One reason spring is my favorite season is because I know that all the hard work of the 3-year Let's Play Music curriculum is coming to fruition... and a huge group of students are bringing BRAND NEW music to the world! These students (now ages 7-9) write music full of expression, creativity, and skill...and they've only been using a piano for 2 years! Imagine where they will be in a few more years, now that they have such a strong foundation. In 2018, over 1700 students in the US and Canada composed music with us. We want to show you some of our favorites, as selected by our guest judge Dr. Kris Maloy (meet him here.)
Best Melody: By The River I go by Maya S From the Studio of: Tina Gosney Something special about this song is how nature and this music makes Maya feel calm. Maybe it will have that effect on you:
Best Use of Chords and BEST OVERALL: Picky, Picky's Day by Hunter F From the Studio of: Melissa Lunt Enjoy a tale of Picky, Picky the cat. When you listen to the music, you'll feel how frightening a trip to the store is... when you're a cat!
Best Use of ABA Form: Cats and Ducks by Aliyah M From the Studio of: Maggie Gambill In this song you'll hear how cats feel about storm clouds! Most Original: Robots are Good and Bad by Pax M From the Studio of: Celeste Stott Pax started thinking of the theme for this song when he was 2 years old and a Sound Beginnings student! Luckily he continued with music and finally learned how to take his idea and make it into a complete song. Can you hear the good robot theme and the bad robot theme? Best Story: Forest Dwellers by Sarah H From the Studio of: Jennifer Bigly This forest story has birds singing, deer prancing, and hunters marching. Can you hear each of them?
Honorable Mention: Liverpool Rules by Anden S From the Studio of: Rebecca Suelzle This fan attests that Liverpool RULES! His music describes the players walking to the field, running/kicking/scoring, and marching off the field to the cheers of adoring fans, including at least one that is an inspired composer!
Congratulations to these kids, families, and parents AND all who have successfully composed, published, and performed their very first piano piece! We'll be looking forward to another batch next Spring.
Let's start with a trick question. Is this a Red, Blue, or Yellow chord? I see that it is made of the notes C-E-G. I was being really sneaky because I didn't show you the key signature (the sharps and flats next to the clef, that define where DO is.). Second year students will always tell me this is a RED chord, and for now, they are correct. But third year students have learned the magic of key change. But those smart third year students will say, "That's a C-chord and it could be RED or BLUE or YELLOW! It depends where Do is!"
The Role of Chords
Imagine I were going to tell you 3 stories, and Linda happens to be in them all. Here's a photo of Linda, a new mother. Linda is the mother in the first story.
And here's another look at Linda with her mom. Linda is still the same, but she'll play the role of daughter in the second story.
Finally, Linda plays the role of grand-daughter in my third story. Linda didn't change anything about herself, but depending on who she was with, her role in the story changed. Now let's think about chords! A chord can play the role of RED, BLUE, or YELLOW depending on which other chords it is with and where DO is.
Red, Blue, Yellow The Red, Blue, and Yellow chords play roles in songs and music. The RED CHORD is HOME. Songs begin and end with RED. It just doesn't feel complete otherwise. The BLUE CHORD gives us a traveling, moving sensations in our music. We sing "we like to run and roam" because the BLUE CHORD helps us add interest and movement. The YELLOW CHORD has a distinct sound that really pulls back to RED. "Yellow is the chord that leads us back to home."
Our songs are harmonized with these three players. A chord can be ANY of these colors, depending on where Do is. I'll explain more in the next post! Read it here. - Gina Weibel, MS Let's Play Music Teacher
It's the third year of Let's Play Music class and time to learn the MAGIC of key change. Make A Major Scale In a recent article, I showed you how you can choose any key to be the tonic, DO, and build a major scale using a pattern of whole steps and half steps (WWHWWWH). Yes, DO can be on any note. What does it look like to play a song in one key (Do is C) and switch to another key (Do is F or G)? Let's check it out! Magic Keys Song It happens quickly in class, so here is a replay of what you saw in class:
Let's review all the music theory that we just mashed into one powerful minute, and YES when I ask these probing details of my students, they know the answers! The Key of C 1. If there are no sharps or flats next to the clef, you're in the key of C. 2. We say 'key of C' to mean that DO is C. 3. A red chord (I chord) is always Do-Mi-Sol, so it is spelled C-E-G. 4. You can make a major scale, starting on C, playing all the white keys. The Key of F The Key Signature is the clef at the beginning of the song, with sharps or flats next to it. It announces where DO is. 1. If there is one flat next to the clef, you're in the key of F. 2. The one flat will always show up on B. 3. 'Key of F' is another way of saying that DO is now F. 4. A red chord is always Do-Mi-Sol, but now it is spelled F-A-C. 5. FA gets the flat. (Fa is the fa-lat) So, you can make a major scale starting on F, but it only works if you always change the B to a B-flat. As you play a song in F, you have to remember to always change every B to B-flat, that's why the flat is printed at the beginning of the song next to the clef. It would get too tiring and messy to write a flat next to every B in the song.
The Key of G 1. If there is one sharp next to the clef, you're in the key of G. 2. The one sharp will aways be an F. 3. 'Key of G' means DO is G. 4. A red chord is always Do-Mi-Sol, but now it is spelled G-B-D. 5. TI is the tone that needs a sharp. (Do is G because the F# is a TI!) You can make a major scale or play a song in G, but only if you always change every F to F-sharp.
As your children are preparing for their Let's Play Music Recital, or any performance, they'll need to memorize some music. It may seem overwhelming to memorize a piece of music, but this challenge is well worth the effort! Benefits of Memorization We don't spend tons of time working on memorizing music in our classes, but this is one element of musicianship that we want you to get a taste of! Why is memorizing beneficial? Memorizing trains memory. Some people will tell you not to waste time memorizing because you'll fill up your brain and run out of room. Nope! The opposite is true- the more you work on memorization, the better and more efficient you get at it. Learning more helps you learn more. Memorizing music improves your skill at memorizing other types of information, too. Memorizing can help improve students' ability to learn. Actually, one factor that makes learning a challenge for some kids is having a poor 'working memory' or short-term memory. You must be able to remember what you're working on long enough to get to the end of the math problem, the challenging sentence, or the phrase of music. Practicing CAN improve your working memory. Music can provide a brilliant exercise to improve your mind. Memorizing is a work out. All of your awesome brain functions work hard when you learn something challenging or memorize it. Pushing yourself to maintain focus on these challenges trains your brain to work through struggles and stay focused. It can be exhausting because it's a workout! Learn how to handle tough mental work by giving yourself a few minutes of tough workout every day. Students who have these skills and resilience are great thinkers! Rote learning improves overall thinking. Memorization benefits the hippocampal foundation, a structure in the brain involved in memory. Repeated activation of the structure leads to more neuronal plasticity. So, again, you're making yourself a quick-thinker and better problem solver. 'Knowing' improves creativity. When you 'just know' facts, equations, bits of music, etc. your brain is free to use processing energy on... finding creative solutions. Memorizing lots of music in a variety of styles makes you a better composer; as you are putting together your own new piece, you have loads of samples you can draw up from memory to emulate and alter. 7 Tips for Memorization Teachers Joy Morin and Laura Evans shared their favorite strategies for memorizing. Gently encourage your child and share these ideas.
Memorize in small sections, even two to four measures at a time. When you have mastered one small section, then go on to the next small section. Then go back and put the two sections together. In the same way you gradually mastered a new piece, you can memorize it. Don't expect or try to get it all at once! Celebrate when you can add a few measures to your memory. Try to play without the music in front of you - see how far you get! Place your music on the floor or turn the page around so you don't have the temptation to look at those notes. Then go back and work on the part where you have trouble remembering, and try again. Practice the music away from the piano. Sit at the table, on the couch or in the car and practice your song without the music or the piano. If you can "play" it (sing the tune, tap you fingers) without the instrument or music, then it is a good indication that you have the piece memorized well! Watch your hands as you play. Simply closing your eyes may not always produce the best memorization. By watching your hands you can get a better understanding of the music and have an anchor of familiarity when performing in a new environment. Memorize hands alone, especially the often neglected left hand. Make sure that you know the bass line so it will flow naturally when memorizing both hands together. Sing the note letter names out loud, in rhythm, in each hand without playing them. Singing note names is tricky. If you are able to sing them then it's proof that your brain knows those details of the music so well that it will remember them despite any nerves, mix-ups or stumbles. You will be able to play through at the performance and if you make a small mistake, it should help you to continue without having to start over completely at the beginning of the piece.
Analyze the music by looking at its form (is it ABA format?), it's harmonic rhythm (red, red, yellow, red), etc. This will create a mental road map to follow as you memorize the piece.
Spaced Repetition & Memory When we learn a new bit of information on Day 0, we all start to forget the information right away. It's a bummer, but that's just how the brain works. Our brains need cues to get the message, "hey, this stuff is worth remembering." So even though you JUST memorized some music, you start forgetting right away.
The forgetting curve looks like an exponential decay curve.
Each time we review what we know (and start to forget again right away), the decay curve is a little bit flatter. Each time we can allow longer periods between review, and we can remember just a little bit longer before we start to forget.
The trick for optimizing learning is to plan repetition of activities and information so that the reviews coincide with the intervals of time when students are starting to forget their facts. With organized intervals of repetition, we can study smarter, not longer.
That's why we sing a new Let's Play Music song or game in every class, several times, when it is first presented. Then it comes back (less frequently) for us to review and sing.
Remember Every Song Forever If you want to study smart, try creating your own spaced repetition learning: review pieces of information that you are retaining less often than pieces that you are forgetting.
Here's quick piano example: Make a list of all the songs you have memorized, ever. Attempt to play through the songs. Based on how accurately you can remember the song, decide if you will review it again tomorrow, next week, next month, in 4 months, or next year.
As part of your routine, each time you play piano, include some work on a new piece you are trying to memorize and some time for a play-through of a piece that you already know. If your list is short and you're having fun, you might play more songs than are on your list (playing memorized songs is really fun.) Or you might have a special day each week when you use ALL of your practice time to play from memory!
The importance of a printed list is to remind you of your songs. If you wait too long, you'll eventually forget what you worked hard to memorize in the first place.
Remember, the goal is to practice again just as you are about to forget, and that happens at increasing intervals each time. By making it part of your routine to play through one old favorite (it's fun-you won't mind), you'll retain every song you've ever memorized, forever! One Last Benefit I know your student is very young right now, but you'll be glad to know that memorization practices can stave off cognitive decline in aging populations. Continue practicing songs you've memorized, continue learning new ones, and you'll stay sharp in your later years. Music lessons really are a gift that stays with you your whole life long! Have fun preparing for your recital, and plan to keep those songs in your memory forever. -Gina Weibel,M.S. Let's Play Music Teacher
Let's Play Music is intentionally different from traditional piano lessons. It's so different that we don't even label it as a piano program but a three-year complete musicianship program. That might leave pianist parents wondering: Will my child learn proper piano technique in Let's Play Music!? A Piano Dilemma First, a quick reminder that Let's Play Music was created in large part to solve a specific dilemma. We know piano has a star role in early musicianship education (post), but children don't have full development and control of motor function in their hands until about age 8. Should we avoid teaching piano to children until they are 8? But, children are most sensitive to hearing pitches and laying neural foundation for ear training when they are babies. The sensitivity decreases as children age and settle into language and environment. We need to start teaching music as early as possible, and using the right tools. That means playing instruments, and piano is the place to begin. If we put our 4 and 5 year olds on pianos so they can learn what the brains and ears are ready to learn, the fingers will be frustrated. Let's Play music solves the finger-strength-dilemma in two ways. First: we spend a year playing the auto-harp and bells. Students have a whole year to let the brain and ears lay a foundation of how music works, how notes work, how chords work, how rhythm works. Second: when we teach piano technique during years 2-3, we go very light on technique drills. We DO teach technique exercises including relaxation, posture, and several 5-finger drills (technique post) but we can't shake a stick at how a private teacher will train an older student. So, should we avoid teaching piano to children younger than 8? No! We should simply avoid expecting perfect technique from children younger than 8, and instead put our focus on every other aspect of musicianship. (Musicianship) Right now you might be a little sad that there's not much focus on technique. Trust me, the grass is greener on this side. After graduation, most students are less-than-excited that private lessons focus on technique at the expense of time spent on the rest of musicianship skills. Did you know? Presto!, a new course from Making Musicians, teaches students ages 7-11 the same skills as taught in Let's Play Music. The program is heavy on technique training... because the students are ready for it! Why Chords? Little fingers are not super strong. So, does it seem surprising that we ask students to play intervals and chords right away? That's even tougher than playing single-note melodies. What gives? From a musical perspective, chords are the right place to start. Most music that the children know can be harmonized with the I, IV, and V chords. It makes perfect sense that the most effective way to hand them the awesome power of creation and the joy of real music is to show them how to take these chords and make them work! By playing chord harmonizations on the piano and singing along, students experience success and joyful performance from day one. In class, your teacher will sing songs (Old MacDonald, etc.) and have the students decide which chords to play. That's power! That's creation! That's what we teach. So, the tradeoff: Some tiny hands might not be able to manage playing these chords this year. We allow students to play just the root and 5th, or just the root, or other modifications if they have particularly small or weak hands. Nobody is held back for not being able to execute "perfectly" on songs. Her brain learned it. Her ear learned it. She felt inspired. She felt joy. She has the rest of her life for her hand to catch up. We're not overly worried. The Graduate and the Novice
When a private teacher receives an 8-year-old LPM graduate, the teacher should expect the graduate to be advanced in theory, composition, ear-training, reading notation, transcribing, and improvisation. Plus, she knows how to practice at home for 30 minutes each day. Let's Play Music has really paid off! BUT, the graduate is probably equally novice in technique as his peer 8-year-old friend who is beginning piano with no musical background. This presents some interesting challenges to the teacher, which is why we have our connections program, offering free materials to teachers to help them work with our graduates. If you give both students exactly the same assignments for the first year, one of them will be unhappy. At age 8, students are very flexible in their ways. They are only just coming into full dexterity and muscle control. What I'm saying is, if your LPM student has been playing with slightly less-than-perfect technique, there is absolutely nothing permanent or incorrigible about that student. She can still be a competitive pianist when she's 9. Actually, the fact that the 8-year-old has been trying to use and control those muscles has strengthened them even as they were still developing. If your child could not take ice skating lessons until age 5, you wouldn't prevent her from walking and running at age 4. If you want your child to play with perfect form at age 9, be easy on her as she wends her way through LPM. A good private teacher will be so delighted to have a gifted musician that she won't balk at needing to train the fingers and arms to catch up to the amazing mind and ears. Igniting the Passion
Back when my daughter was 3, we joined a class called Storybook Ballet. As we walked down the hall of the studio, I saw older ballet classes doing what I would expect in ballet class: proper technique with everyone lined up seriously. But Storybook class was nothing like that. All of the 3-year-olds enjoyed warm-ups in a circle, then copied the teacher, prancing around the room with pre-ballet moves. They listened to a short storybook; one time it was Little Red Riding Hood. Finally, each day had the best possible ending: dressing up in a new costume and performing some loosely-choreographed moves to act out the story for parents. Storybook Ballet was a huge hit with our family. Obviously, it was age-appropriate. My 3-year-old couldn't tolerate long drills or high expectations. The class did introduce some ballet steps and terms, but mostly it captured the fun and exciting elements of ballet: dressing up, telling stories, creating moves, and performing! The role of storybook class wasn't to drill in technique, the purpose was to ignite the passion for dance. It worked! Dance teachers could have spent time focusing more on getting those babies to do it 'right'. But why? But instead they chose to share the joys of performance in every class. Let's Play Music reminds me of that ballet class sometimes. We show our students how to create music right away with chords. We don't tell them that they need perfect technique and a degree in theory before they start composing. We want them inventing. They're not just executors of music, but creators of it. We let them be silly. It should feel like play.
There will be time later for perfecting technique, but the best time for fanning the flames of passion is now. Students who have an amazing experience in Let's Play Music build up passion and excitement that carries them through the next several years of (potentially boring) technique perfection. So go out there and have fun! Good enough technique is good enough for now. -Gina Weibel, M.S. Let's Play Music teacher
You probably have the basic gist of what a scale is. We sing some notes and they go up, up, up. But when I start talking about pentatonic and diatonic and chromatic scales in class, people start wondering, "what the heck are those and why do we care?" In this post, everyone (especially Sound Beginnings parents) can get excited about the pentatonic scale and improve their melody skills. A Scale With Every Note You may hear mention of the chromatic scale. (Chromatic means colorful.) This is a good one to start with because it means we play 12 semitone intervals, so 13 notes. Play every single piano key, black and white, and that's the chromatic scale. Voila!
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
On a piano, the 12 steps are evenly spaced, meaning the wavelength of the note changes by a consistent amount between each step. You've played an octave when you play a note that has a wavelength twice the length from the note you began on, a 2:1 ratio. The chromatic scale is the fundamental set of notes from which scales can be built. It's not really musical, because it doesn't have a tonic, a home note. We love finding "Do is Home" in Let's Play Music, and being able to identify the home, or key note, in music we listen to. Music naturally pulls back to Do, so let's look at some scales that have a tonic note and work for writing melodies. Scales Around the World
Thousands of years ago, peoples in different parts of the world discovered frequency ratios and pitch relationships. By selecting 5-8 tones with relationships they liked, scales were created and used to make melodies. Different cultures settled on varying scales, giving the music characteristic sounds. Note: Any of the following scales could be played in any key by creating the same pattern of skipping tones (with whole steps and half steps) to create the scale. The Diatonic Scale is our beloved Major ScaleDo-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do!Read more about it here. Western music since the Middle Ages on has been based on this scale. We spend most of our time in class learning about this scale. The steps go: whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half. Remember that trick and you can build a major scale on any note.
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
Here are the notes/intervals that make an Indian whole-tone scale, just one of the many scales that could be used in Indian music. Notice how evenly spaced the tones are...all whole steps, all the time. Here is some piano music using a whole tone scale. Sounds dreamy!
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
And a Hungarian Gypsy scale. Listen to it here...sounds like you would expect.
C C# D D# EF F# G G# A A# B C
And an Arabic scale.... well, sort of. Arabic tone scales actually define wavelength intervals smaller than what we use (or have names for or piano keys for). When you're tuning your guitar and your note is a little too flat to be C but a little too sharp to be B, you're playing one of those Arabic notes that we usually pass over. Want to see how a guitar can make the microtones by adding extra frets? Pretty cool, and if you like getting sciencey with microtones, check out some computerized 53-microtone music.
C C# DD# E F F# G G# A A# B C
The Blues Scale comes in super handy during our 3rd year of Let's Play Music when we get to play some piano blues! Write a new melody for your blues using these notes. Get some help learning Blues Scales here.
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
Pentatonic Scale Everywhere
The pentatonic scale, created by the mathematician, Pythagoras, is rather special. He started with a home/tonic note and added a perfect 5th. The 5th is an interval between two notes whose wavelength have a ratio 3:2. Take the notes you have, repeat the process again and get 2 more notes, or 5 all together: the pentatonic scale. These notes have nice clean ratio-relationships, so they harmonize nicely together.
By the way, repeat the process to get 2 more notes and create the diatonic scale. If you want to get a little nerdy, let Donald Duck take you on a tour of Pythagorean society in this classic educational cartoon about math.
The result is a five-note scale with the intervals most commonly used for music worldwide. You can find this scale in every musical culture. There are loads of country, folk, jazz, and rock songs that contain just these 5 notes in the melody, but they are especially prevalent in children's songs.
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C
Do Re Mi Sol La Do
Why so popular for children?? Because hearing and singing this small set of easily defined musical intervals is age-appropriate and prerequisite for more advanced melodies. Pentatonic hearing and singing is foundational for children. You'll notice in class we start by hearing, echoing, and singing the minor 3rd (sol-mi).
Once children are hearing and reproducing it, Echo Ed sings patterns that contain la. Then we add in do and re as ear-training progresses to more complex tunes. (Very last we add echoes with fa and ti...notes from the major scale)
Bobby McFerrin demonstrates how his audience has already internalized the pentatonic scale. Wherever he goes in the world, the audience 'gets' the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic scale is part of every musical culture!
Sing the Pentatonic Here's a collection of songs built on the pentatonic scale. Many more of your favorite children's tunes fit into this category, too. Notice that the pentatonic scale avoids half step intervals. It seems easier to train your vocal chords to jump to the intervals without having to consider the half steps that occur in the major scale. Pentatonic songs are great to teach to your child or any beginning singer. You'll recognize many from our Sound Beginnings classes (click links to hear these songs). There are thousands of pentatonic songs you would recognize, but here are a few:
Let's Play Music studios have wrapped up with annual recitals, and for all of our third-year students, that meant a chance to play their very own compositions!
Students from across the continent had the opportunity to show just how far they've progressed as musicians by composing an original piece of music for piano and entering our 2016 Composition Contest.
We had many fabulous entries and want to share with you our eight fantastic winners, announced a few days ago at our 2016 Symposium. Best Use of ABA Form: Monster Trucks by Thomas. Teacher: Marnie Christensen
Most Original: The Skiers by Colton. Teacher: Karri Mickelson Colton says, "My song makes me feel like I want to go skiing. When you listen, you can hear people going up and down the hills, and people falling." Sounds like a perfect ski adventure!
Best Use of Chords: The Rattle Runnerby Jack. Teacher: Alicia Dansie Jack says, "I love to learn about animals, and there are two animals in this one. When you listen, you'll hear the hiker, the rattlesnake, and the roadrunner." Take a listen to the lively adventure they share. Chords, Honorable Mention: Quickest Racers by Kathryn Teacher: Annah Clark Kathryn describes her piece as magical. Take a listen and you'll hear why!
Chords, Honorable Mention: Keepers of the Sea by Cannon Teacher: Chandra Schmitt Did you know that dolphins can save people from sharks? Enjoy this lively musical saga that illustrates just such a tale! Best Melody: I'm The King of Everything by Ethan Teacher: Janalee Fish Take a listen and you'll agree, he's king of keyboard and vocals!
Melody, Honorable Mention: Egyptian Desert by Abigail Teacher: Nicci Lovell Enjoy being transported across the world to Egypt when you hear this piece!
BEST Composition, OVERALL: Ballerina Dancer by Julia Teacher: Lily Hight Julia says, "In the B section, you can hear the ballerina spinning around."
Nicely done, everyone! We love hearing ALL of the third-year compositions, and hope you'll keep writing new songs every year for years to come!
