I love the Backyardigans!

With 4 kids, I have watched ALOT of kid shows.  ALOT. And I definitely have my most favorites and my least favorites. (The Doodlebops were at the bottom of my list.)  At the top of the list are Backyardigans and Little Einsteins (see previous blog on that one!).

We're actually watching Backyardigans right now as I type---the episode is Elephant On The Run--- and once again, it's a good one!

Here's a short list of why I love the Backyardigans:

1. There's no baby talk. Baby talk bothers me.
2. They sing well. Not flat, not sharp.
3. They each sing in their own range. Ex: Tyrone sings an octave lower than Tasha sometimes
4. Their dance steps are usually in perfect time with the beat of the song.
5. Their dance steps help the kids to understand the mood of the music.

I'm sure I could go on and on, but for now I'll stop at 6 reasons. :)
I'm being summoned by my youngest to come to the couch and watch the rest of the episode with him!
Until next time!
Audrey

Rope them in!

Today's tip is Jump Rope. "What on earth does jumping rope have to do with musical foundations" you may ask... Remember when we were kids and would jump rope and sing songs? We were keeping a steady beat, learning about sub-divided beats, multi-tasking by singing, jumping and sometimes twirling the rope when we were jumping solo, not to mention getting some wonderful exercise! So get your kids out and jump rope with them-teach them the rhymes (you can find a wonderful list here).

www.gameskidsplay.com/jump_rope_ryhmes

Don't worry about explaining what they are learning to them...all that's important is that they have fun and learn through play!

My Favorite TV Show for Kids---Disney's Little Einsteins

Disney's Little Einsteins has been around since 2005, and it is by far my favorite TV program for young kids....especially young musicians.  They cover musical concepts like steady beat, loud and soft, higher and lower,  as well as musical terms like Allegro, Moderato, Andante or rest.  Some of these sound awfully familiar to my regular followers, because these are terms and concepts that I talk about quite a bit!
I have even been bold enough to encourage school music teachers to spend a few dollars of their yearly budget, to purchase the DVD set of this show.  While it is intended for a preschool audience, it easily carries over to a kindergarten and lower elementary school aged child as well.  It works especially well for those days that a school music teacher is absent and has a substitute.  This way if the sub has to play a movie, the students are still being exposed to music standards in the classroom.  This is another win-win situation!
To watch episodes online: go to
http://disney.go.com/preschool/videos/nc/?playlistID=459723#/preschool/videos/nc/

How to Deal with Whining About Practicing

Let's be honest, all students whine sometimes.  The causes differ from not wanting to practice, to getting frustrated with a piece of music, to being frustrated with an instrument.  So what's a parent to do???

Here's some ideas.
First, try to get to the root of the whine.  Is it that they don't want to stop playing outside or with friends and have to come inside and practice? They are frustrated with the piece of music? Frustrated with the concept?  Frustrated with the instrument? Bored with the piece? Now address that root. 
Not wanting to stop playing: Change the time of practice.  If they want to play with their friends in the afternoon when they get home from school, change practice time to the morning after breakfast.  Or even give them the "treat" of being able to stay up a little bit later so that they can practice in the evening after dinner.

Frustration with piece of music: I have been teaching out of the same curriculum for quite a while and now know that some songs are just plain hard.  Students of varying degrees of natural talent will reach a certain song and no matter what, they will struggle.  That taught me that its ok to skip songs or to supplement with another piece that teaches the same concept.  That being said, as a parent talk to the teacher if the same song is being assigned for more than 2 weeks.  Ask what specifically the student needs to work on and what the teacher's plan is if the student continues to struggle in grasping the concept. One piece of music is not worth frustration.

Frustration with a concept: There are some students that really struggle with certain concepts.  I've had students who cannot seem to master the feeling of a 3/4 time signature or crescendo/decrescendo.  If your young musician is getting frustrated with a concept like one of these, during practice take the concept away from the piece and let the musician concentrate on the successful parts of the song, like correct notes, hand position, steady beat, etc.  Talk to the teacher at the next lesson and ask if there is another way to teach the same concept.  This is where the teacher's creativity can shine!  You as the parent see if you can apply the concept to the student in other non-musical ways. (Check out my other posts to see examples of these).

Boredom with the piece: 30 minutes goes by extremely fast.  If your young musician is getting bored with the pieces because they are mastering them quickly, ask the teacher for either a longer lesson (like 45 minutes) or even better, two 30 minute lessons per week. Some musicians are so very talented, that they really could master a concept and a piece of music in just a day or so.  Ask the teacher also for supplemental music outside of the lesson book.  The Faber curriculum that I use has many books that run parallel to the lesson book levels so that students can find matching music to their level of performance. 

Frustrated with the instrument: For some piano students, when they reach a level of performance but are still playing on a lower end keyboard, they can begin to get frustrated that their instrument is not making the sound that they think it should be making.  If that's the case, then its time to invest in a better quality keyboard. Also read my other post on practicing w/o a piano.  On the other end of the spectrum, I've had students whose parents own pianos that need to be repaired or tuned badly and that can cause frustration of the musician as well.  As parents, the ball's in your court for this one.

All in all, there is usually alot going on inside the musician's head when they start whining about practicing.  If you take the time to find out what's really going on, not only will you be able to beat the whining blues, but also your musician will be happy that you took the time to find out what they were thinking/feeling inside. Its a win/win situation!!

Metronome - Listen Up!!

The metronome is a fantastic tool to use when conducting listening exercises.  When your musician begins learning terms such as Andante, Moderato and Allegro, try this exercise.

Play some recorded music, any style will work, but I would try to get a variety of styles and genres. As the music is playing, find the steady beat of the piece and pat it along with the music. Keep the beat going as you stop the recording and find a matching tempo on the metronome.  Ask questions like these:
Did the song feel like it had a slow, medium or quick tempo?
Which musical term could we use to describe the speed? 
Did the piece stay steady the whole time?
Was it difficult to find the steady beat?

Then move on to a different genre.  Since metronomes are so mobile, you could even take it along with you in the car and analyze the songs on the radio. We do this quite a bit and have fun....especially to some of the music on Radio Disney!

The Metronome ~ Your new best friend!

The metronome. Buy it. Love it. Use it. Its amazing.

The next series of posts will be on some intriguing ways of using a metronome. Most will be for musical purposes, yet a couple will shockingly be out of the realm of music.

The first question is, do you know what a metronome is?  It is a gadget (most of the time electronic) that keeps a steady beat at a myriad of speed possiblities. Some are fancier thn others, with choices of time signature, emphasized downbeat and mute and earbud options.  Amazingly, I have one of these fancy shmancy ones and it was under $25.

Now onto a very basic musical way of using the metronome.
When learning a new piece of music, it is important to encourage confidence in your young musician.  This is achieved by delaying the use of the metronome until a level of comfort is reached with the piece.  Have your musician play through the piece without huge emphasis on beat...yet. After a decent level of comfort is reached (meaning they know the basics of the song and the general idea of fingering and note order). THEN introduce the metronome. 
Set it at a slower speed (maybe as low as 60bpm--beats per minute).  Encourage your child to pat the rhythm to the song on his lap. See post "The Five Senses--Touch" for further explanation of patting. After successfully patting out the song without huge mistakes, you can do one of two things. 1. step up the bpm and have him pat the song on his lap again. Repeat until the tempo--speed, is up to performance tempo.  2. have him now play the piece on the keyboard at the slower speed. Raise the tempo and follow the steps-pat, play; repeat until playing at performance tempo.
If you and your musician are struggling to find the appropriate tempo/bpm for both practice and performance, ask your musician's teacher or look for a recording of it online and time it.
 *Remember, 60 bpm is equal to 60 seconds, so when you're figuring it out, just watch the second hand of your watch.

The Five Senses - Hearing

Sense #2--Hearing


A musician with a loss of hearing---no wonder Beethoven went mad! Hearing/listening and music go hand in hand.
Listening to music though, really listening is very important to the budding musician. Encourage your child to listen to not only what he is playing, but how it sounds! If you have some kind of recording device, record his practice and then have him listen to it and describe what he hears. Does he think his beat is steady? Can he tell what song he is playing? If he sings while he plays, ask him if he thinks his pitch matches what he is playing. If you are really bold, record yourself singing along with his playing and ask him if your pitch matches his playing.


A listening challenge to the parents would be for you to truly listen to your child's playing. Close your eyes, and enjoy listening to their progress!

The Five Senses -Touch

Sense #3--Touch



Pianists touch the keyboard, touch the music to turn the page, touch the pedals, etc. So the sense of touch isn't surprising. But I have a couple ideas on making it more helpful.

When your young musician gets frustrated on a new song, concentrate on the sense of touch. Move away from the piano to the kitchen table or counter. Have the student pat the song, using left hand to pat the left hand rhythm and the right hand to pat the right hand rhythm; separately and then together. Focus the attention on what the hands will do (not individual fingers yet) and how they work together. Once the student feels confident in working the hands correctly then move back to the piano and begin playing at a slower tempo to integrate the individual fingers.

Sometimes this approach gives the confidence to move forward!

Hand Jive

My sister and I spent countless hours playing hand clapping games in the car during long road trips. One of our favorites began, "See, see my playmate, come out and play with me...." Another one was, "Count down, when Billy was one, he learned to suck his thumb...". Over and over we would play those games, until one of our parents would finally lose it and tell us to knock it off! Every time we played one of the games, we were practicing keeping a steady beat, clapping on the beat, sub-dividing the beats on multiple syllable words, crossing the mid-line of the body, and matching our partner in movement too.

So many educational foundations wrapped up in a little hand game....gotta love it!

Click here to find a huge list of popular hand games!
Hand Clapping Games

Eenie, Meenie, Minee, Mo...

...catch a tiger by his toe. If he hollers, let him go! Eenie, meenie, minee, mo.

This rhyme came about in the 1800's and has had many different variations. It is a great way for kids to resolve conflict, take turns, etc. It is even better at sneaking in rhythm work! It uses a 4/4 beat, sub-divided beats, patterened rhythms and emphasizes down beats. Sing-say it with your kids at normal speed, then to be silly try it at a slower pace or faster pace.

Have fun!