Blue Bugs #2

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Blue Bugs #2: Once again, we had a great week! Your kids are so much fun!

CLASSES FOR FALL: I know we just started Blue Bugs, but I'm planning ahead for what my fall class schedule will be. Here is a link to some questions about your student's school schedule in the fall.  Registration opens in March!

KEYBOARDS: During 2nd year (starting in the fall), your musician will need access to a keyboard. HOORAY! If you don't have a piano or keyboard already, here is a link to a blogpost about what you need to know when looking to buy a keyboard or a piano for your Let's Play Music student.

GOOD TO KNOW

BUG RHYTHMS: The song "Can't Bug Me" is our foundational song for counting rhythms. I love this approach to introducing musical notation to young musicians. You can read more about it at this blogpost.

ECHO ED: If your child isn't quite singing on pitch yet, don't despair! One of the best ways to get them to hear the pitch is to have them sing. That's why in class I keep inviting them to sing with me on Echo Ed and all the other songs. Even if they aren't right on pitch, they should sing, sing, sing. As nonsensical as it may sound, singing out loud is one of the keys to hearing it inside. 

FUN TO KNOW

Our new puppet show, which we call "Triumphant March," is officially named "Triumphal March" from the opera Aida. It comes from the part of the story where Ramades, the captain of hte Egyptian guard, returns from a successful battle. Check out this clip of an actual production. It's so much fun seeing the costumes and sets. And animals!

Blue Bugs #1

  

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Blue Bugs #1: It was so nice to have you and your students back after such a long break. Next week is students-only, so send them in with their new Blue Bugs Homework Booklet!

BLUE BUGS MUSIC: If you haven't yet, make sure that your Blue Bugs music is working! You should have access to it on the app. If you don't, contact the Let's Play Music office at 877.840.1969. You can also download them digitally directly to your computer at this link. Or here is a link to all the Blue Bugs Music in Google Drive. I also sent CDs home with those who requestsed them. If you'd like on and didn't get it, let me know and I'll get one to your student next week.

TUITION: Thank you for getting tuition in on time! I really appreciate it. If you didn't get it in, I'll send a request/reminder.

GOOD TO KNOW

NEW MELODIC PATTERN: We added "sol-la-ti-do" to our arsenal of cadence patterns. We did the hand signs and notated it on the staff and played it on the bells. We'll be hearing, singing, and signing this pattern a lot! 

NEW MUSIC: At the beginning of a semester, we have a bunch of new songs, and the Blue Bugs ones are great! This week we started Clickety Clickety Clack, Can't Bug Me, Old Paint, How to Skip, and the puppet show Triumphant March. Every activity has a music lesson hidden inside, and the exciting part is that it seems like we are just PLAYING!

OLD PAINT: This folk song is a powerful teaching tool and we'll revisit it every year in Let's Play Music. If you're interested, here's an official LPM blogpost on Old Paint and how we harness its power.

FUN TO KNOW

Our new puppet show is Triumphant March, and it comes from the opera Aida by Giuseppi Verdi. Here is a link to printable mini puppets and here is a link to a coloring page.

Red Balloons #15

  

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Red Balloons #15: I love teaching your kids and am grateful to work with parents that are so involved in their children's lives.

PRINTABLE CHRISTMAS MUSIC FOR BELLS: If your student loves playing the bells, you can print off some Christmas songs at this link. Not required and just for fun!

BLUE BUGS MUSIC: The Blue Bugs music should be available on the app. Start listening to it now! You can also access the music here in a Google file with all the tracks available. If you'd like a CD, I will have one for you the first week of classes. 

SCHEDULE: Our next class will be Blue Bugs #1, on Wednesday, January 8, same time same place! The first day is a Parent Day, so I'll see you and your student then. Class calendars will be taped into your Blue Bugs workbooks. If you'd like it earlier, you can access it from this blog under "Calendars." The first tuition payment of the new semester will be due that day. I'll send an invoice during the week before.

PARENT EVALUATION: At the end of each semester, I like to give you the opportunity to give me feedback. I also have a spot on the form for you to add anybody to the email/text list to get Parent Note notifications if you'd like to include dad or grandma or anybody else. Let me know how you're doing at this link!

GOOD TO KNOW

ESCAPE ROOM: For a fun extention, see if your Red Balloon can solve the puzzles in this Let's Play Music Red Balloons Escape Room! It works better for me on a computer rather than a phone, but do whatever works for you!

FUN TO KNOW

This is one of my favorite Christmas commercials of all time! Enjoy it and have a very Merry Christmas!

Red Balloons #14

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Red Balloons #14: Your students are so much fun and they have come so far! I can't believe we only have one class left of Red Balloons. Our last class will be next week on December 10. It will be a Parent Day and a fun review of everything we've learned.

NEXT SEMESTER: We'll start up with Blue Bugs on Tuesday, January 7. The first day IS a Parent Day to kick things off! The class calendar will be taped into the student workbook you'll get that first day of class. It is also available now and you can always find it at the Calendar part of the website.

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: In our Let's Play Music song, we learned what MI RE DO and SOL SOL DO look like on the staff. We sang "baby-steps going down" and "down same leap-up" to help describe the notation.

WALTZ OF THE FLOWERS: Listening for specific sounds and having an expectation of what they're about to hear increases your students' ear sensitivity. We used the flower puppets again this week, and some of your students asked to have them at home. The link for the printable mini puppets is in the Parent Notes for Lesson #9, and can always be found in the Puppet Show section of the website.

FUN TO KNOW

Here is one of my favorite NBA commercials that shows how sports teamwork and musical ensemble practice can highlight similar skills! They are using the sound of the bouncing basketballs like tone bells, and the result is so much fun!

We've been experimenting with the Tongue Drum for the past few weeks. I love being able to show how musicians use the same basic chords no matter what instrument we play! Here is a video of some Christmas songs on a tongue drum. It's just so dreamy!

Red Balloons #13

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Red Balloons #13: It's always nice to have growups in class!

TUITION DUE: The last tuition payment of Red Balloons is due this week. Thank you for getting things in on time! It helps me so much! The next tuition payment will be on the first day of Blue Bugs,  January 9.

CALENDAR REMINDER: Next week, November 19, there is no class due to my son's surgery. The next week, November 26, there is no class due to Thanksgiving. The week after, December 3, will be a regular kid-only class for Lesson #14 followed by Lesson #15 on December 10, which is a parent day and the last Red Balloon class. Then there will be a break for the holiday. The first class of Blue Bugs will be Tuesday, January 7. It will be a parent day to kick off the semester. 

BLUE BUGS: We start Blue Bugs in January! Hooray! The first class will be January 7, and it will be a parent day. I will have your students' Blue Bugs materials that first day of class, including the calendar taped to the inside cover. If you'd like to check out the calendar earlier than that, it's available now at this link, and you can always find it under the Calendar link on the website.

NUTCRACKER: Along with teaching Let's Play Music, I sometimes present music-based programs at local libraries. Lots of movement, lots of classical music, and lots of fun! I'm doing my "Nutcracker" program at the Nampa Library on Saturday, December 7 at 10:30am, and at the Star Branch Library on Thursday, December 12 at 10:30am. You are absolutely invited to attend and totally not expected!

GOOD TO KNOW

LET'S PLAY MUSIC: Our ears heard layers of sound this week as we sang the MI RE DO and the SOL SOL DO endings at the same time. Singing in harmony helps us to sing in tune.

DO RE MI: We're learning to read notated music by relationships (steps, skips, leaps) rather than depending on note names alone. This is a more natural way to teach children to read music, and it produces better sight readers. Don't worry, we'll learn the staff note names! We'll introduce a few during 2nd Year, then all of them in 3rd Year.

FIVE FAT TURKEYS: We love our fun turkey song! If you are looking for something to do over the break, here is a link to a blogpost with 5-Fat-Turkey-based activities for all levels of LPM students. And if your student is a fan of crafts, here is a printable activity sheet that your student can cut out and act out the Five Fat Turkeys song.

FUN TO KNOW

If you're looking to add a music-based gift to the holiday mix, here is a blogpost with some ideas! It's an old list and doesn't include the Student Magnet Staff Board or the 8-Note Songbooks I've mentioned from the new Let's Play Music shop you can find here. Also, keep in mind that some of the recorded music (CDs) mentioned in the blogpost are on Spotify and other streaming services, and I've seen them available at the library to checkout as well (can you tell I'm cheap and would rather NOT buy things if I don't have to!?).

 

Red Balloons #12

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Red Balloons #12: What a great group of kids are in Red Balloons this year!

ONLINE MAKE-UP CLASSES: Now that we're in the time of year where sicknesses rotate through kids everywhere, this is just a reminder that our LPM classes contain lots of repetition and missing a class or two here and there is no problem. Your student will be fine the next week. But if you miss two or three in a row, I would suggest to do a catch up video lesson to stay on track. You can purchase access to any class for four weeks. All details can always be found on my website at this link.

PARENT DAY AND TUITION: Next week will be a Parent Day. The last tuition installment of the semester will be due. I'll send an invoice later this week. If you don't get one, it means you've already paid for this installment! Thank you!

GOOD TO KNOW

SCALE UP OR DOWN: We played a game today to quiz your kids' ears! Each student got to hide behind a sheet and play the bells. They chose whether to play a scale UP or a scale DOWN, and everybody else got to listen and vote on what they heard They did a great job! 

CHORDS IN PIECES: Your kids are getting so good at identifying parts of chords AND hearing which chord is playing!

FUN TO KNOW

In the Waltz of the Flowers puppet show, during the part where the butterfly kisses the flower, the chime sound is made by the triangle. During the puppet show time in class, we got out triangles and everybody played along with the song. It was awesome! Triangle days always remind me of this commercial with a triangle solo. And just in case you hadn't decided if musicians are total dorks, here is a remake of the commercial done by the Florida Orchestra. 

Red Balloons #11

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Red Balloons #11: Thank you for coming to class and being great parents. I hope you are enjoying this musical journey as much as I am! I love watching your kids absorb, and I love having parent days and seeing you interact with them. So much love!

KIDS ARE INDIVIDUALS: Some students are involved and excited, some are more introspective and withdrawn, and others are energetic but seem lost in their own world. It's okay! All of these reactions are just fine and all will foster learning! Some kids need extra sensory input. On student-only days, I frequently will have them lay on their backs or their tummies for different activities. Some of my best 2nd and 3rd year students in the past spent most of their 1st year classes rolling on the floor but it turned out that they were learning everything! Let your student experience class at their own pace. And know that they are absorbing the musical information they need.

LPM STORE: If you are looking for musical additions to Christmas lists, there are some fun things in the Let's Play Music online shop. Here is a link to that. My favorite things are the 8 Note Songbooks, which were made especially for LPM 1st Year students and are used to expand experience with the bell set. One includes songs that we use in class, and another is a Christmas Edition with holiday songs. I also love the Student Magnet Staff Board with the correlating magnet sets. None of these things are required, but your students might have fun with them, and they'd be great Christmas presents!

GOOD TO KNOW

BABY STEPS: We have been reading baby steps on the staff for a few weeks. Today we added another layer: playing baby steps on the bells. Don't worry if your student is having trouble understanding this. They're all totally on track and will get it! They're amazing!

LAYERED LEARNING: This week in my 2nd year classes, this skill (reading steps from the staff and playing them) is in full play. They're looking at different patterns of notes on the staff, figuring out what it means, and playing them on the keyboard. We're starting those sight-reading skills now by identifying baby steps on the staff and playing those baby steps on the bells. 

FUN TO KNOW

Have a snuggle-moment with your Red Balloon when you share this amazing marble run production synced perfectly to the Waltz of the Flowers from the Nutcracker. Enjoy!