Thursday, March 27, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #12

No class next week because of Spring Break! Parents come the following week and final is due! If you are unsure if you are caught up on your payments or not, please just ask.

Next week in class we will choose what your child will be playing in the showcase. I'll give you each a couple options. I'd like all the kids to have a couple opportunities to shine. Remember, we are not a performing group, but we do like to showcase what we've learned, so please have them practice their part. They don't need to have it memorized, but they will feel more confident if they do.

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to bring playfulness to practice time!

• Duet with your parent (octave higher/lower OR they play LH while you play RH)
• Play the melody with just your index (pointer) finger.
• Make up your own words to a song and sing your version while you play.

Don’t Put Your Trash
Harmony happens when we sing our designated part AND listen to those around us! What a skill! As a family, each person can choose their favorite part and with the cd sing their part all 3 times! All 3 parts begin on the same pitch and the actions will help you stay on your part.    

Tinga Layo
This week we drew in the 'bulls eye' and 'arrow feather' to create a stylized calypso accompaniment on page 23. (Please help your child finish if they didn't get it done during class!) First, sing, chant, or clap Ting-a-layo with each chord while practicing with your child then sing the lyrics of the song while your child dazzles you with this exciting accompaniment!  

Hickory Dickory Dock
Tick, tock let us rock while playing in parallel motion! This is tricky business, playing the same note together with both hands at the same time. Physically rock back and forth with your child to feel the rocking motion their hands will play. Once they get this down enjoy playing the melody while they play the parallel 5ths. What a dynamic duo!

World renowned pianist Vladimir Horowitz shares an inspiring perspective of practicing!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | Uncategorized

Spirit Month drawing tickets are due by this SATURDAY, MARCH 29TH at 8:00pm (NO EXCEPTIONS)! 

You MUST fill out this form so I know what prizes you'd like to win! 

https://forms.gle/hcCfrKYLAc49gFgd9

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #12

No class next week because it’s spring break! Final tuition is due when we come back in 2 weeks.

Lesson 15 will be an "Instrument Day"! This class gives families a chance to share an instrument. Of course, performing is optional and you are welcome to just listen, but we would enjoy hearing from you, your child, or another family member or friend who plays an instrument. We welcome any and all performers! Let me know if you have any questions.

Next week we'll sing these songs in class:

• Ten Little Pennies
• Name the Instruments
• Grandma's Glasses
• Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?
• Take Me Out to the Ballgame
• Bow Wow Wow
• To Market
• The Happy Farmer
• My Little Rooster
• Uno, Dos, Tres
• De Colores

Two of the songs we sing this semester, Picaflor and Hey! Hey! Look at Me!, have only two pitches, SOL and MI. A third song, Doggie, Doggie, Where’s Your Bone?, adds LA for a total of only three pitches. This is because the SOL-MI interval is the easiest interval for the child to learn to recognize, imitate, and sing in tune, therefore allowing children to have successful singing experiences. We also use these songs to expose children to the musical staff and pitch relationships.

Optional home fun activity: Make the doggie and bone puppets on page 29          
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Here's a fun video of "Grandma's Glasses" for you!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one: Our classes teach intelligent listening and understanding of classical form in a fun and interactive way. Each semester we study the timbre (tam'-ber) of various instruments and our 'smart moves' dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable, classical music experience.

Have a musical day!        
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, March 26, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons

Lesson #12

NO CLASSES NEXT WEEK FOR SPRING BREAK! The following week will be parent week and final tuition is due! If you are unsure if you are caught up on your payments or not, please just ask.

I will be printing each child's composition in a book that I will present each child at the recital. I will need to finalize their compositions this week so they have time to practice them. I want them to feel confident playing them in front of an audience. If any changes need to be made, please let me know ASAP!

In class this week we got to experience harmonic dictation. We listened to more than one note played at a time and wrote it in our books. The students are getting really good at knowing the difference between how the red, blue and yellow chords sound!

Any changes your child would like to make to their compositions should be given to me as soon as possible. I'm planning to print final copies pretty soon, so I'd like to be sure they are exactly the way the students want them.

Our compositions are coming along great! Please be sure your student is introducing their piece (as it is written in their homework book) each time they practice it so they can be well prepared for our recital! The introduction should be memorized, but their composition doesn't need to be... although it will help them feel more confident if they do!

We are getting so good at playing our scales in F Major, G Major, and A minor. Check out this fun video to see what it would look like to play your scales with your feet!!!  

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 20, 2025 | Bridge Lessons

Thursday, March 20, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #11

Here is a really great technique idea you can try at home! It's a video made by a Let's Play Music teacher in Ogden. Please watch it and try it with your child, especially if they are having trouble keeping their "bubble hand" shape! This will help keep fingers from "flying away". Give it a try!

Registration for next year is open for current students and we are at the final stages! You have until April 30th to register and enroll your student for 3rd year. If you register by March 29th, you won't have to pay the $20 registration fee! I realize some of you are waiting on other details before finalizing your class time. Just be sure you watch the deadline so you don't get a late registration processing fee.

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make practice time more playful!

• Tap the rhythm of your RH while tapping the rhythm of your LH on the keyboard cover (Or just tap one hand if the song is hands alone).
• Pick a measure to play, then close your book and try it from memory.
• Face Time (or call) a family member and play for them.

Scale In and Out
This technique is teaching contrary motion where the same finger numbers are played together moving in opposite directions. RH pinky (5) begins on Treble C and LH pinky (5) begins on Bass C. Play and sing IN the major scale with fingers 5 4 3 2 1 POP 3 2 1. Both thumbs will land on Middle C. Then play back OUT using fingers 1 2 3 POP 1 2 3 4 5.   

Oh, When the Saints
March 2, 3, 4! We can march with our feet AND our fingers. A marching chord is a type of stylized chord that will make this song sound much more like a march. To play a marching chord, play the bottom note of the chord alone and the top two notes (interval) together and the fingers are MARCHING! Feel free to march around the house as your child plays marching chords with this energetic song!      

Tinga Layo
To practice Tinga Layo, play the block chord as written with the calypso rhythm. An example of how to play this rhythm is at the bottom of the page in the songbook. Follow the chords and CHANT in rhythm Shoo-oot the Bug Bug or Ting-a Lay-O while playing!

C Major Scale In and Out

With Spring in the air, your blooming musician can hop on this life-size keyboard practicing the music alphabet in the sunshine!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | Uncategorized

Wednesday, March 19, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #11

Have you enjoyed the singable books we have shared in class this semester? Your local library is likely to have a few. (Also, Let's Play Music has printed several of their own that you can purchase!) Even if books are not ‘singable’, they are still a great way to connect with your child at home. Fun Fact: if you spend just 20 minutes per day reading with your child, during the course of the year you will have accumulated over 120 hours of quality time with him.

Next week we'll sing these songs in class:

• Let's Count Our Money
• Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?
• Bow Wow Wow
• DO Pentatonic Scale
• Grandma's Glasses
• Take Me Out to the Ballgame
• The Happy Farmer
• To Market
• My Little Rooster
• Zoodeo
• De Colores

I still have openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! Register today and get the early bird special: no $20 registration fee! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! 
https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!

Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! You can download the BINGO worksheet from your student portal if you need another one. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.

Children are known to sing spontaneously because it is joyous, playful, personal, expressive, and creative. Their natural desire to imitate can help develop their singing voice, and even very young children can learn to match pitch and sing simple melodies correctly. Sound Beginnings’ activities are designed to foster the desire to sing and the repertoire purposefully falls within a comfortable singing range for children—typically the pitches from middle C to treble C (just like our tone bells!).

Optional home fun activity: Do the Grandma’s Glasses activity on page 21            
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Did you know that animals can "speak" in a different language also? Watch this video to learn the names of other farm animals and what they say in Spanish!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Little hands need to be strong in order to perform life and learning skills such as dressing oneself and writing. In class, students gain finger dexterity and hand strength as they participate in finger plays to favorite nursery rhymes and manipulate tactile props and instruments.

Have a musical day!          
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, March 18, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons

Lesson #11

Notice that this week your child will be practicing most of the same things as Lesson #10. Here's a video that covers some of the songs they will be practicing this week. PLEASE have your child watch it if they are struggling with the songs in the homework this week! 

Be sure your child practices any new changes we have made to the composition. We have almost all finished our compositions and they sound great! I’m so proud of all my Orange Roots! Please make sure that your child practices their composition EVERY DAY. Use theory assignment #11 to help your student introduce their recital piece. They should practice saying it out loud EACH TIME they practice their composition. I want them to be prepared and confident at our recital.

The progress that we have made in developing our compositions has been exciting. Our homework is preparing us to perform our composition at our recital. Look how cute this spider is as he introduces his composition!

Practicing Help (Homework)

Composition Help

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 13, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #10

This week we played broken chords with the LH. It is imperative we play all chords with correct fingerings as this transfers over to every chord structure with all 12 major and 36 minor keys!!!

Continue to solidify the Right Hand, RH, and LH Red, Blue, and Yellow Chords! Watch that fingering, it makes a big difference when done correctly. (I can tell that some of the students aren't practicing it correctly at home because they aren't doing it correctly in class!)

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make practice more playful!

• One day this week, have Mom or Dad be the student. Show them where to place their hands, what chord/note to play, how to look up at the notes, and YOU point to each note as they play. Watch for nice bubble hands! Sometimes being a teacher is the best way to prove that you've learned something!
• Play your piece backwards. Start on the last measure and work your way to the front.
• Play through your piece replacing Mr. Rests with a "shh"

Registration is now open for current students! Classes are just about full for next fall! Thanks to those that have already registered for 3rd Year. Remember, in 3rd year the parents only come five times a semester!

I still have a few openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!

Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! I have attached the worksheet again, if you need another copy. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.

The Wheels on the Bus sing Melodic Patterns
Melodic patterns are found in every song. How many Sol-Mi-Do’s and Sol-Sol-Do’s can you hear in this version of a favorite childhood song?    
     
I Gotta Shake    
Get ready to play the rests in this silly song! Our fingers must rest from playing or holding down the note when we see a quarter rest sign. 1st say ‘sh’ or ‘rest’ while playing. Then play again hearing the rest inside while playing the silence in the song.    
     
How to Skip    
Keep skipping with fingers 1-3-5 in the RH saying the middle anchor notes. Play the LH separate while singing 1st the chord color and 2nd the melody with this favorite song. We will put hands together soon!    
     
Tinga Layo    
Duet time with shakers! Invite your child to play the chords on the piano while you or a sibling play "shoot-the-bug-bug" rhythm with a shaker. Switch! Make your own shaker with rice, beans, pennies, small beads, etc. in a plastic egg, empty spice container, or baby food jar. Shake away!

Charles Gounod was born in 1818 in Paris, France. His mom was a piano teacher and his father was an artist, so he started receiving music instruction very early in his life. He attended excellent musical schools. By the time he was 21, he was receiving awards and prizes for his compositions. He also taught other musicians, most notably, Georges Bizet. Today people still recognize his songs, O Divine Redeemer, Ave Maria, and Funeral March for a Marionette (our current puppet show known as March of the Gnomes!) Can you hear the kings heavy down beat in this recording?

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, March 12, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #10

It’s hard to believe but we are just 5 classes away from the end of the semester. If you are ready for even more fun, you can register for the next round of musical adventure--White Horses! Remember, if you register by March 25th, you will get 5 entries in the drawings for Spirit Month! You can find more information on my web site: www.musikandme.com  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Next week we'll sing these songs in class:

• Ten Little Pennies
• Doggie, Doggie, Where's Your Bone?
• Name the Instruments (maracas, Baritone, Piccolo, Xylophone, Ukulele)
• Grandma's Glasses
• Take Me Out to the Ballgame
• Polly Wolly Doodle
• The Happy Farmer
• My Little Rooster
• Count Your Blessings

I still have a few openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!

Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! I have attached the worksheet again, if you need another copy. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.

Learning music in a group setting has many advantages. Sound Beginnings classes naturally encourage participation and exploration in ways a private setting does not. Groups provide opportunities for repetition that is fun and engaging, expose children to teamwork and collaboration, and allow children to meet and learn from a peer group. Besides all of that, making music with others is just plain fun!

Optional home fun activity: Practice counting pennies in the piggy bank on page 23           
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

What do you think of our new dance song "The Happy Farmer"? Watch this video to see our song being played by real instruments!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	In class we experience steady beat and imitate rhythmic patterns with our voices, bodies, and through hands-on use of instruments. We incorporate Eurythmics, which is movement-based rhythm training that is perfect for toddlers!

Have a musical day!         
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, March 11, 2025 | Orange Roots Lessons

Lesson #10

Next week for private lessons have your child come 1-3 minutes early. If you haven't already, start writing in possible elements to your child's existing composition--a bridge, a coda, an introduction. Or at LEAST talk to your child about adding some elements and I can work my magic on my end. Either way, send their old composition (with any new notes) in addition to the homework booklet so I can still check practicing and homework (if I have time). I have added a supplemental video (below) that you can watch together this week to help generate some additional ideas for your child's composition!

I will send a text with the times your child is expected to be here for their private lesson. If you need to make a change, please let me know ASAP! 

Did you know that Echo Edison's page in your orange songbook (pg. 9) is a GREAT warm up page for any song your child will be playing. See what key the song is in and play Edison's questions and answers for that key. You can call it the "5 finger warmup!" Just for fun, your child can try improvising new QUESTIONS with the same answers!

I'm seeing fewer and fewer flashcard times as the semester progresses! Please don't skip this part of the homework! If your child really doesn't like flashcards (mine didn't!), check out the Quizlet games I made (mainly those listed under Purple Magic because that's where they were introduced). You can select a variety of ways to use the flashcards by selecting the drop down box in the bottom right corner of the Quizlet window.

I still have a few openings in Sound Beginnings and my 1st Year Let's Play Music classes. I've also got an evening Sound Beginnings class for working parents! If you know of anyone who might be interested, I'm holding a free preview class Monday at March 24th @ 5:30 for LPM and 6:30 for SB. PLEASE share this link to any friends you think might be interested in music classes! https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/free-preview-classes-at-musik-me-studio-1756869 Also, I LOVE having current students at my preview classes. Please sign up if you are able to come to either or both of the classes. I can't do "make up" classes, but you can think of this as being a bonus class if you ever missed one... or even if you didn't!

Are you still working on your Spirit Month BINGO worksheets? I will have drawings for a MINI YOTO PLAYER, an mp3 player, egg shakers, cage bell set, tambourines, singable storybooks, CASH ($20, $10 & $5), and MORE! I have attached the worksheet again, if you need another copy. They will be due on lesson #12, where you or your child get to decide which prizes you want to put your tickets toward! I'll do the drawing the following Friday.

The Circus
The official name of this puppet show is Symphony No. 1, 2nd movement by Gustav Mahler. Mahler named his entire first symphony 'The Titan'. It was originally written as a symphonic poem, meaning that the music followed a "plot," in five movements instead of the traditional four. The second movement, the finale of which we use as our circus puppet show, is labeled "Set With Full Sails." Interestingly, this melody is in an Austrian folk dance form called a ländler (in 3/4 time). For those of you who like trivia, this is the dance from The Sound of Music during which Maria and Captain Von Trapp fall in love.

Composition Help

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Thursday, March 6, 2025 | Yellow Arrows Lessons

Lesson #9

Thank you, parents, for coming to class! We enjoy having you here and bonding with your child. What a gift you are giving them!

SPIRIT WEEK IS UNDERWAY! Let me know if you need any substitutions for any of the squares. You can find the BINGO worksheet in the Online Resources section of your Student Portal if you are logged in. As a reminder, some of the drawing prizes are some instruments and an MP3 player that you can put your class music on! 

One of the items on the checklist is to leave a Google review. I'm striving for a 5 star rating. If you don't plan to give me 5 stars, please talk to me BEFORE you post a review so I can address any issues you may have. Unfortunately, negative feedback has much more impact than positive feedback does, so please give me the chance to earn 5 stars if I'm not already there. Thanks! Here is the link to post a review on Google: https://g.page/musikandmebethany/review?gm

Registration is now open for current students! Please go to https://musikandme.com/Registration-LPM-return for instructions of how to enroll your student and purchase their 3rd 
year materials. There is a $20 registration fee, but you won't need to pay it if you register by March 28th! (You can earn 10 extra tickets by registering before March 15th!) My 3rd Year classes will be Thursdays at 4:00pm and 5:30pm. Please let me know if these times won't work for you and we'll discuss solutions. I can possibly adjust this if necessary, but please register as soon as you can.

Tuition is due for those who didn't pay for the entire semester up front. 

Celebrate Connection

A few ideas to make the alphabet pieces game more playful!

• Super Skippers:
  Your child draws out an alphabet letter and places it on the keyboard as a 'starter'. Next, she chooses another piece and checks to see if it can make a skip up or a skip down from the starter. If not, discard it and player 2 gets a turn to play (player 2 should start her skipping chain on a different octave from player 1). Keep taking turns until someone makes a chain, by adding skips at the top or bottom, that is 7 letters long and wins!
• Parking Lot Cars:
  Draw a letter from the lot and park your car on the white key "parking space" that matches. Works great with cars like these from the learning shop. Keep going until you run out of cars (or whatever counters you have).
• Cowboys and Indians:
  Start one tiny plastic character (ANY tiny plastic figures you have will do: Pokemon, animals, cowboys, princesses, etc.) at one end of the keyboard on a white key, and another at the other end. Draw a tile out and move the low guy up to that key. Draw another tile and move the high guy down to that key. Keep going until they meet (and battle, or shake hands, or whatever you pretend!) 

Bug Scale
We can now play UP the C Major Scale with our RH! Place the RH in C position and play with fingers 1-2-3 (CDE) then POP UNDER with the thumb to make a new bubble and continue playing with fingers 1-2-3-4-5 (FGABC). Choose your favorite BUG to practice this new skill. One way to remind where to pop is to insert POP with the bug like this: Butterfly, Butterfly, Butterfly, POPPERfly, Butterfly, etc. As always, we try to make our technique drills so fun that the kids don't even notice they are getting practice!
      
A Warm Welcome to Middle B and Middle D
The 5 anchor notes used in 2nd year include the members of the “C” family: Treble C, Middle C, and Bass C and the Middle Friends including Middle B who is B-elow Middle C and Middle D who is Down under the first line on the staff.
      
How to Skip
We will master all of our middle anchor notes with this song: Middle B, Middle C, Middle D. Use the same 3 fingers for the entire song: 1-3-5. Simply move your thumb to the appropriate starting note. Sing "C-skip-skip-skip, D-skip-skip" etc. emphasizing each anchor note. This is where the practice of seeing and playing those middle anchor notes connect!
      
I am Robin Hood
If your child can play each hand of "I am Robin Hood" comfortably, they are ready to put both hands together! Isolate 1 or 2 measures at a time to have a successful experience, then continue to add 1-2 measures until they can play the entire song with confidence! While practicing with your child, you can guide their eyes by pointing note by note with V fingers. Hooray for Hands Together!

March of the Gnomes
What did you think of our new puppet show? I've attached the new puppet show as well as put it in the student download portal.

C Major Scale Right Hand Ascending

How instinctive is your child getting with their keyboard geography playing the Alphabet Pieces Game? Time your child for 1 minute and see how many pieces they can put on the piano. Your student will treasure this craft and game idea as they continue to solidify all of the notes on the keyboard!

Here is a link to all the skills videos as well as the link to be able to purchase a class video to make up for a missed class. (tap or scan)

Have a musical day!
-Ms. Bethany :)

Wednesday, March 5, 2025 | Pink Piggies Lessons

Lesson #9

Sound Beginnings curriculum incorporates activities based on seven elements considered crucial to the development of the young child: Literacy and Kindergarten Skills, Rhythm and Beat, Vocal and Pitch Development, Fine Motor Skills, Gross Motor Skills, Classical Music Experience and Parent Bonding. Together these elements provide a rich foundation for further music study, school, and life.

Next week we'll sing these songs in class:

• Let's Count Our Money
• DO Pentatonic Scale
• Hey! Hey! Look At Me!
• In My Class I Have Some Bells
• Take Me Out to the Ballgame
• The Happy Farmer
• My Little Rooster
• Zoodeo
• Ten Little Pennies
• Count Your Blessings

SPIRIT WEEK IS UNDERWAY! Let me know if you need any substitutions for any of the squares. The BINGO card is in the Student Portal, if you lose yours and need to make a copy! As a reminder, some of the drawing prizes are some instruments and an MP3 player that you can put your class music on!

Show everyone in your neighborhood how you feel about Sound Beginnings! Host a yard sign to easily earn tickets to the Spirit Week drawing!

One of the items on the BINGO card is to leave a Google review. I'm striving for a 5 star rating. If you don't plan to give me 5 stars, please talk to me BEFORE you post a review so I can address any issues you may have. Unfortunately, negative feedback has much more impact than positive feedback does, so please give me the chance to earn 5 stars if I'm not already there. Thanks! Here is the link to post a review on Google: https://g.page/musikandmebethany/review?gm

Registration is now open for current students! Please go to https://www.musikandme.com/Registration for instructions of how to enroll your student for a summer class or White Horses in the fall. There is a $20 registration fee, but you won't need to pay it if you register by March 28th! (You can earn 20 extra tickets by registering by March 15th!)

Tuition is due this week if you are making payments. Thank you!

Consonants in the English language are either ‘voiced’ or ‘unvoiced’. Both types use the breath, lips, teeth, and upper palate when producing sound, but unvoiced consonants require no vibration in the vocal cords. An easy way to determine whether a consonant is voiced or not is to place a finger on your throat. As you pronounce a letter, feel the vibration of your vocal cords. If you feel a vibration the consonant is a voiced one.

Optional home fun activity: Make the My Little Rooster puppets on page 29 of your workbook            
(Remember, these activities are optional but can be a great bonding experience to do with your child during the week.)  

Sign language is so fun! Here are the signs for the animals in My Little Rooster!

Sound Beginnings is education through musical play! It prepares children for success in Kindergarten and Let’s Play Music. Sound beginnings provides research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of the young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum.  Here is just one:
	Sound Beginnings channels the young voice into beautiful, in-tune singing by providing proper vocal modeling in the correct range. Solfege hand signs teach pitch relationships; the minor 3rd (SOL-MI) pattern is used to develop in-tune singing and pitch matching.

Have a musical day!          
-Ms. Bethany :)

Tuesday, March 4, 2025 | Bridge Lessons