The Tambourine Party Results

 I really like making strong connections to the pieces My First Piano Adventures students learn. For weeks we talked about the piece "Tambourine Party" and how we would have our own party soon. My idea was that one student would play the piece while the others would sound their percussion instrument at just the right time during the song.

   It worked very well when we had a "Pumpkin Party" and we sang along while each student took a turn accompanying. I thought we were well prepared but the piece "Tambourine Party" changes hands on the second measure. It takes forward thinking to prepare the brain to change and in an ensemble this must happen on the beat. Everyone stumbled and I learned how important it is to remind my students to use CLAP in their practice. Count, Look Ahead, Attention to notes coming up, and Play; that is what I hope to reinforce in the next weeks.

  I am always learning what to focus on in private lessons when I work with the group lessons. It is a good thing!

A Chord Company

  Happy Valentine's Day!! A company of students came to learn about chords yesterday and more will come today because it is group lessons week. Yesterday they were my Piano Adventures 2B students and we all needed to review the keys of C,G,D,F; their scales, their tonic, dominant and sub dominant chords, the concept of inverting chords and how these chord sound.
   We started with a treble simple staff and Hershey's kisses to make triads. We used black disks under the chocolate kiss if the chord had a black note.
   Then we used a worksheet from colorinmypiano.com to write out scales and I,IV,V7 chords. Going over the visual pattern of a triad and moving it to a V7 chord seemed to fill some holes in these student's knowledge base.

   Lastly we used my Eggspert game to drill aural sounds of chords using Music Learning Community on my laptop. In "Wheel of Fortune" mode one person's egg would light up and they would listen to a pattern of I and V7 chords and find the matching written pattern.

   Eggspert was such a great hit that we played it in "Jeopardy" mode. I called out a chord name, they had to build it on the staff with their Kisses and then they could push the Eggspert button to get 5 points. Because of the heightened emotions some of these facts will stick better than if I explain them in a private lesson. Stay tuned for a report of my Tambourine Party, tomorrow.

Tambourine Party

  Group Lessons are around the corner in February. I am having a Tambourine Party for my First Piano Adventures students.

  All the students have played this song and could accompany us as we sing it. So here is the agenda.

Title: Tambourine Party

M.C:Tap, who loves rhythm

Goal: Explore 3/4 and 4/4 Time Signature
          Use rhythm instruments to keep a steady beat
          Review the patterns we have been highlighting
          Let everyone play a piece for each other
          Share cheese sticks bread sticks for a snack

Agenda:
   Sing Tambourine Party with student accompaniment
   Bring out the instrument Box

   Substitute instrument sounds for the words of the instruments within the song
   Assign places on the floor to make a line of music
   Give each student an envelop with paper notes
   You can find these rhythm blocks here.
   Make four measures in 3/4 time then everyone taps that measure with sticks

Do the same with four measures of 4/4 time

Take out the "chunks" of notes we have been reviewing and play "Guess the Pattern"

  (One student plays one of these patterns on the piano and the other students look, listen, and guess.)

Invited: 7 students who are in My First Piano Adventures

It should be fun!!!

Dancing at the Pumpkin Party

   Dances are a huge portion of the repertoire in piano pieces. I often ask my students which they think came first, dancing or music When I taught Kindermusik Young Child the curriculum called for learning circle dances. I had a small space to work in but I found my 4-7 year-old children loved dancing  My MFPA Lesson Book  B has a cluster of dance music right around Tucker's Secret Life. There is a boogie, a bop, and a folk dance. My goal at this younger Pumpkin Party was to prepare my students to accompany these dances. I taught them to start with an introduction to ready the dancers.Then the challenge was playing smooth enough for us to sing and dance with the accompanist. This is not easy for these 5 and 6's. It required weeks of practice on these songs. But it worked and it was the best activity of the hour.

  We danced around a big gathering drum which represented a birch tree to the piece "Russian Sailor Dance". We moved right, then left, and finally stopped and beat the drum through the second line of the song. Tucker was all over the boogie dance. He had some smooth moves.

   I brought back the game Mr. Music which everyone loves and introduced the quarter rest. In the game asking for a rest or being told to rest meant you could not move from your spot. Ah, to have a bit of power is so stimulating.Thanks to T. who was my student helper for one if the parties.

Pumpkin Party Group Lessons

    I am taking all the songs around "Pumpkin Party" to the bank in two weeks time as this becomes the theme for group lessons.

   I hope this is entertaining for you as I review my plans.. I value all my blogger piano friends who give me their great ideas.
   Title: Pumpkin Party
   MC: Tucker
   Goal: Review patterns from A-G
            Let everyone play a piece
            Expose the students to accompanying
            Share some pumpkin cookies
   Agenda:
            Sing Pumpkin Party with one child playing
            Have Tucker greet each child and give each of them a ticket for the A train
               bound for Piano Adventure Land.
            Get on the "A Train" with one child playing- circle dance
            Find the missing patterns around the room
            Each child plays their pattern on the piano, the keyboard, or the I-Pad Piano
            Tucker shares his secret life
            Sing while one child plays
            What are the dogs dancing?
                    A-B Bop- circle dance with one child playing
                    Russian Sailor Dance- with one child playing
             Match the notes- Call out a note name and everyone tries to touch the
                note card in the middle with their mini spatulas
             Have a pumpkin cookie

     Invited: Five MFPA students

                 Tucker, you are an inspiration!