Making Musicians: First Year Articles

If you have a first year student, let us help you find the articles that are most helpful right now!

Have a request for a topic/post? Leave a comment below. New articles come out regularly to help you get the most from music class by playing and learning at home

Parent involvement is the single most critical factor determining a student's long-term achievement in music. In Let's Play Music, parents attend class with students, and they don't just watch! Find out the why, the what, and the how of being an awesome music parent in this post.

The first year of the Let's Play Music program is light on the practice schedule, but when recital time comes, it's time to ramp up the regular, recorded practices with an intention of polishing the recital songs. Get a fun practice chart and some ideas in our blog post here.

Solfege is a powerful tool for ear training and singing skills. Find out why it works, why we use it in class, and how you can learn solfege quickly in this series:

Part One Here

Part Two Here

Part Three Here

Let's Sing! In PART ONE, learn why singing is a fundamental musicianship skill and essential for ear training. Read it here.

In PART TWO, help your child sing on pitch and match pitch with some exercises and activities. Read it here.

YES. We do teach perfect (absolute) pitch. Find out what this term means, how we teach it, and how it will benefit your child. Superpowers, here you come! Read the post here.

Ready for a fun exercise? Turn your favorite story books into song! Story time just reached a new level of greatness! Read our post and enjoy some easy to sing books- or create your own.

One facet of ear training is recognizing major and minor sounds. We have lots of fun training with a classic song and teach you a cup-passing-game in this post.

Have some pitch-matching, ear-training fun at home with your tone bells and a classic memory game. Find out how in this post.

We use vocal channeling to expand your range with this Halloween song. Plus some trick-or-treating with memorable melodies. There's even a coloring page just for fun. Read about it here.

Tambourine Train: Understand the difference between BEAT and RHYTHM, and learn more about helping your child find and keep a steady beat with some games and tips in this post.

Ever wondered: what exactly is ear training and what can it do for you? Find out a bit more from an ear training expert by reading this post.

Meet the BLUE BUGS! We use rhythm syllables to teach accurate and easy rhythm reading- find out how. Read the article here.

How can building blocks and jungle drums help teach musical rhythms? Check out clever ways to think about subdividing beats in this article. Read more here.

The autoharp gives students a chance to read chords, play accompaniment, sing, and keep rhythm. Even without a harp at home, you can practice skills from class: read this post to see how.

We sing several traditional nursery songs in each of our programs. Find out why (and read to find out what happens next to the 3 blind mice) in this post.

Chords are a foundation for understanding music, composition, and improvisation. This classic song demonstrates what you can do with just one chord- check out some of the ways we use Paint to explore chords and inversions at many levels, in this post.