Goodbye, Old Paint

Here at Let's Play Music, we use several traditional songs to help teach music. (Read our post on why we use folk music.) 

One of my favorites is Goodbye, Old Paint, and I've found lots of ways to have fun with it in all three years of the curriculum.  This song gives a perfect example of how we can layer levels of skill into an activity.

Say Will, why don't you pull out that thing and play us a tune?

Goodbye Old Paint was a trail-drive song first notated around 1885. Cowboys spent long hours in the saddle, herding their cattle for days and weeks.  And what did they do for fun? They made up songs!  They couldn't bring pianos, just whatever small instruments they could carry.  Cowboy Jess Morris learned this song from another cowboy with a jew's harp, and decided to make his own arrangement for fiddle.  In a 1928 fiddle contest, Jess was singled out for his interesting arrangement of Goodbye, Old Paint and had his tune was recorded for the first time on vinyl.

We enjoy rockin' out in our car to this modern version of this song by Dan Zanes, on his album, Rocket Ship Beach.

*Goodbye, Old Paint, I'm leavin' Cheyenne.

Goodbye, Old Paint, I'm leavin' Cheyenne.

Old Paint's a good pony, he runs when he can.

Good morning, young lady, my pony won't stand. 

*Goodbye...

I'm ridin' Old Paint and I'm leading Old Tan

Good Morning Little Annie, I'm off for Montan'

*Goodbye...

Oh hitch up your horses, and feed them some hay,

Seat yourself by me as long as you stay,

*Goodbye...

My wagon is loaded and rollin' away,

My horses ain't hungry, they'll not eat your hay,

*Goodbye...

 

My Let's Play Music students always want to know: "what do those lyrics mean!?" So, here's one interpretation: This is a song about a cowboy (insert your favorite cowboy name... Winston), leaving Cheyenne and heading to Montana on his horse, Old Tan (insert a bold reason to be moving states... to meet his bride). He must leave behind his beloved childhood pet pony, Paint, because the pony's too old to make the journey. This song is almost 150 years old and they did not have horse trailers back then, you'll want to explain to your child.  And why was the horse named Paint? American Paint Horses are breeds that are beautifully mottled, so this pony must have been spotty. (Follow the link to learn more about horses with the various official patterns- pretty cool.)

Dan Zanes sings about Little Annie, the cowboy's younger sister who always wanted a pony, (why not?) and will take care of Paint while he's gone.  Annie says, "hitch up the horses and sit down and hang out," but our cowboy says, "My wagon is loaded and my horses are fed so I'm just gonna take off now. Bye!"

I often have some 4 or 5 year-old students who are so sad to consider leaving a beloved pet behind. Having a verse about sister, Annie, pet-sitting is a really happy twist.  Occasionally, we'll decide that Winston comes back to visit, so we sing:

Hello, Old Paint, I'm back in Cheyenne

Hello, Old Paint, I'm back in Cheyenne

I'm back in Cheyenne, yeah I came from Montan'

Hello, Old Paint, I'm back in Cheyenne

First Year: Harp and Bells

Students will meet Old Paint in the first year at lesson X.  We love that this song is harmonized with only one chord: red. At this point in the curriculum, it is important for the student to play independently on the harp while accompanying a group of singers.  To make this requirement a bit easier, we love using a song that has no chord changes.  Students just focus on correct strumming and timing to find the beat and play steadily.  Does your child strum too quickly, or play without coordinating with the singers!?  Practice at home using any of our practice-at-home harp tecniques (read our post).

Teacher Darlayne Coughlin (Middleton, WI) has first and second year students play Old Paint on a gathering drum. If you have a drum at home, get it out so your child can master matching the beat. This is critical before moving on to bells.

I like to prop the bells in the case like this. For the first try, I have my daughter just play the red C bell on the downbeats (all that drum practice will pay off). Only once that's mastered, I let her try adding in the E and G notes of the broken red chord (what is a broken chord?).  

I love to have a drum, harp, piano, or other bells continue playing the downbeats only, so my bell-player remembers to get back to the C for every downbeat. In the absence of a piano, I slap the floor as if I were playing a drum, and I say "you have to make sure to play red every time I slap the floor, so we can stay together." If you have younger or older children, pull them in to practice this song- the more the merrier! Everyone keeps the downbeat with their instrument and the bell-player plays a broken chord.

Students love melody, too, and are learning to read on the staff.  Teacher Genny Earl (Mesa, AZ) notated our melody. I love that it is NOT colored, because we want students to focus on baby steps and skips instead of matching bell colors. This is essential in how we teach students to read music (read our post). If you have a super-smarty first-year student, let her read and learn the melody. (Yes, we are missing a few bells)

Second Year: Keyboard

Old Paint comes back in second year to help students play the red chord on keyboards.  We play nice and slowly to give small hands the ability to keep up and gain strength. After all, Paint's an old horse and can't go very fast. It is most important that students use the correct fingering (1,3,5) so fingering and correct hand shape will be integrated through muscle memory.  I like to paint all of my students' 1,3, and 5 fingernails RED to help them match up those fingers to the red chord stickers on the keyboard.  When we practice this song over and over at home, we add in the extra verses from Dan Zanes, or I play a duet with the melody an octave higher while my daughter plays the chords. If your kiddo struggles to play the red chord due to weak fingers, keep practicing and also add in our non-piano finger-strengthing games.

If you have a super-smarty student (I call them Super Turtles), here are some additional ways to make a one-chord song like Old Paint exciting:

• Take Paint for a walk. Play the lowest red chord you can find, then jump up an octave, then another. Be sure to sing the song as you help him walk along the keyboard from low to high.
• Kick him into a canter (see photo below). Play bugs instead of slugs (quarter notes instead of whole notes) while you sing. Keep a steady rhythm.
• Give Paint a friend. Play the left hand while you sing (as long as you use correct fingers: 5,3,1). Then, play both hands in steady red chords.
• Go Marching. Have the left hand and right hand take turns playing the chords, nice and slowly.
• Be a fancy circus horse! If your child has mastered everything so far and has strong hands, play the chord in a broken style (just like we played on bells last year). Be willing to go really slowly at first. It's not a race.
• Play the melody. I recommend you get the bells out and practice reading/playing melody there for now, since playing on the keyboard will require stretching the hand into some handshakes we haven't practiced yet.

Old Paint loves to canter across the keys!

Having lots of fun with Paint? The iPhone app Horse Lovers Camera lets you superimpose horse images over other photos.  Now your Paint can play the piano, too! If you create a fun Old Paint photo, please share it with us on our Facebook page.

Third Year: Mixed Paint

Old Paint comes back again in third year when we work on chord inversions. When we sing the red chord, we sing Do-Mi-Sol.  BUT, we could also sing Mi-Sol-Do or Sol-Do-Mi and it would still be a red chord.  I take my red triangle from class and rotate it around, "Look! Old Paint is doing cartwheels!"  Students in every year can and should practice singing the chords in different inversions like this. Soon enough they'll be playing all the inversions on the keyboard, too. (Watch for our upcoming post on inversions.)

I hope you enjoy singing about our favorite horsey pal, no matter which year of the curriculum you are in!

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music Teacher

A Happy Ending for the Three Blind Mice. Why folk music?

You child might be asking you: Why were the mice blind? Why did the farmer's wife chase them!?  What happened next!?

Rest easy once you've heard the extended story with pictures and happy ending, in this online (and offline) storybook by John Ivimey. The mice even end up with a pet cockroach…so friendly!

CLICK HERE TO READ THE BOOK

History of Three Blind Mice

This nursery rhyme became mainstream in children's literature in the 1842 publishing of "The Nursery Rhymes of England". However, it was originally written with music in 1609.  It is speculated that the origin of the tale of the mice came from the Catholic Queen Mary I (Bloody Mary), Henry VIII's only surviving daughter, who was known for her merciless hounding of Protestants.  The story could relate to Mary's 1555 execution by burning of three Protestant bishops.  The mice's blindness could be interpreted as faithlessness, alluding to their rejection of Catholicism.

Mary Tudor is also featured in the nursery rhyme "Mary Mary, quite Contrary", enjoyed by our Sound Beginnings Students.  The 'silver bells' and 'cockle shells' in the garden likely referenced torture devices like thumbscrews, and the 'maids' referred to The Maid (a pre-guillotine device for beheading).

Why Do We Sing Nursery Rhymes?

Let's Play Music adopts many Kodaly concepts of music education.  Authentic folk music has short form, pentatonic style, and simple, repetetive language.  The clear, simple, musical styles in nursery rhymes provide the perfect foundation for mastering beginning rhythmic and melodic skills.  Mastery of skills and concepts in progressive levels of difficulty is critical for the long-term musical success desired by Let's Play Music families.  'Three Blind Mice' is a melody that has withstood the test of time; any tune with poor melodic or rhythmic qualities would not have been passed from generation to generation for over 400 years!

"Kodaly felt that simple, expressive forms of nursery songs and folk music were most suitable for children because they were living music, not fabricated or contrived for pedagogical purposes. The language of folk music tends to be simple, drawn from speech patterns familiar to children even before they enter school."

"Kodaly felt a close relationship between the music of the people and the music of great composers. He believed that a love for the masterworks could be cultivated through a knowledge of and a love for one's own folk music."

Folk music plays an important artistic role for each musician: providing a cultural musical background.  In the Let's Play Music effort to educate the whole musician, we practice singing several folk songs to provide students with an ageless cultural background from which to draw from as they begin creating their own music.  

A fantastic way to understand the simplicity and richness of folk music is to peek at samples of folk music from several different cultures (click here).  You'll notice that each cultural video shows simple music, with only a few musicians, using instruments characteristic of their country.  Folk music often takes place outside for anyone to dance to.  Now that you've joined Let's Play Music, you'll have many opportunities to play and dance to folk music, too.

Let's Play Music also adheres to the 9 National Standards for Music Education.  Standard number 9 is: understand music in relation to history and culture. We offer a valuable string to the past when we teach children that music has been around since before even their parents were born!  Music has a role in life beyond just entertainment, and even beyond music education.  Your music teacher might let your child in on the secret that today they learned a song that is over 400 years old!  Back in that century, singing rhymes and songs to each other was the way people recorded history.  

A Little More Mi-Re-Do

Of course we love the simple melodies in folk songs since they give our beginning students the perfect complexity of tune to examine and identify.  Your child should be able to  hear and identify the mi-re-do in 'Three Blind Mice' and soon will be able to figure out how to pick out the entire tune, note-by-note on bells or keyboard from carefully listening and identifying solfeg. Encourage your child to 'mess around' with the bells, tell him that he just might able to figure out a well-known song, and chances are he'll come to you with a big proud smile once he gets it!

'Hot Cross Buns' is another easy mi-re-do tune you may want to sing and play with your child this week.  It actually ONLY uses these 3 notes!  (MRD, MRD, DDDD, RRRR, MRD).  If you let your child in on the 3-bell secret, and challenge him to pick out the melody, he'll master it like a jigsaw puzzle.  

Like any puzzle, we start with the easy puzzles that only have a few pieces.  Eventually your child's ears will be ready for more complex puzzles.  The ability to sing melodies from memory and pick them out on a keyboard is an exercise in relative pitch / intervallic ear training, some of the basic skills that Let's Play Music incorporates in our training of the whole musician.

-Gina Weibel, M.S.

Related Articles:

- Musical Superpower: Develop Perfect Pitch

- Ear Training: Learn to hear Intervals

Your Very First Recital!

If you've just enjoyed most of your first year of the Let's Play Music curriculum, then that means you're preparing for your child's very first Let's Play Music recital!

Practice Counts
This year practice has been very flexible: do the homework assignment, listen to the CD  and sing along, practice the bell songs a few times, and repeat any games and activities from class that you love.  You didn't have to record if practice was daily.  It was easy and fun!

During these last few weeks, practicing becomes a bit more intense (and still fun); now your child will need to practice exactly the bell songs she's be assigned to perform for the recital.  It will be important to practice EVERY day for the week or two leading up to the show.

This gentle spurt of effort is a great way to prepare Blue Bugs for the joys of becoming Green Turtles, since they'll be expected to practice at least 5 times/ week.  Explore strategies for helping your child enjoy this daily practice now, and get her excited to continue daily practices next fall.

10-Day Practice Log
My daughter is very motivated by coloring, so I designed a 10-day practice log, scheduled to end on the day of the recital.  Click on the image to download one for your eager musician.  If she plays her songs 3-4 times every day for 10 days, she definitely will be perfectly prepared for the show.

Click the image to download the practice chart.

A Few Things They Learned
The recital is more than just darling children singing songs; it's an opportunity to delightfully reminisce about the fabulous skills they've learned this year!  I chose my favorite ten characters to feature in the practice log.  Maybe you'll want to revisit their songs as you color in each space. Let's see what they taught us:

Bill Grogan's Goat: We learned how to find a beat, feel the beat internally, and accompany singers on the harp while keeping the beat.  We even listened and identified out the common melody notes Sol-La-Ti-Do.

Frog Went Hoppin': We learned how to read leaps on the staff, and play a song with leaps on our bells.  We identified the bug-bug-slug rhythm of the ostinato.

Oooo Halloween: We expanded our vocal range and practiced singing with a pleasant head voice.  We carried the beat internally and were able to surprise our friends.

Hickety Pickety Bumblebee: We sang a minor 3rd interval (Sol-Mi) on correct pitch and played the song on our bells with 3 different melodic endings that we learned to identify by ear or notation.  We learned to play this song in the key of C (Do is C) and F (Do is F).

Jungle Drums: We were able to keep a steady beat while subdividing.  We noticed the mathematics of subdividing and played our rhythm while others played different rhythms.

Bug Rhythms: We learned to read rhythms and play them correctly with or without using our voice.

The Dinosaur Song: We learned how to read steps and skips and play this song using steps and skips on our bells.  We learned that songs have melody, and we identified and sang the solfeg.   **For the dinosaur enthusiasts: Yes, I have been told that dinosaurs of that diplodocus-like shape did NOT have spikes, but all the dinosaurs that DO have spikes are not really shaped for climbing up and sliding down.  So, this drawing is a dinosaur dressed up as a stegosaurus for Halloween.**

The Red Balloon: We learned to sing a major scale ascending and descending, and identify a major scale by ear or notation.  We learned all the solfeg and accompanying hand signs.

Five Fat Turkeys: We were able to pick out the melody and identify sol-sol-do in this song.  We learned to keep the beat while singing and doing hand actions, and we played this song on the autoharp while reading from a chording sheet.

BINGO: We clapped and audiated rhythms, and even identified the bug rhythms used in this song.  With careful listening, we discovered the melody, too, and notated the sol-la-ti-do at the end!


Have a wonderful time coloring and I wish you the best at your very first Let's Play Music recital!

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music Teacher

Identifying Minor Sounds is A Majorly Important Skill

Your first-year student has been carefully listening to songs and determining if the tunes sound major or minor.  Hearing and identifying major and minor sounds prepares her to play both types of music on the keyboard next year, transpose between major and minor keys, and write her own composition that may include a minor key!  Her musicianship skills are blossoming!

I've Been to Harlem

This fun folk song gives students a chance to hear the same tune sung major, then again minor for comparison.  Did you know your tone bells give you a chance to explore major and minor at home further?

As you'll remember from our posts on solfeg, DO could be on any note.  With your bells, you can only make a complete major scale if DO is on C, but don't let that stop you from experimenting with assigning other bells to be Do.

Since your student is learning how to skip, have her pull out the C bell, and take a skip, and another to create the Red chord in C Major: CEG or Do-Mi-Sol.  Play this chord and hear that it sounds Major.   Try again starting with the F bell, to create the Red chord in the key of F Major: FAC.  It also sounds Major, and is another Do-Mi-Sol; this time Do was F.

What if you start with D (DFA) or E (EGB)?  This creates a Red chord in the key of D minor and E minor.  Play it with your child and see if she can hear the difference.  The minor triad is Do-Me-Sol, pronounced Doh-MAY-Soh.

With each of those groupings of 3 notes, it was the MIDDLE note that determined that the chord was major or minor. Without the middle bell you can't assign major or minor.

Here's a video of a 4-year-old student creating a few triads, and playing the song "I've Been to Harlem" in C Major and E minor.  (You'll learn a lot more about triads in year 3).  I don't recommend using your feet to hold mallets, nor drinking pickle juice for real.

How did that sound?

Major scales sound brighter and cheerier than the sad (or sleepy or spooky or somber) minor scales.  Nothing beats experience and exposure for helping you learn to recognize the difference between major and minor.  If you want some more practice, here is a short little ear-training quiz with some major and minor chords.  Who got more answers correct, you or your child!?

Teacher Justine Turcott, in Rexburg, ID, shares a conversation between a first-year student and another 4 year-old as they made hot cocoa:

Jaymie: Did you put in enough powder?
Bailey: Yeah.
Jaymie: Well, are you sure? Does it taste Major or Minor?
Bailey: What?
Jaymie: Major is happy and Minor is sad. Does it taste Major?

Here at Let's Play Music, we love to give a multi-sensory approach to learning, and these students found a way to bring the sense of taste into the lesson, too!

  
The Cup Game

The song, "I've Been to Harlem" is also commonly used to play tricky cup rhythm games like this or this.  Part of the fun is having a complex rhythm different from the rhythm of the song lyrics.  I wanted to share the fun of a cup rhythm game with my young family, so we came up with a much simpler routine.

Before singing the song, help your child chant "Beetle, Butterfly, Clap- Pick, Pass" with a cup until she can remember the routine shown in the video below.  The rhythm is beetle-butterfly-beetle-bug.  Ask your child to keep thinking of that rhythm while you sing the song.  Eventually she'll be able to sing along and keep the rhythm going, too.

Here's one Blue Bugs class with Let's Play Music teacher, Robin Flores in Windsor, Colorado playing the cup passing game. You can try it at home, too!




All ages find this game irresistible and will be singing "I've Been to Harlem" and requesting more chances to play the cup game!  They laugh when they make a mistake and feel exhilarated when it works out.

I hope you find some time to extend your fun with "Harlem" and get more exposure to major and minor sounds this month.

- Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music Teacher

The Gift-Buying Guide for Musical Kids

It's holiday season, and that means you have an opportunity to choose thoughtful gifts for the children in your life.  Want to encourage music learning and help create a musical environment at home?  Here are some ideas to get your shopping off to a harmonious beat:

Tuition for Music Classes

If Grandma or Aunt Betsy asks what the kids could use this year, be sure your bases are covered for tuition.  Having some or all of a class paid for is a clutter-free gift that stays with your child forever.  Don't forget how easy it is to offer a semester of Sound Beginnings to toddlers and preschoolers on your gift list, too!  Need to find a teacher for those nieces and nephews? Use our FIND A TEACHER button.

Big Ticket Instruments:

  A Piano Or Keyboard:  

If this is your first year in Let's Play Music, you'll need a piano or keyboard at home next year.  Check out our guide on how to choose a piano or keyboard.  Warehouse clubs like Costco often have deals on 88-key digital pianos during the holiday season, and Target has had Black Friday keyboard deals for the past several years.

An Autoharp: You might also enjoy an autoharp at home, especially since the portable instrument is fun to take along on camping trips and pull out at family gatherings. 

A Metronome:  Finally, by the 3rd year of Let's Play Music, your student will be ready for a metronome.  There are some fun  games you can play with a metronome, but of course it will be a tool for improving musicianship skills.  There are many economical options and even apps.  A nice traditional metronome can last a lifetime, so you might consider getting a top-notch one.

A Ukulele: New to the list in 2016! I finally decided that the uke is easy enough to learn that even kids as young as 6 and 7 years old can get some great mileage from it.  Once you learn a handful of chords, you'll be able to play lots of songs from tab sheets as well as quickly compose your own creations, and that's a fun feeling. Of course, the Let's Play Music songs will be popular favorites to play from day one.  When buying a ukulele, it's worth your while to visit a guitar shop and see what real instruments look/feel/sound like before you accidentally get bamboozled into buying a toy uke from Toys R Us for $10. I'm not saying you must spend $100, but if you do buy a $30-$50 uke, be prepared to immediately replace the strings with better strings and potentially spend more time initially getting it in tune.  You'll need a tuner, too.

Rhythm Instruments:

The Gift of Your Time: Now that you've got the piano taken care of, it might be fun to have a "rhythm box" of instruments accessible to your child.  Help him learn the rules about instruments (handle them gently, put them in the box when you're done, ask politely to use what someone is holding) while playing along to favorite songs with the family.  Of course you'll be able to recreate the rhythm games from all years of class (and even find more online) that you can play to improve rhythm and reading.  Start a rhythm tradition; build a time into your day when the family can giggle and dance to a song, using the instruments to keep the beat or play a rhythm echo game.  The instrument itself is the first gift, your instruction on how and when to use and enjoy it is the second!

Tambourines and Rhythm Sticks are must-haves in a rhythm box.  Rhythm Band is a great vendor with sets or individual instruments.  

A Gathering Drum by Remo is an all-time favorite.  They have several other drums and items for children that sound excellent, too.

Boomwhackers are fun and sturdy and can be used along with your tone bells and many additional family games and activities.

Echo-microphones encourage kids to sing (and read out loud), and don't cost much.

Kazooks and Harmonicas are just the right size to fit into a stocking.

Tiny music boxes like these make great stuffers, too. AND you might even be able to find some that play the classical songs we study in Let's Play Music and Sound Beginnings (I have seen Ode to Joy, Vivaldi's Spring, Waltz of the Flowers, Brahm's Lullaby, Over the Rainbow, Edelweiss, and Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and Baby Elephant Walk).  For a young student, cranking this thing is excellent for hand and wrist motor-skill building.  For an older student, nothing is more cool than making your OWN crankshaft music box!

Electronics:
 
CD Players, Ipod Docks, Bluetooth Speakers: If you don't already have a device for your child to operate when he would like to play his Let's Play Music songs (and other music), this would be a worthwhile gift.  Teaching your child how to operate the equipment to turn on songs he would like to hear empowers him to make music part of his day, and puts a smile on your face when you hear the sounds of your independent little one off in his room singing to his CD (and perhaps playing bells.)

During the second and third year of Let's Play Music, you'll also want a dock or CD Player near the piano so your child can play along with the recordings- here's your  chance to get prepared!


MP3 Players:  For those worried about replacement costs, MP3 players can often be found cheaply ($15 and less) and can be loaded up with carefully-chosen Let's Play Music and other songs.  It's worthwhile to choose child-safe headphones or educate your child about safe volume levels on headphones before turning him loose. 

Music to Listen To:

 

Performing Arts Tickets: Nothing sends the message "we care about music" quite as succinctly as giving your child tickets to see live musical performers.  Check your local symphonies and performance halls for performances that would be especially child-friendly (and respect age limits on those that are not), but don't overlook college, high school and community performing arts centers, too.   If there is a performing group you think your child may aspire to joining in the future, it's never to early to become a fan; find out where they will perform and take your child to check it out. 

Music CDs:
You can help your child improve musicality and music literacy by giving her opportunities to listen to lots of music.  Don't make the mistake of skipping over "kids" music in an effort to speed your little Einstein to success.  Simple, easy-to-sing songs have a definite place in your child's learning curve; she'll probably appreciate that she CAN easily discern the melodic patterns and chord progressions.   KIMBO has a huge collection of traditional rhymes and sing-a-longs; my preschoolers always especially love the "Six Little Ducks" album.

A large number of children's artists are writing songs that parents enjoy too. You can browse the CD collection at your library before you buy, or try some of my children's suggestions:


Laurie Berkner
Brady Rymer
Ralph's World
Stevesongs
Putumayo Kids :world music
Dog on Fleas
Imagination Movers
Justin Roberts
Lunch Money
Milkshake
Recess Monkey

Karaoke Machine: Encouraging your child to sing out loud during music class might be as easy as encouraging her to sing out at home!  Consider a karaoke machine for the family to enjoy with some kid and adult favorites.

Encourage Classical Music:
 

Beethoven's Wig Albums: All this children's music talk doesn't mean you should avoid classical music.   I ADORE the albums by Beethoven's Wig, which put silly lyrics to popular classical tunes.  My kids sing along with joy, then eagerly listen to the traditional tracks with no lyrics, then demand "I MUST learn to play this piece on piano!"  I cannot say enough great things about the delights of these albums, so I guess these win the EDITOR'S PICK AWARD for this entire blog post.

Maestro Classics: Listen to the London Philharmonic play and hear a familiar story to go with the music in each of the 13 Maestro Classics.  There are even activity workbooks.  Give it a look!

Books about Music: Encourage music with a few books about instruments and fun stories about the orchestra.  Here is a top ten list to get you started.

Scarves for Dancing: Encourage the experience of classical music with our Sound Beginnings "Smart Moves", or make up your own dances to go along with favorite music.  Scarves to dance with make it all the more fun.

Puppet Theaters: Pinterest can give you ideas for making your own puppet theater, or you can purchase a lovely one to showcase the many classical shows you'll know by the end of Let's Play Music!

Additional Learning :

8-Note Bell Music: If you're wishing for more songs to play on your bells (or boomwhackers), the best place to start is with these 2 songbooks from the Let's Play Music Holiday shop.

Extra Sheet Music: Peruse your local music store for sheet music that will interest your child.  I adore playing duets with my kids, so we have enjoyed Alfred's Chord Approach Duet book .  The Faber Accelerated Piano Adventures Pop Repertiore is exciting and fun and just right for our third year students.

Giant Piano: Your physically active musician will be inspired by youtube videos of giant piano performers dancing their way through the classics.  

 Educational Apps: If you have a device, your child might enjoy a few new apps all about making music.

Toy Piano: If you just can't resist the cuteness, you might give a toy piano to your preschooler.  I'm told the keys on the Schoenhut pianos are full-size, which makes me happy because your child's fingers will develop muscle memory for these distances.  The 25-key pianos will at least have enough keys to play the Red, Yellow, and Blue chords with one hand, but the 15-key pianos will frustrate your child when she tries to play Yellow with no low B.  One parent desperately wanted this toy but worried that it would somehow stunt the actual piano learning.  I'm of the opinion that anything that draws your child to play and experiment with music (and practice real chords) can't be bad! 

Giant Staff: Love games on the giant staff mat in class?  Make one of your own to play with!

If you have (or hope to have) a musical child, I hope you've been inspired to find at least one gift this season to nurture the love of music learning!  Happy Holidays!

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music teacher