Sound Beginnings Articles

If you're a Sound Beginnings Parent, we've collected some blog posts that will be most helpful to you:

Sun, Moon, and Stars: Why we teach patterns in Sound Beginnings class. Learn the reasons AND get ideas for playing with patterns in your daily life here.

Jack be Nimble, Jack be Quick! Here are 3 more fun ways to enjoy this nursery rhyme and extend learning at home. Read more here. 

If you love to sing The Itsy Bitsy Spider, be sure to check out these extension activities and crafts for more fun at home. Read more 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.

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.

• What Makes Sound Beginnings Different from other programs?? 
• The Seven Foundational Elements of the Sound Beginnings program

Discover the Pentatonic Scale in this post here. This simple five-note scale is a basic learning tool for musicians and children all around the world. Bobby McFerrin gives a demonstration showing how humans naturally internalize the pentatonic scale.

Why do youngsters need so much repetition in learning? Find out in this post and learn how to apply layered repetition to your own learning and teaching- you'll be able to remember every song you know!

Understand instrument families with this post: how we categorize the instruments of the orchestra and how we help students hear the different timbres they make. Sound Beginnings instrument day is a "petting zoo of instruments" for your child!

Understand the heart maps in your workbook, and learn more about helping your child develop the ability to find and keep a steady beat with some games and tips in this post.






You might also enjoy these topics from our FIRST YEAR STUDENT articles:
Big Ideas that Shape Let's Play Music:

• Educating the Whole Musician: What does that mean? 
• Parent Involvement is Key: How does it lead to success?
• Let's Sing (part I): Sing first: Why Singing is Fundamental
• Let's Sing (part 2): Help me sing on pitch
• Perfect Pitch: What is it? Will my child develop it in LPM? 
• Group Lessons: Why group lessons are best for your child right now
• SOLFEG Part 1: When You Know the Notes to Sing
• SOLFEG Part 2: 7 Reasons We Use It to Teach, How It Helps Us Succeed.
• SOLFEG Part 3: Learn the Handshapes
• Learning to Read Music the LPM Way
• What exactly IS ear training? 
• Start with Piano: How Piano training prepares you for any instrument 
• Orff: His Influence on Let's Play Music, why we love our tone bells.  

Have a request for a post? Leave a comment below! Fresh posts come every month to help you get more from class by playing at home.