In our 7th lesson we reviewed the Christmas song I gave you last week: Silent Night.
Some of you did very very good practice: Aidan and Lauren - amazing work!
This was an exercise for you to do with pen and paper, naming the notes. I gave you the answers today. But here they are again:
Silent Night
3 4 3 1
G A G E (x2)
5 5 3 4 4 1
D D B C C G
3 3 5 4 3 2 3 2 1
A A C B A G A G E (x2)
3 3 5 3 1 2 4
D D F D B C E
2 5 3 5 4 2 1
C G E G F D C
You can copy and paste this into Notepad and print off the song, if you'd like to practice it over the holidays. This was, after all, our second last class!
Notice the Finger Numbers/Letters that are in Bold. This is your Hand Position! If you set your thumb on the right key, all your other fingers should fall naturally on the rest of the notes.
For this song, your hand position changes for each line.
After Silent Night, we played some Grand Staff Note Placement. Keep practicing this game at home: http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html
We reviewed Pop Goes the Weasel, and talked about 3/4 time. This means you have 3 beats in each bar.
Make sure to count: 1+2+3+ while you play, and count your RESTS as well as your NOTES.
Then, we learned a new song On Top of Old Smokey, that also uses 3/4 time. Watch out for intervals of 2nds, 3rds and 4ths in this song!
Remember, an interval means the distance between 2 notes.
We played a little bit of Bongo Boy at the end of class, and then it was time to go.
I had fun working with you today! Thanks everyone, have a great week!
Thursday, December 6
Wednesday, December 5
BLT Elementary School Wed. Dec. 5 2.00-3.00pm
Very nice work today!
In our 5th session we learned more about Holding Notes, with Mr. Bach.
Bach wrote music for the Organ and the Harpsichord, two relatives of the Piano.
The organ is a larger keyboard instrument that uses wind to create sound, and the harpsichord is a smaller keyboard instrument that plucks strings to create sound.
We also talked about Vivaldi's Four Season! A very famous piece of music.
You're doing great with your practices, playing High notes and Low notes. By now, you're reading real 'circle' notes, not just Bird and Whale notes. Practice High and Low notes, and finding middle C on your keyboard at home.
We practiced more rhythms today - make sure you count 1+2+3+4+. Especially for the holding notes. See if you can do some clapping exercises the way we do with the metronome, at home with your Mom or Dad or with a friend. Make up a four-beat rhythms or word phrases to clap back for each other.
Finally, we reviewed the entire musical alphabet, going all the way up the keyboard.
How many letters are there in the musical alphabet? 7! That's right.
See you next week everyone, for our last class! Have fun :)
In our 5th session we learned more about Holding Notes, with Mr. Bach.
Bach wrote music for the Organ and the Harpsichord, two relatives of the Piano.
The organ is a larger keyboard instrument that uses wind to create sound, and the harpsichord is a smaller keyboard instrument that plucks strings to create sound.
We also talked about Vivaldi's Four Season! A very famous piece of music.
You're doing great with your practices, playing High notes and Low notes. By now, you're reading real 'circle' notes, not just Bird and Whale notes. Practice High and Low notes, and finding middle C on your keyboard at home.
We practiced more rhythms today - make sure you count 1+2+3+4+. Especially for the holding notes. See if you can do some clapping exercises the way we do with the metronome, at home with your Mom or Dad or with a friend. Make up a four-beat rhythms or word phrases to clap back for each other.
Finally, we reviewed the entire musical alphabet, going all the way up the keyboard.
How many letters are there in the musical alphabet? 7! That's right.
See you next week everyone, for our last class! Have fun :)
Hammonds Plains Elementary School Wed. Dec. 5 8.00-9.00am
Today, we warmed up playing C major scales with our Right Hands. Remember the fingering: 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1.
Then we played the game "Face off" to practice naming notes on the grand staff.
It was a fast-paced game and the score was close! 7 to 6!
At the end I gave prizes to all of you because you worked very hard today! I was impressed.
We went over the song "Old Grey Goose" together, and talked about keeping a steady beat and a curved finger hand position.
Gracen and Jessy finished early and tried out "Jingle Bells" - you're doing very well!
Then we did some exercises for the Left Hand in the Bass Clef.
Remember the rhymes for the space notes: Treble Clef - FACE and Bass Clef - All Cows Eat Grass.
Also, try to remember where the notes Bass C, Middle C and High C are on the staff. This will help you to figure out the letter names of all the other notes.
Finally, we did a Theory lesson about Middle C position, where both thumbs are on C.
Remember to read the music to see what notes to play, watching out for steps and skips.
Here is a PDF file of "Old Grey Goose" for you to practice on your pianos at home this weekend.
Thanks everyone!
Then we played the game "Face off" to practice naming notes on the grand staff.
It was a fast-paced game and the score was close! 7 to 6!
At the end I gave prizes to all of you because you worked very hard today! I was impressed.
We went over the song "Old Grey Goose" together, and talked about keeping a steady beat and a curved finger hand position.
Gracen and Jessy finished early and tried out "Jingle Bells" - you're doing very well!
Then we did some exercises for the Left Hand in the Bass Clef.
Remember the rhymes for the space notes: Treble Clef - FACE and Bass Clef - All Cows Eat Grass.
Also, try to remember where the notes Bass C, Middle C and High C are on the staff. This will help you to figure out the letter names of all the other notes.
Finally, we did a Theory lesson about Middle C position, where both thumbs are on C.
Remember to read the music to see what notes to play, watching out for steps and skips.
Here is a PDF file of "Old Grey Goose" for you to practice on your pianos at home this weekend.
Thanks everyone!
Tuesday, December 4
Westmount Elementary School Tues. Dec. 4 12.15-1.15pm
We learned how to make 5-finger ant tunnels with our new computer teacher Scott Joplin today.
Scott Joplin was an African-American composer who wrote amazing piano music. He lived about a hundred years ago, and is famous for his songs The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag.
5-finger Ant tunnels are where you have to keep your fingers curved and your wrists up on the piano keys. If you let your hand collapse then all the ants will get squished!
Remember that each of your fingers has a number: Thumbs are 1, and little fingers are 5.
Practice playing finger numbers at home. Parents, you can call out a finger number for your child to play on their knee 3 times. Then try calling out different 3-note patterns (for example: 3-2-1) and have your child play the notes on the piano with their Right hand thumb on Middle C.
Practice rhythms at home over the Christmas break. Remember to count 1+2+3+4+.
Today was our last class. I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday season. You deserve it!
We learned a lot and had so much fun together.
I really loved getting to know this class!
Parents, just a reminder that you can now register for classes in the New Year at www.musiqclub.com
Monday, December 3
Fleming Tower Elementary School Mon. Dec. 3 2.15-3.15pm
With the snow storm, we had a small class today. 7 out of 12.
For those of you who missed lesson 7, we'll try to help you catch up next week. We'll be meeting our new computer teacher, Scott Joplin, next week. I hope everyone can be there for our final lesson before Christmas :)
Today, we learned about notes getting higher and higher. Above middle C we can have medium high notes and very high notes. We also learned about notes getting lower and lower.
There are medium low notes and very low notes below middle C.
Remember to practice your songs using your left hand for the low notes and right hand for the high notes.
Keep your fingers curved.
I brought in my violin and played you different combinations of three notes.
Everyone would sing back the notes I played and and tell me if I was getting higher and higher or lower and lower. Great work!
Then we read the story "Up. Up. Down" by Robert Munsch. All of you helped me read it, saying the words "up... up... up... up... doooooooowwwn" with a voice that climbs higher and higher and then gradually falls down low. That was fun!
We learned the Jungle Girl game.
To jump from vine to vine you have to listen to the birds sing 2 notes, and then play 2 notes back that move in the right direction - getting higher or lower.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Have a great week everyone.
For those of you who missed lesson 7, we'll try to help you catch up next week. We'll be meeting our new computer teacher, Scott Joplin, next week. I hope everyone can be there for our final lesson before Christmas :)
Today, we learned about notes getting higher and higher. Above middle C we can have medium high notes and very high notes. We also learned about notes getting lower and lower.
There are medium low notes and very low notes below middle C.
Remember to practice your songs using your left hand for the low notes and right hand for the high notes.
Keep your fingers curved.
I brought in my violin and played you different combinations of three notes.
Everyone would sing back the notes I played and and tell me if I was getting higher and higher or lower and lower. Great work!
Then we read the story "Up. Up. Down" by Robert Munsch. All of you helped me read it, saying the words "up... up... up... up... doooooooowwwn" with a voice that climbs higher and higher and then gradually falls down low. That was fun!
We learned the Jungle Girl game.
To jump from vine to vine you have to listen to the birds sing 2 notes, and then play 2 notes back that move in the right direction - getting higher or lower.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Have a great week everyone.
Friday, November 30
J. W. MacLeod Elementary School Fri. Nov. 30 2.45-3.45pm
In our 8th lesson, we began by warming up with C major scales.
Keep practicing each hand separately. They are sounding better and better, but the left hand in general needs more exercise. We want the scales to be smooth (legato), keeping a steady beat, with curved fingers.
We reviewed Intervals, and played a game of faceoff to help us get faster at recognizing the distance between two notes.
Then we spent some time in the Grand Staff Note Placement game. Each of you named 25 notes correctly before we moved on to our new song On Top of Old Smokey.
We practiced counting in three, and revisited Pop goes the weasel.
Then we did a theory lesson on Eighth notes. Remember that eighth notes move twice as fast as quarter notes, so each one is worth only half a beat. That's why it is useful to count 1+2+3+4+ when we are keeping a beat.
You did a great job of counting with the new song Get Up.
Please print off these songs so that you can practice them at home:
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson6_Pop_Goes_the_Weasel.pdf
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson7_On_Top_of_Old_Smokey.pdf
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson8_Get_Up.pdf
Thanks for your good work everyone. Have fun practicing and I'll see you next week!
Keep practicing each hand separately. They are sounding better and better, but the left hand in general needs more exercise. We want the scales to be smooth (legato), keeping a steady beat, with curved fingers.
We reviewed Intervals, and played a game of faceoff to help us get faster at recognizing the distance between two notes.
Then we spent some time in the Grand Staff Note Placement game. Each of you named 25 notes correctly before we moved on to our new song On Top of Old Smokey.
We practiced counting in three, and revisited Pop goes the weasel.
Then we did a theory lesson on Eighth notes. Remember that eighth notes move twice as fast as quarter notes, so each one is worth only half a beat. That's why it is useful to count 1+2+3+4+ when we are keeping a beat.
You did a great job of counting with the new song Get Up.
Please print off these songs so that you can practice them at home:
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson6_Pop_Goes_the_Weasel.pdf
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson7_On_Top_of_Old_Smokey.pdf
http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson8_Get_Up.pdf
Thanks for your good work everyone. Have fun practicing and I'll see you next week!
Thursday, November 29
Kingswood School Thurs. Nov. 29 11.40-12.40pm
In our 6th lesson, we went over C major scales. We reviewed playing legato and with curved fingers, keeping a steady beat. Your scales are sounding better and better.
Most of you still need practice with the left hand. Remember that your 5th finger begins on low C.
The fingering for the left hand is: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1
After scales, we talked about Intervals again - the distance between two notes. If you can recognize the shapes of intervals on the staff you will be able to read music faster. To find out the distance between two notes you can count up from the bottom note by line and space, then notice how the two notes look in relation to each other. 2nds are directly next to each other, 3rds will always be a line to a line or a space to a space, 4ths are a 3rd plus one, etc.
We played a game with flashcards to see how fast we could figure out different intervals.
Next, we played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and talked about the person who composed this song - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Twinkle Twinkle was orginally written as a Theme and Variations. I played the tune for you on my violin, and then improvised a few variations. A theme can be played in many different ways to make it sound faster, slower, more complex or more simple. You told me some facts about Mozart's life: he was a child prodigy who wrote his first symphony at the age of 8, he was from Germany and he died at the age of 35.
After practicing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star together, we tried a new song: Silent Night.
This song uses only the Right Hand in the Treble clef.
See if you can write down all the letter names above, or underneath the notes for next class.
Remember how we name notes in the Grand Staff. Count up from middle C, which is the note on its own line below the treble clef staff.
We worked hard today. Well done everyone.
See you next week!
Most of you still need practice with the left hand. Remember that your 5th finger begins on low C.
The fingering for the left hand is: 5-4-3-2-1-3-2-1
After scales, we talked about Intervals again - the distance between two notes. If you can recognize the shapes of intervals on the staff you will be able to read music faster. To find out the distance between two notes you can count up from the bottom note by line and space, then notice how the two notes look in relation to each other. 2nds are directly next to each other, 3rds will always be a line to a line or a space to a space, 4ths are a 3rd plus one, etc.
We played a game with flashcards to see how fast we could figure out different intervals.
Next, we played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and talked about the person who composed this song - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Twinkle Twinkle was orginally written as a Theme and Variations. I played the tune for you on my violin, and then improvised a few variations. A theme can be played in many different ways to make it sound faster, slower, more complex or more simple. You told me some facts about Mozart's life: he was a child prodigy who wrote his first symphony at the age of 8, he was from Germany and he died at the age of 35.
After practicing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star together, we tried a new song: Silent Night.
This song uses only the Right Hand in the Treble clef.
See if you can write down all the letter names above, or underneath the notes for next class.
Remember how we name notes in the Grand Staff. Count up from middle C, which is the note on its own line below the treble clef staff.
We worked hard today. Well done everyone.
See you next week!
Wednesday, November 28
BLT Elementary School Wed. Nov. 28 2.00-3.00pm
What a fun lesson we had today!
We met our new teacher Mr. Bach.
Do you remember some things that he told us about his life? He had 20 children, wore a white curly wig and composed music for the Church!
Mr. Bach taught us about holding notes. That's when you hold down the piano key for a certain number of beats. Remember to count 1+2+3+4+ when you're keeping track of your beats!
After practicing this concept with Ms. Melody we played the game Hold the Train. You had to be careful to hold the note for the exact number of beats, so that the train would run on time, but still let off all the passengers at their stop.
We made up some more word-phrase rhythms today. I liked Cameron's "I Like Christ-Mas" (long, long, long, long).
We reviewed playing high notes with our right hands, and low notes with our left hands, and how to find the notes Middle C and F.
Do you remember? Group of 2, down to C. And Group of 3, down to F.
Practice high/low, the musical alphabet, rhythms and holding notes at home this week.
Thanks for your hard work everyone.
I was very impressed with all of you.
Micheal, thank you especially for helping me help Meghan catch up with the class today.
Meghan, it was nice to see you again. You're doing great! We'll have you up to speed in no time. :)
We met our new teacher Mr. Bach.
Do you remember some things that he told us about his life? He had 20 children, wore a white curly wig and composed music for the Church!
Mr. Bach taught us about holding notes. That's when you hold down the piano key for a certain number of beats. Remember to count 1+2+3+4+ when you're keeping track of your beats!
After practicing this concept with Ms. Melody we played the game Hold the Train. You had to be careful to hold the note for the exact number of beats, so that the train would run on time, but still let off all the passengers at their stop.
We made up some more word-phrase rhythms today. I liked Cameron's "I Like Christ-Mas" (long, long, long, long).
We reviewed playing high notes with our right hands, and low notes with our left hands, and how to find the notes Middle C and F.
Do you remember? Group of 2, down to C. And Group of 3, down to F.
Practice high/low, the musical alphabet, rhythms and holding notes at home this week.
Thanks for your hard work everyone.
I was very impressed with all of you.
Micheal, thank you especially for helping me help Meghan catch up with the class today.
Meghan, it was nice to see you again. You're doing great! We'll have you up to speed in no time. :)
Hammonds Plains Elementary School Wed. Nov. 28 8.00-9.00am
Today was a half-lesson.
Sorry for the mix-up everyone. As we discussed, we'll have the super-fun lesson I had planned for us next week :)
Here's what we did in class:
Thanks for waiting so patiently for me to arrive this morning. My sincerest apologies for being late.
I promise to make it up to you.
Have a great week everyone.
Sorry for the mix-up everyone. As we discussed, we'll have the super-fun lesson I had planned for us next week :)
Here's what we did in class:
- Naming notes on the Grand-Staff using flashcards. (Remember the Space Note Rhymes: F-A-C-E and All-Cows-Eat-Grass. Also, memorize where all the 'C' notes are on the staff. This will help you to count up or down by line and space.)
- 4-Beat Rhythms. Quarter notes, Half notes, Whole notes and Eighth notes. (Practice making up your own combinations of note values. If you have a music friend, you can do clapping exercises together.)
- Try to perfect Old Grey Goose at home this week. You can print off a copy of the music using the following link: http://www.musiqclub.com/blog/resources/Lesson3_Old_Grey_Goose.pdf
- And try this Note-Naming Game at home, so that when we do the contest next week in class, your team will have a better chance of winning! http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html
Thanks for waiting so patiently for me to arrive this morning. My sincerest apologies for being late.
I promise to make it up to you.
Have a great week everyone.
Tuesday, November 27
Westmount Elementary School Tues. Nov. 27 12.15-1.15pm
Very good work today girls. We missed Morgan, but I think she'll be able to catch up with us for next time.
Today, I brought in my violin. We learned about notes getting higher and higher and lower and lower.
This means that above the line that marks middle C you can have notes that are medium high or very high, or below the middle C line - notes that are medium low or very low.
To practice, I played you some notes on the violin and you sang them back to me. Then you would have to say whether you were going higher and higher or lower and lower. Try doing this exercise on the piano at home with your Mom or Dad, sister or brother.
At first, this exercise was a little confusing, but everyone was moving in the right direction by the end of class. Plus, it was fun singing with the violin!
We reviewed 4-beat rhythms together with the metronome and spent some time practicing legato and staccato in the Improvisation room too.
We reviewed all the games that we've learned so far, and also practiced our C-major scale!
Thanks being such great students, as usual. I'll see you next time, for our final MusIQ Club this year before Christmas. Have a good week!
Today, I brought in my violin. We learned about notes getting higher and higher and lower and lower.
This means that above the line that marks middle C you can have notes that are medium high or very high, or below the middle C line - notes that are medium low or very low.
To practice, I played you some notes on the violin and you sang them back to me. Then you would have to say whether you were going higher and higher or lower and lower. Try doing this exercise on the piano at home with your Mom or Dad, sister or brother.
At first, this exercise was a little confusing, but everyone was moving in the right direction by the end of class. Plus, it was fun singing with the violin!
We reviewed 4-beat rhythms together with the metronome and spent some time practicing legato and staccato in the Improvisation room too.
We reviewed all the games that we've learned so far, and also practiced our C-major scale!
Thanks being such great students, as usual. I'll see you next time, for our final MusIQ Club this year before Christmas. Have a good week!
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