Seven Foundational Elements of Sound Beginnings

The Sound Beginnings music program prepares children for success in kindergarten and Let's Play Music. That's fantastic! How is it done?

Today's post will walk you through the seven research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of your young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum and help us get to the heart of an effective class.

Literacy and Kindergarten Skills

Sound Beginnings not only teaches music, it also introduces children to kindergarten concepts like colors, rhyming, manners, telling time, shapes, calendars, name recognition, counting, adding, literacy, and sequencing. 

Research has proven that music has a powerful effect on language learning. As children sing songs and recite nursery rhymes during class, they learn new vocabulary, develop auditory discrimination, enhance phonemic awareness, and improve their memory skills. Sound Beginnings classes also prepare children to read by teaching tracking left to right, verbal sequencing, and concepts about print during musical story time.

I imagine (I have an active imagination) that the creators of Sound Beginnings had a conversation like this:

  "Let's select songs to use in class. We'll definitely need plenty of simple melodies that are easy to learn and in the correct pitch range so the students can internalize musical patterns."
  "Okay, we have tons of options here. What do you want the words to be about?"
  "Oh yeah, words. Kids just love words."
  "Well, as we all know, music is a powerful tool for teaching just about anything. I passed my college chemistry class by singing the solubility rules song, so I'm sure we could teach kids about kindergarten skills like telling time, calendars, colors, days of the week...you know... and they'd be learning music at the same time."
  "That's super efficient! I'm so excited I feel like singing about it right now!"

Hey parents: you can use this music-class superpower to your life: anytime you want your toddler to learn a skill or behavior, add a song! Here's the song I sing (over and over and over) until my kids get their seat belts on. As you can guess, my teenagers get buckled before I finish the first word:

Whenever I get into the car

I put on my seat belt before we go far

'Cuz Mom will not drive until she hears 'click'

so put on your seat belt, and please be quick!

Rhythm and Beat

Keeping a steady beat is the precursor to all accurate rhythm-making. In class we clap, pat, stomp, jump, flap our arms, and play simple instruments to the beat. We imitate rhythmic patters with our voices, on instruments and with our bodies. We incorporate eurythmics (movement-based rhythm training) that is perfect for toddlers.

Curious to see if you can keep the beat? Take a simple test like this one. You'll listen to the drum to find the beat, then you'll tap along to match the beat, and then... all by yourself... you'll play a steady beat. (Post in the comments and tell me what your score was) Wahoo! 

Once your child internalizes these beat-basic skills, she'll really be ready to make music.  The American Council of Piano Performers, in a post on how to perform, says "the audience will rarely notice an error in pitch, but they will ALWAYS notice a disruption in rhythm."

Getting the beat right is fundamentally important, so we spend plenty of time on practicing with our toddlers.

Voice and Pitch Development

The singing voice is the foundation of music education. Sound Beginnings channels the young voice into beautiful singing by providing proper vocal modeling in the correct range. Solfege hand signs are used to teach pitch relationships. Ear training is emphasized and a minor third (SOL-MI) pattern is used to teach in-tune singing.

I just love solfege. It gives us words to talk about what we're singing and gives us a tactile way to feel in space what we're hearing in our ear. It takes challenge of singing and makes it a whole-body learning experience. In these articles (Part I, Part II, Part III) I explain what solfege is, why we love it, and how you can use it.

My active imagination thinks the creators of Sound Beginnings and Let's Play Music had a conversation like this:

"Alright folks. What tools are we gonna use for teaching these toddlers to sing?"
"Um, well, I have an idea...it's something we did in all of our college voice classes and sight-singing classes. You know... solfege."
"Are you crazy? Toddlers don't go to college. Young children learn through full-body involvement and integrating as many senses as possible. Young children need to be active and physical to learn. Give me something I can use, people."
"Well, that's just it- solfege is a way to use your hands and body to better focus on what you are hearing, and involve more of your body into what you are making your voice do."
"In that case, we'd be fools not to use solfege with toddlers and children! I'm so excited I think I'll start singing about this!"

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve hand and finger use and play a valuable part in higher-level learning skills like writing. As students participate in finger plays to favorite nursery rhymes and American Sign Language (ASL) they gain finger dexterity. As they manipulate instruments and tactile props in class they develop stronger muscles in their hands and wrists.

Looking for more fun ways to strengthen little hands? Check out this post with (piano and non-piano) ways to encourage growth and strength. Not to worry: Let's Play Music class is designed to let your child's ear and mind develop as fast and awesomely as they can, even though we know finger strength will take a few years to catch up. That's one reason we use bells and autoharp in year one.

Gross Motor Skills

If you peek into a Sound Beginnings class, you will see skipping, crawling, dancing, and playing. Children learn best by doing! Full body movement builds muscle strength and hand-eye coordination while developing balance in young children. Gross motor development also aids in brain hemisphere development.

The basis for the importance of movement and sensory experiences was derived from studies which compared brain structures of animals raised in various environmentally normal, deprived, and enriched settings. The enriched settings provided the opportunity to interact with toys, obstacles, and treadmills. Research led to the conclusion that stimulation is a significant factor in overall brain development; animals from enriched environments had larger brains with more synaptic connections. It is suggested that physical activity is a significant determinant in early development of the overall brain, not just development of motor skills.

Whatever you are doing with your child, take her to activities where she can move around and be active while learning.

Classical Music Experience

Sound Beginings classes teach intelligent listening and understanding of classical form in a fun and interactive way. Each semester we study the timbre of specific instruments and how they are divided into family groupings. Our 'smart moves' dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable classical music experience.

Really great dancers (and aerobic instructors, right?) use their body to follow the beat of the music, listen to the patterns and form of the music, and create movement that "feels like" the music itself. This awareness of how music is put together means your child will learn to anticipate what comes next in classical songs and enjoy them even more. When the Orange semester of Let's Play Music comes around, he'll be composing his own songs using the same concepts of form and pattern!

And why should you be interested in the fact that little Johnny is developing a love of listening to the classical genre? Loads of recent research shows that listening to classical improves memory, boosts creativity, lowers blood pressure, boosts brain power, fights depression, improves productivity, and makes you taller. (My active imagination came up with the part about being taller.)

Parent Bonding

A child learns when a child feels loved. In Sound Beginnings we teach parents how to play with their child in an educational and nurturing way. Purposeful touching, eye contact and partner activities develop the highly significant parent/child relationship.

In our blog post on creating relationships, we give some tips for having a strong relationship with your family, and for how to grow closer together through music.  In class, your actions teach your child, "This is a fun thing I like to do. I like to play with you. I like to be with you. You're important to be. This is something we can learn and have fun with together." 

When music is a venue in which you build a positive relationship and make memories of happy moments, students love music and are more willing to work at becoming musicians!


Now that you know the seven foundational elements of Sound Beginnings, find a teacher for your youngster, or forward this blog post to someone who has a child ages 2-4 so they can reap the benefits of this great program.  See you in class!

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




 

Hoedown with Aaron Copland

Our second year students are getting in the cowboy groove with composer, Aaron Copland.

Aaron Copland
Two features set Copland apart from other composers we learn about in Let's Play Music: he was an American, and he lived very recently (1900-1990).  It was very important to Copland to help define a style of classical music that was truly American.  The U.S.A. is relatively young, so most of the classical music being performed when Copland was a student sounded old and sounded like it came from Europe.  Well, most of the classical music we still listen to in Let's Play Music does come from Europe!

In a television interview (WATCH HERE), Copland was asked, "why can't you write (music) in the (same styles from the)  past?"  He answered, "It wouldn't be natural! Why should we limit ourselves? We have rhythms that Chopin never thought of.  We have a wider range; a more complex, more dissonant language....the language of music has really advanced with the times."

An American Style

Copland, raised in New York, witnessed the rise and popularity of jazz music.   Jazz was genuinely American music.  He knew Americans could learn to learn to love classical music as much as they loved jazz, and he wanted them to have a type of classical music of their own.  So, he incorporated musical elements from jazz and folk music to compose classical music that was all-American. He believed it was possible to interest more Americans in classical music by writing something just for them. The piece we study,  Hoedown, from the ballet, Rodeo, is a perfect example of an exciting and sophisticated classical piece derived from folk tunes (cowboy songs).






Ballet, Radio, Movies, and More
Copland lived during a time when photographs, radio, and movies were invented and became common.  He saw that it was important to write music that people wanted to use in new formats.

 In a 1935 radio interview (listen here), he was asked, "How would you describe your music today?" and Copland answered, "I wouldn't want to describe it, because I might limit it. I think of it as different kinds of music for different reasons and purposes and media, and I hope it sounds like ME despite its variety."

Indeed, he did compose for different media: ballets (ie Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Appalacian Spring) and movies (Of Mice and Men, Our Town, Heiress) as well as classical concerts (like Third Symphony, Clarinet Concerto).  He wrote music to be incorporated into popular venues, and in doing so reached a very wide audience.  You can even see Aaron Copland, himself, conducting in this 1958 television series (watch here).

I like to challenge my Let's Play Music students to begin to notice the divers ways music is used and enjoyed in our modern society; perhaps one day these youngsters will emulate Copland's flexibility and write the music for concert halls, ballets, movies, television, commercials, cartoons, video games, and ipad apps! Next time you play a game on a phone or tablet, take a moment to notice the music; what do you think about it? Does it set the right mood for the game or scene? Would you like to write this kind of music?

Hoedown Ballet
A hoedown is a musical dancing party, featuring square dancing or country dances.  In class, our  cowboy and cowgirl puppets come together for a barn dance.  Copland wrote the music for a the ballet, Rodeo.  Although this clip is a little fuzzy and old, it's my favorite because I love the Baltimore Ballet choreography, and I love that they perform live with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.


   
Hoedown Animation
Here's a different type of video: this delightful animation from artist Eleanor Stewart is set to Hoedown. Similar to the cowboy puppets we use in class for each theme, her characters are set for each theme in the music.  You'll see them repeat as the musical sections repeat.  This animation also shows the written musical score: the pages and pages of musical notes musicians read from as they play.  Let's Play Music students will enjoy hearing themes presented in this different type of puppet show.

Hoedown from Rodeo from Eleanor Stewart on Vimeo.

So How Do You Compose A Song?
Aaron Copland wrote music in a style that was new, and he wrote music to be used in new ways.  In the biography, Aaron Copland: The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man,  he shares a bit about his own creative process.

"Somehow, suddenly, a musical idea occurs to you; either a whole phrase, or three notes, or a series of chords, something that seems pregnant with possibilities for development. Once you have the kinds of ideas that fascinate you, you're no longer in a position to decide the nature of the animal. It's going to take its essence from the musical ideas that occur to you.... Some musical ideas are too short, they don't seem long enough to carry you through ten minutes of music, so you have to start searching about for other ideas; contrasting ones that seem to fit with the original ones."

Take it from Copland: there are are many ways to begin a song.  Even if you only have a few notes that make a tune you like, or a few chords that progress in a cool way, it is enough to begin. When your student begins composing in Year 3 of Let's Play Music, encourage him to tinker and find the small bits of sound and melody that become the seeds of a composition.  It doesn't take much!

You Can Go To The Hoedown!

A hoedown is usually not for ballet dancers- it's a party regular folks. At the end of the day, the farmer puts his HOE DOWN and goes in form some music and merrymaking.  Are you sad that wild west cowboy days and barn dancing days are long past?

Well, I have great news for you: you can still attend a hoedown in your area (Click Here to Find One)! The type of dancing will be contra dancing (similar to square dancing), and the music is usually folk and bluegrass played by fiddles and banjos and piano.  The caller will teach you a few dance steps, then call them out as the music is played.  You'll learn quickly because the same few steps will be repeated many times during the song.  The caller will teach you a new pattern for the next song. 



Can young people attend contra dances? You bet! Generally the pace is a bit too quick for the four-year-olds to learn the steps, so they end up clapping on the sidelines, but if you attend a family dance, they'll have a few simpler songs to make sure everyone gets to dance (check with your local group). Tweens and teens will easily master the steps, and I have seen several children as young as seven participating just fine, too.  I hope you'll feel adventurous enough to go on a family outing and to a dance in your area.

Put Your Hoe Down and Dance
Now that you've seen some Hoedown ballet and some contra dancing, why not make up your own moves to Hoedown to dance with your family?

-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

Spring Bees: A Puppet Show With Vivaldi

Our Green semester students are learning the intricacies of Spring by Vivaldi through playtime with our "Spring Bees" puppet show.  

Tidbits About Vivaldi

Who was born in Venice in 1678 on the same day as an earthquake, had red hair, suffered from asthma, and wrote 500 baroque concerti?  It was Antonio Vivaldi.

Vivaldi's father taught him to play violin so they could  perform together. Do you look forward to playing piano duets in your family? 

He was ordained a priest and nicknamed "The Red Priest" for his red hair, but he left the ministry and instead spent most of his life composing and teaching music.  

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" is a very popular piece, and you're sure to enjoy this artistic rendition illustrated with sand animation.

All About Bees

Several bees are cast in our Spring Bees puppet show, each doing its part to help make the hive successful.  Bee society is a fascinating subject, and I'd love to tell you more about each of the players in the show.

Here's a website with lots of photos of real bees at work!

The QUEEN is the mother of all the bees and can lay 1,500 eggs in one day.  She is the largest of all the bees.  She will fight any other queens she meets and can live 5-9 years.  Even though she's queen, she doesn't tell the other bees what to do. They just know! You can hear her worry about her hive in this music.

The BABY bee is not really a baby- more like a young adult.  Bees have 4 stages of development: egg, larvae, pupa and adult.  A pupa becomes an adult during metamorphosis.  Young bees do the household chores: making wax into comb, sealing cracks with wax, and feeding the larvae.  Do the youngsters in your home do the chores? In our story, this young bee finally is done with chores and gets to go outside for the first time.

The WORKERS are all females.  Honeybees are covered with fine, branched hairs that collect pollen when they crawl around flowers.  A bee gathers it from the hairs and carries it in pollen baskets on her legs.  She has a special tongue to suck up nectar and water.  Bees need water, too!

GUARD BEES are workers with the specific job of keeping an eye out for mammals or even ROBBER BEES from other bee colonies.  They all want the food inside the hive!

Guard Bees STING only if they feel the hive is threatened.  If a honeybee stings a mammal, the barb in its stinger will stick in the animal's thick skin and the bee will die.  However, the bee can sting other insects multiple times without harming itself.  Some species, like Bumblebees, have smooth stingers and can sting multiple times.

The COLONY works together like a single animal- if one part is threatened, the whole hive reacts.  In this music, you can hear how the music becomes minor when the whole hive is worried about Robber Bees.

Working in Concert

Who else besides bees are highly organized with specific roles?  Orchestras and bands! When you hear the music of the whole hive buzzing together, imagine that you are conducting a bee orchestra.

The conductor helps all the musicians work together to express the dynamics of the music (volume and stylistic expression.)  Without a conductor, the musicians might play the correct notes, but some might be playing forte (loudly) when they should be playing piano (softly).  

Even worse, some might play too fast or too slow and the group wouldn't stay together.  To help your child get an idea of the fun and power of conducing, enjoy this video of Mickey Mouse and his band. The band does a great job of following the conductor, even when silly things happen.

As I sign off, here's a table of a few more terms your young composer might want to use as he conducts his beehive puppets this week, AND he may end up using them in his piano composition in Orange semester!

pianissimo (pp) superlative of piano- very softly
mezzo piano (mp) moderately softly
fortissimo (ff) superlative of forte- very loudly
fortississimo (fff) as loudly as possible
mezzo forte (mf) moderately loudly
forte-piano (fp) loudly followed immediately by softly
forzando (fz) >  or ^ : indicate a single tone or chord is to be accented
crescendo gradually become louder
decrescendo gradually become softer
crescendo poco a poco becoming louder little by little
crescendo subito becoming louder immediately
crescendo al fortissimo becoming gradually louder until f has been reached
crescendo ed animando gradually louder and faste 
con amore (with tenderness) con bravura (with boldness) con energia (with energy)

con espressione espressivo

(with expression)

 con fuoco (with fire) con passione (with passion) con grazia (with grace)

con maesta maestoso

(majestically)

scherzando schcrzoso

(jokingly)

sotto voce (with subdued voice)

Have fun with your bees and Vivaldi!
- Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music teacher