Lesson #8
Waiting List If you have a child you want to go through 1st year and aren't on my waiting list, or you know someone who wants to do Let's Play Music, email back and let me know their name and email address. I'll be emailing everyone on the waiting list and then I'll open it up to the general public next week.
Enrollment for next fall for CURRENT STUDIO FAMILIES is open. Click here for the link to enroll, and the enrollment code is 38125.
Spirit Week 2020
Next week's class will be parent week, and a ton of fun, but we're adding another element of fun to it - it's our 2020 National LPM Spirit Week! We'll be doing all sorts of fun things, like always, but the no-cell-phone rule is GONE for this week only. Record your kids doing all kinds of cool things, and post them on social media. This is, by far, my BEST method of recruiting new students, and helps keep YOUR tuition costs low (because I spend next to nothing on advertising). For your help spreading the word, there are some really cool prizes, we'll talk about a bit during class! Every parent who posts on social media gets a FREE coupon for a cookie at SIPS in Twin Falls!
Should your child repeat 1st year?
There may be some of you are wondering whether your child should continue on to the 2nd year or not. Sometimes the youngest ones need one more go-around with the first year curriculum in order to solidify the skills and concepts required for 2nd year. The following behaviors will help you determine if this is a better alternative.
Can’t sing and sign solfege at the same time
Doesn’t know the solfege signs
Doesn't understand the concepts of a step, skip, or a leap
They don’t understand that their claps should match the syllables of the bug names
They have a hard time understanding any concept or skill when it’s presented to them
They have a hard time paying attention during the activities.
If your child is showing 3 or more of these signs it is likely because
1.) They are simply too young and need more time to physically develop
2.) They haven’t had adequate practice/listening time or exposure to the concepts. You will need to determine if it’s 1 or 2. If you feel they haven't had adequate exposure, you could possibly "play" through the rest of the semester and the summer and get them ready to move on to 2nd year. If you think it is simply their age and time will help, you could consider having them repeat.
If you decide to repeat first year with me, you will need to let me know ASAP as I am sending out registration forms to the people on my waiting list this week.
Are You Sleeping?
This song reinforces the solfeg hand signs. Very soon we’ll sing in a round, letting us hear multiple layers of music. Hearing music in our head and being able to stay on the part we are singing is a great skill for musicians to learn.
B-I-N-G-O
Who knew BINGO had such music concepts to learn from? When we sing it, we feel the quiet internal beats and learn to anticipate when to clap. It's full of rich musical concepts.
Chords in Pieces - audiation (hear in your head)
As we sang “Chords in Pieces” we left out some of the chords and audiated them in our heads instead of singing them aloud. Again, much of the learning in 1st year is subconscious and unseen. The musical development that is happening to your little musician right now won't be seen by the naked eye, but will be harvested down the road!
Bug Rhythms
We mixed up the order of the bugs and with no verbal cues we sang and clapped the bug rhythms. Your amazing kiddos were able to do “Can’t Bug Me” perfectly! Wow, they are learning so quickly.
It is easy to underestimate the significance of solfege. It helps us label something abstract like notes, uses whole body involvement, helps us understand scales and key signatures, aids in learning about intervals, helps us sight read/sing music, and so much more! Click here to read about the many reasons why we use solfege in Let's Play Music!