two terms and spent time in the improvisation room. I quizzed you about note values and musical terms: eighth notes, quarter notes, half notes, whole notes, legato, staccato and piano and forte. Then we did some rhythm exercises on my drum.

Excellent work.
I've enjoyed teaching this class and am very happy with how each student has progressed over the course of the term.
Thank you - hope to see you again next week!

Westmount Elementary School Tues April 1 12.15-1.15pm

Nice work today. We missed you Ryan! Get well soon.

Level 1:

• Completed playing and singing songs with Mis Mendelssohn
• Practiced playing loud (forte) and soft (piano)
• Reviewed the musical alphabet forwards and backwards
• Talked about moving by step and moving by skip
• Played games and improvised.
• Iris and Sean - you did excellent work today, and I'm very pleased with the progress you made.

Level 2:

• Completed lesson 29 with Mr. Dvorak and began lesson 30 with Mr. Mozrt.
• Reviewed line notes and space notes - moving by step and by skip.
• Practiced finger number playbacks and rhythm playbacks.
• Reviewed note values: eighth, quarter, half, and whole. Also, dotted half notes.
• Learned a new game: Making Soup!
• Nice improvisations at the end of class Aoiffe, Sophia, Morgan and Lidya.

Thanks for the fun class everyone. You're all doing great!