Lesson 41 (12/2/15)

Quincy

Great job on Hungarian Dance! See if you can memorize it and record a video. 

Classical song: Sonatina in C – first 4 measures  

red books (level 1)

Lesson pg 11

Popular pg 6

O Holy Night (stop after "the soul felt its worth) 

Sight reading (Do 1 or 2 songs every day) 

Eliot

Classical song: Burleske (easy version)- start memorizing

Add Dynamics (4 sections of song = A A B A) (f p mp ff)

blue books (level 2a)

Lesson pg 8 & 10

Jingle bells (and choose a new Christmas song!) 

Lesson 40 (11/18/15)

Quincy

Classical song: Hungarian dance

red books (level 1)

Lesson pg 10 + discovery (transpose)

Performance pg 4-5

O Holy Night

Eliot

Classical song: Burleske (easy version)

blue books (level 2a)

Lesson pg 4-5 (challenge yourself to play all the difficult parts until the whole song is easy)

Lesson pg 8 & 9

Jingle Bells

Lesson 39 (11/8/15)

Quincy Classical song: Hungarian dance red books (level 1) pg Lesson pg 8-9 + transpose Performance pg 2-3 work on even rhythm with Spanish Guitar (1-2-3,1-2-3) Popular pg Sight reading pg Technique pg Theory pg

Eliot Classical song: Burleske (easy version) blue books (level 2a) Lesson pg 4-5 Practice at 3 different speeds (see bottom of page 5) Lesson pg 7 Transpose to G, D, A, and F Popular pg Performance pg Sight reading pg Technique pg Theory pg

Lesson 38 (10/25/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) pg 68-71 (finish book!) Lesson pg Popular pg 20 (finish book) Performance pg Sight reading pg 86-95 (finish book) Technique pg Theory pg

Eliot Finished RED books (level 1) Do some Halloween Songs -          Tocatta in Dminor -          Graceful Ghost Dance -          Monster Dance

Lesson 37 (10/14/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 64-65 & 66-67 Popular pg pg30-31 Performance pg 28-29 (quarter notes faster so the rhythm is even) + 30-32 (finish book!) Sight reading pg 82-85 Technique pg 30-32 (finish book!) Theory pg 44-48 (finish book!) Halloween Songs

Eliot Finished RED books (level 1) Do some Halloween Songs -          Tocatta in Dminor -          Graceful Ghost Dance -          1-2 other Halloween songs

Lesson 36 10/4/15

It was fun seeing you girls last week! I wish we could have stayed longer. We'll have to make another trip soon. Zeke keeps asking (almost everyday), "Can we go back to my cousins house??!" =)

Lesson36 (10/4/15) http://vargagirlspiano.blogspot.com/

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 62-63 Popular pg 22 Performance pg 26-29 Sight reading pg 78-81 Technique pg 28-29 Theory pg 43 Pick a Halloween Song

Eliot Finished RED books (level 1) Do some Halloween Songs -          Tocatta in Dminor -          Your choice

So I thought it might be fun to take a bit of a "break" and learn some fun Halloween songs. There are several choices. Have you mom print them out and choose a few you'd like to learn.

One of my favorites to play is THIS one. Maybe you have heard it. It's very famous and sometimes it's in Halloween cartoons or movies. WATCH THIS video to hear how the whole song songs on the organ.

Happy October!

Lesson 35 (9/26/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 61 creative discovery Popular pg 22 Performance pg 25 Sight reading pg 74-77 Technique pg 26 (continue the pattern) Theory pg 32 + 46

Eliot RED books (level 1) Focus on Theory Book this week- pg 26-29 (play or tap each rhythm slow, medium & fast) Play other songs that you like.  Popular – choose a song!

Lesson 34 (9/13/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 61 creative discovery Popular pg 14-15 (Try to make rhythm] more natural) Performance pg 25 Sight reading pg 70-73 Technique pg 26 (continue the pattern) Theory pg 32

Eliot RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 38 Performance – finished! Theory pg 22-23 Technique pg 18 +22-23(different keys) Popular – choose a song!

Lesson 33 (9/6/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 60-61 (really focus steps and skips) Popular pg 14-15 Performance pg 24 Sight reading pg 66-69 Technique pg 260 Theory pg 31-32

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg32-33 Performance –36-37 Theory pg 20-23 Technique pg

Lesson 32 (8/18/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 58-59 Popular pg 10-11 (work on strong ¾ rhythm) Performance pg 23 Sight reading pg 62-65 Technique pg 23 + C,G,F,D,A, E Major scales  + pg 24-25 Theory pg

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 28-31 Performance – Review all   Theory pg Technique pg 10-11 +14-17 (Try with other 5-finger scales too)

Lesson 31 (8/12/15)

We are excited to see you this weekend! Ask your mom if you can bring some of your piano books so we can play a few duets.

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 56-57 Popular pg 10-110(faster & fix rhythm – 1-2-3) Performance pg 23 Sight reading pg 58-61 Technique pg 23 + E Major scale Theory pg 28-29 (do the activities and ask me questions next week when we check)

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 21 (delete “spaces” in rhythm) + discovery + pg 23 (fix rhythm) Performance – GOAL: Play all songs in the book in order without stopping!! (If you can have your mom set up a video camera to record you, that would be awesome...) Theory pg Technique pg 10-11 +14-17 (Try with other 5-finger scales too) Remember that the NOTES are not the only important things! You're doing really well reading the notes in almost all of the songs in your books, but you need to make sure you learn and practice all of the other elements, too.  Once you can play all the songs WITH the notes, rhythm, dynamics, etc. THEN we can move up to the next level =)

Lesson 30 (8/4/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 54-55 Popular pg 10-11 (use metronome to practice even rhythm) Performance pg 22 (faster) Sight reading pg 54-57 Technique pg 22-23

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book 21-23 Performance – 12 (as fast as you can with even rhythm) do the same with pg 34-35 Theory pg 4 use recording to improvise Technique pg 14-17 (Try with other 5-finger scales too)

Lesson 29 (7/29/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 50-51 – perfect rhythm! Popular pg pick one and try to play everything the music says (not just the notes).  Performance pg 22 Sight reading pg 50-53 Technique pg 17-19 Name that tune #5- listen and copy laura’s rhythm

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 20 Performance – Send Laura a video recording of the sleeping beauty waltz. Practice page 4-7 and try to play both songs perfectly by next week (perfectly means playing everything on the page, not just the notes -- rhythm, dynamics, etc.)  Theory pg 4 use recording to improvise Technique pg 14-15

Lesson 28 (7/21/15)

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 49 – play regular + all three discovery suggestions (and 1 of your own) Popular pg Performance pg 19 Sight reading pg 46-49 Technique pg Theory pg 37 (Write a song) use staff paper Name that tune #5

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 19 WITH ENERGY + DISCOVERY pg 35 transpose Performance – record a video of pg 24-25 from memory (remember to play it FLOWING GRACEFULLY—not a race!) Theory pg Technique pg 12-13—Try to apply these to your songs Name that tune #5

Lesson 27 (6/23/15)

For our next lesson, review and work on these songs:

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 47-48 again (USE both hands + faster, even speed with no pauses) Performance pg  18 Sight reading pg 42-45 Theory pg 37 (Write a song) use staff paper    Here is a link to staff paper so you can write your own song. Here is the sheet music from Tangled.

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book pg 18-19 Performance – memorize the rest pg 24-25 Theory pg 12 - TRANSPOSE Technique pg 12-13

Lesson 26 (6/16/15)

This week I want both of you to explore with IMPROVISING. See your theory books and follow the suggestions they give. It can be really fun to make up your own song, and if you follow these simple rules, it can be EASY, too! Have fun and I'm excited to hear what you come up with next week.

Also, don't forget to do sigh reading every day. It can be from your sight reading book, but also try playing hymns or primary songs, or little songs from your theory or technique books.

Practice Assignments:

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 47-48 Popular pg 6 Performance pg  17 Theory pg 36 Sight reading pg 38-41 Scales add E major

Eliot Red books (level 1) Lesson book pg 16-17 Performance – pg 24-25 Theory pg 2-12 and Technique pg 1-11(use for sight reading) Scales Review all (C G F D A E B)

Lesson 24-25 (June 2 & 9)

June 2 Practice assignments:

Quincy Lesson pg 44-46 Popular pg 4-5 & 6 (use page 35 in your lesson book if you need help) Performance pg 16 Sight reading pg 26-29

Eliot Starting RED books (level 1) Lesson book start with page 4 and play 2-3 songs per day until you catch up to unit 7. Write down any questions you have.   Performance – pg 26-27 Theory pg 34 Technique pg

June 9 Practice assignments:

Quincy Purple books (primer) Lesson pg 46 Popular pg 4-5, & 6 Performance pg 16 Sight reading pg 34-37

Eliot Lesson book pg 14-15 Performance – 24-25 Theory pg 30-33 Technique pg 4-10 (one per day)

Here are some links to some easy hymns and primary songs. They can be used for sight reading practice, and/or the girls can choose a few to learn.

Lesson 23 (5/27/15)

Don't forget that we are switching to Tuesdays for June and July!

Practice assignments for this week:

Elliot:
If you want to move on to the Red books, let's make sure we finish everything in the Purple books first. Please practice the following Lesson Book songs until you can play them comfortably.

LESSON: pg 54, 58, 60-61, 62, 64-71

Please also practice pg 20-32 in the TECHNIQUE book, plus any PERFORMANCE or POPULAR songs you haven't done yet. You don't need to do any more sight reading from the purple books.

Quincy:
Practice each song about 5 times per day, or more if they are still hard to play.
Sometimes just play the song. Other times, count the beats out loud, and other times say the names of the notes out loud as you play.

Ask your mom if you can play a note reading practice game on your ipad this week to practice treble C,D,E,F&G!

LESSON: pg 42-43
PERFORMANCE:13-15

+SIGHT READING: 22-25

Lesson 22 (5/20/15)

Thanks for the videos you sent yesterday! Choose another song to work on perfecting (maybe from the performance book or popular book, or "I am a Child of God") and try recording it when you're ready. 

Practice for this week:

BOTH: 
Technique pg 12-15 (Use these techniques but not as written—change them to match the 5-finger scales C G F D A.)

QUINCY
Lesson pg 42-43

Popular NONE FOR NOW. Really focus on reviewing your lesson book and feeling comfortable reading the notes. 

Performance pg 12-13

Sight reading pg 16-21

ELLIOT

Lesson - nothing new for now

Popular pg 22-23

Performance pg 18-19
Try to play these songs FASTER + dynamics (a little each day, not all at once!)

Sight reading pg 34-38

FOCUS on notes, rhythm and dymanics!!!
IF it’s easy, try to play faster. 

Rhythm exploration for Elliot:
She was really curious about the idea of 8th notes, 16th notes, 32nd notes, etc. Here are some pictures (flashcards) I promised her.

Have her look at THESE flashcards and try to guess what the names of each type of note are.
Here are the answer keys:
regular
dotted notes

Lesson 21 (5/14/15)

Don't forget to mark your practice on your chart! 

Practice assignments for this week: 

WARM UP

• Continue warming up each day with your Major scales (C, G, F, D, A) Practice scales using a different technique each time (technique book pg 10-15)
• Continue with your SIGHT READING BOOK. Remember that these mini songs are supposed to be easy! The tricky part is playing them almost perfectly without practicing them. You're practicing reading skills. Focus on READING the notes, rhythm and dynamics at the same time. If they seem too easy, play 2 or 3 a day instead of just 1. If it still seems easy, try playing the songs faster, but still keep the correct notes, rhythm and dynamics!! 

PRACTICE

Quincy:

• No new lesson book songs this week! (If you have any questions on other songs, review pg 12-17 in your theory book and pg 29, 34-35 in your lesson book.)
• Sight reading pg 11-15
• Performance book page 12-15
• Popular  book pg 4-5
• Review your Easter Song and ask your mom or dad to record a video of you playing it. 
• Work on playing “Kiss the girl” with both hands.

Elliot:

• No new lesson book songs this week!
• Sight reading pg 22-? 
• Performance book page 16-17
• Pick a new song in the popular  book
• Review your Easter Song and ask your mom or dad to record a video of you playing it. 
• Work on playing “Kiss the girl” with both hands.

Lesson 20 (5/6/15)

Do you remember the practice charts from the first lesson? Don't forget to use them! Consistent practice is the most important part of learning to play the piano. I recommend practicing 6 days a week for about 20-30 minutes. (Do warm ups + play each song at least 5 times.)

Practice assignments for this week: 

WARM UP

• Continue warming up each day with your Major scales (C, G, F, D, A) Practice scales using a different technique each time (technique book pg 10-15)
• Start your SIGHT READING BOOK and do the first 12 exercises (page 6-15). Remember, normally you just play 1 per day, and don't "practice" them like you would with a regular song. You are practicing READING the notes, rhythm and dynamics. (This week we are doing 2 per day so we can catch up.)

PRACTICE

Quincy:

• Lesson book pg 41-43 (If you have any questions, review pg 12-17 in your theory book and pg 29, 34-35 in your lesson book.)
• Pick one popular song to practice (pg 4 or 14 are easier choices, but you can pick whatever you want. Look at pg 2 for help).
• Pick one performance song to practice (pg 12 or 13).
• Review your Easter Song and ask your mom or dad to record a video of you playing it. 
• Work on playing “Kiss the girl” with both hands.

Elliot:

• No new lesson book songs this week!
• Popular pg 6
• Performance pg 12-13
• Review your Easter Song and ask your mom or dad to record a video of you playing it. 
• Work on playing “Kiss the girl” with both hands.