Preschool piano
Age 3 to 5
Thursday at 11:00 and 3:30
Studies show that preschoolers who have studied keyboard score higher on spacial reasoning proportional math tests. Our preschool piano classes are one of a kind. The “Hands on Piano” method, developed by Lauren Townsend, is a visually based piano method that provides an introduction to piano lessons. This method uses pictures, stories, games and hands on materials to teach the child notes, rhythm and steady beat. In the first semester, they will work on learning 3 traditional songs at the keyboard. The child does not need to know how to read or know the alphabet to enjoy this method.
The materials are $15 and tuition is $40 per month
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
How much should we practice at home?
How much should we practice at home?
Do we need a piano/keyboard to take piano lessons?
Can we just try out piano for a few months and see if our child likes it?
Do we have to come to EVERY piano class?
I hear this a lot from new students and parents. The child's success and enjoyment of lessons is directly linked to the family's commitment to piano.
How much should we practice at home? Private and group students older than 6 should practice about 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week. However, the amount of time is not as important as the quality of time. Be sure that your child practices each song assigned in the book for that week. Make sure that if there is a written theory assignment, that it is complete. This also counts as practice time. If you child has technique and scales be sure that that is also practiced. There are more ways to practice than just by repeating a song over and over. Ask your child questions about the patterns in the music. Call out the note names together. Count or tap the rhythm. Play together as a duet keeping a steady beat. Do you see a common theme here in these suggestions? The theme is TOGETHER. The more you interact in a fun, relaxed way with your child during practice, the more they will accomplish. Simply telling your young child to go in the other room and practice until the timer goes off is usually not enough. Reward your child for practice time and progress. Use the practice log on the website to show your child the correlation between practice and progress in lessons.
Do I need a piano or keyboard at home for lessons? Absolutely. If you are planning to take lessons or group classes without an instrument you are wasting your time and money. I have some students who practice at grandma's house on her piano or at a neighbor's house for a while, but it is essential to have a quality instrument to progress. Each child needs a convenient way to practice at home. There are quality keyboards and even pianos that are affordable that you can purchase. I understand that many do not want to purchase a piano until they are sure that their child will enjoy lessons and continue. However, if you do not give your child an adequate start at piano, they most likely will not enjoy it and will not want to continue. Imagine the frustration of a child in their lessons and group classes if they cannot progress because they are unable to practice at home.
Can we try out piano for a few months and see if we like it? Over the summer I offer trial piano classes so that potential students can try out piano before signing up for the term. I encourage potential students to try out classes over the summer and come meet us at our open house before signing up. Once our term starts, we set up small group and private lessons. By reserving your child's spot in a class or private lessons, you may be prohibiting another child from joining the class. Please do not consider piano as something to "try out" for a while. If you are not committed to the idea of taking lessons, your child will pick up on that and will not place much importance on the instrument. Furthermore, as with anything, there are ups and downs. At first your child will be very excited about piano. But for all students of any medium there are frustrations, low points and busy times. To be successful at anything you have to continue to try through the times when you want to quit, when there isn't enough time for piano and when it may be difficult. I suggest committing to try piano for at least a year.
Do we have to come to EVERY piano class? For group piano attendance is ESSENTIAL. For our classes, if you miss more than 4 weeks during a semester, you will have to retake the term. When a student misses a group piano class, the class proceeds without them. New material learned and new music assigned. When the child returns to class, time must be spent "catching up" the child who missed class. This prevents the students who attended class from progressing while we catch the absent student up. The classes are successive so coming in and out of a class does not work. It is not possible to take a month off or take a semester off and return back with your previous class. It is very important that the material builds each week so please be at each class. We do have some make up options- like coming to another class at the same level. Also, if you know that you are going to miss, it is possible to video the class and make it available for download off of the website. If your child is sick or unable to attend, please try to contact me and catch up on the work missed. We cannot make up group classes with private lessons and we cannot offer refunds for class missed.
I hope this helps to answer some of the questions about our classes and lessons. We want each student to have the best opportunity for success and lifelong enjoyment of music. If you have any other questions, please contact me at imaginationsmusic@bellsouth.net
Do we need a piano/keyboard to take piano lessons?
Can we just try out piano for a few months and see if our child likes it?
Do we have to come to EVERY piano class?
I hear this a lot from new students and parents. The child's success and enjoyment of lessons is directly linked to the family's commitment to piano.
How much should we practice at home? Private and group students older than 6 should practice about 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week. However, the amount of time is not as important as the quality of time. Be sure that your child practices each song assigned in the book for that week. Make sure that if there is a written theory assignment, that it is complete. This also counts as practice time. If you child has technique and scales be sure that that is also practiced. There are more ways to practice than just by repeating a song over and over. Ask your child questions about the patterns in the music. Call out the note names together. Count or tap the rhythm. Play together as a duet keeping a steady beat. Do you see a common theme here in these suggestions? The theme is TOGETHER. The more you interact in a fun, relaxed way with your child during practice, the more they will accomplish. Simply telling your young child to go in the other room and practice until the timer goes off is usually not enough. Reward your child for practice time and progress. Use the practice log on the website to show your child the correlation between practice and progress in lessons.
Do I need a piano or keyboard at home for lessons? Absolutely. If you are planning to take lessons or group classes without an instrument you are wasting your time and money. I have some students who practice at grandma's house on her piano or at a neighbor's house for a while, but it is essential to have a quality instrument to progress. Each child needs a convenient way to practice at home. There are quality keyboards and even pianos that are affordable that you can purchase. I understand that many do not want to purchase a piano until they are sure that their child will enjoy lessons and continue. However, if you do not give your child an adequate start at piano, they most likely will not enjoy it and will not want to continue. Imagine the frustration of a child in their lessons and group classes if they cannot progress because they are unable to practice at home.
Can we try out piano for a few months and see if we like it? Over the summer I offer trial piano classes so that potential students can try out piano before signing up for the term. I encourage potential students to try out classes over the summer and come meet us at our open house before signing up. Once our term starts, we set up small group and private lessons. By reserving your child's spot in a class or private lessons, you may be prohibiting another child from joining the class. Please do not consider piano as something to "try out" for a while. If you are not committed to the idea of taking lessons, your child will pick up on that and will not place much importance on the instrument. Furthermore, as with anything, there are ups and downs. At first your child will be very excited about piano. But for all students of any medium there are frustrations, low points and busy times. To be successful at anything you have to continue to try through the times when you want to quit, when there isn't enough time for piano and when it may be difficult. I suggest committing to try piano for at least a year.
Do we have to come to EVERY piano class? For group piano attendance is ESSENTIAL. For our classes, if you miss more than 4 weeks during a semester, you will have to retake the term. When a student misses a group piano class, the class proceeds without them. New material learned and new music assigned. When the child returns to class, time must be spent "catching up" the child who missed class. This prevents the students who attended class from progressing while we catch the absent student up. The classes are successive so coming in and out of a class does not work. It is not possible to take a month off or take a semester off and return back with your previous class. It is very important that the material builds each week so please be at each class. We do have some make up options- like coming to another class at the same level. Also, if you know that you are going to miss, it is possible to video the class and make it available for download off of the website. If your child is sick or unable to attend, please try to contact me and catch up on the work missed. We cannot make up group classes with private lessons and we cannot offer refunds for class missed.
I hope this helps to answer some of the questions about our classes and lessons. We want each student to have the best opportunity for success and lifelong enjoyment of music. If you have any other questions, please contact me at imaginationsmusic@bellsouth.net
Friday, July 30, 2010
Summer piano classes for returning students
Our summer piano classes were great! For returning beginner students, we did something a little different than the normal semester's work. We chose one Mayron Cole ensemble peice to spend the summer working on. By our last class, some had it memorized and were doing a great job playing together!
We also spent time working on improvization. We played a few jazzy peices where the students were given bounderies in which they could improv at the keyboard. We learned 3 five finger positions and used these in improvization as well.
Another thing we worked on was composition. We do not get to spend a lot of time working on this during the semester but the kids enjoy it and it is a creative way to help them review their notes on the staff and to motivate them to practice. I used the key of C composition template from my book for them each to compose a right hand melody. Then we learned the root position triads for the key of C cadence chords. We learned to read them as a chord chart to go a long with our right hand melodies. The students used the giant keyboard to skip on the keyboard and find the notes of the chords. Then they moved these notes to the smaller keyboard, worked on a worksheet to read chords on the staff and learned to play the chords using correct fingering.
For rhythm practice we did some ear training where the students had to tell me what rhythms I was playing. We also did rhythm math worksheets and rhythm alegebra. We used a template from my book to compose a new song that focused on rhythm. The template had different note values which were cut apart. The students were able to choose which note on the staff and which rhythm they wanted for their peice in 4/4 time as long as they have exactly 4 beats per measure. This was also a visual and tangible way for them to comprehend the note values. The quarter notes were half as small as the half notes. The half notes were half as small as the whole notes. The dotted half notes were 3/4s the size of a whole note. Even though to the kids, this seemed like an easy activity, this worked on proportional math skills and algebra.
Some of the classes reviewed the staff note names by reading the staff stories from my book. We also drew giant staves on the blackboard and labeled all the notes by drawing the pictures of the backyard keyboard characters from my book and labelling the letter names of the notes.
For the fall semester, each beginner and intermediate piano student will have a copy of my "Hands on Piano" series. I find that many students excell by having tangible activities to help them comprehend the abstract theory concepts. My rhythm templates were a hands on way to develop spacial reasoning skills that are essential to understanding rhythmic values. The five finger position templates with the stickers allowed students to learn new notes and review old ones by placing a large sticker on a large staff. It is much easier to see lines and spaces on the staff when the staff is large and when you are physically making the notes move on the staff.
Some of the beginner classes worked on rhythm by passing a ball back and forth to quarter and half notes. This is also a very tangible and visual way to learn to keep a steady beat. The beginner classes also used the giant piano to place alphabet cards on after listening to the "Backyard Keyboard" story. This is another great way to review this concept.
We also spent time working on improvization. We played a few jazzy peices where the students were given bounderies in which they could improv at the keyboard. We learned 3 five finger positions and used these in improvization as well.
Another thing we worked on was composition. We do not get to spend a lot of time working on this during the semester but the kids enjoy it and it is a creative way to help them review their notes on the staff and to motivate them to practice. I used the key of C composition template from my book for them each to compose a right hand melody. Then we learned the root position triads for the key of C cadence chords. We learned to read them as a chord chart to go a long with our right hand melodies. The students used the giant keyboard to skip on the keyboard and find the notes of the chords. Then they moved these notes to the smaller keyboard, worked on a worksheet to read chords on the staff and learned to play the chords using correct fingering.
For rhythm practice we did some ear training where the students had to tell me what rhythms I was playing. We also did rhythm math worksheets and rhythm alegebra. We used a template from my book to compose a new song that focused on rhythm. The template had different note values which were cut apart. The students were able to choose which note on the staff and which rhythm they wanted for their peice in 4/4 time as long as they have exactly 4 beats per measure. This was also a visual and tangible way for them to comprehend the note values. The quarter notes were half as small as the half notes. The half notes were half as small as the whole notes. The dotted half notes were 3/4s the size of a whole note. Even though to the kids, this seemed like an easy activity, this worked on proportional math skills and algebra.
Some of the classes reviewed the staff note names by reading the staff stories from my book. We also drew giant staves on the blackboard and labeled all the notes by drawing the pictures of the backyard keyboard characters from my book and labelling the letter names of the notes.
For the fall semester, each beginner and intermediate piano student will have a copy of my "Hands on Piano" series. I find that many students excell by having tangible activities to help them comprehend the abstract theory concepts. My rhythm templates were a hands on way to develop spacial reasoning skills that are essential to understanding rhythmic values. The five finger position templates with the stickers allowed students to learn new notes and review old ones by placing a large sticker on a large staff. It is much easier to see lines and spaces on the staff when the staff is large and when you are physically making the notes move on the staff.
Some of the beginner classes worked on rhythm by passing a ball back and forth to quarter and half notes. This is also a very tangible and visual way to learn to keep a steady beat. The beginner classes also used the giant piano to place alphabet cards on after listening to the "Backyard Keyboard" story. This is another great way to review this concept.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
July Piano classes
Our piano classes this summer will resume July 22 and July 29. This week, my level 1b students will work with their keyboards in our keyboard lab to learn how to play the accompaniment chords along with the melody they composed last time. We will also continue working on our ensemble pieces as well. We will also continue our improvisation.
The beginner classes will continue learning new rhythms, review the notes on the keyboard and inprov on the piano using the new notes they have learned.
It is still not too late to join us for summer piano! Please register online!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Have music, will travel
Does your child love music but you just can't figure out how to schedule one more activity into your already rushed and crowded afternoons? Do you want your child to be involved with music but without cutting into family time in the evenings when you get off of work?
I have good news: We travel! We have two programs that can be offered in schools and learning centers. One is the award winning ABC Music and Me program created by Kindermusik International. ABC Music & Me supports the early childhood standards and requirements for “high quality programs” as defined by the National Institute for Early Education and aligns with pre-K national and state standards. ABC Music & Me has won the Teacher's Choice Award and was a finalist for the AEP Golden Lamp Award. We offer this class in schools as a breakout program for the 2 to 4 and 4 to 6 year old ages. We bring in everything we need and teach the class during the school day. This means no driving through traffic to one of our studio locations, no scheduling around soccer games, sibling illnesses and after school birthday parties. Many parents find this alternative to be very convenient as well as cost effective.
Our other program is preschool piano classes or lessons. We offer a unique, fun introduction class geared for preschoolers. We also offer piano lessons in the school setting as well. All the parent has to do is send the child's piano materials with him to school on the day of class. No driving, no waiting, no scheduling problems.
If you are interested in one of our classes being offered at your child's learning center or school, please visit our class survey to help us get in touch with your child's learning center and to help us learn what your interest is.
We also offer classes in Pelham at the Cherubs Clubhouse as well as private lessons for Bruno Montessori Academy students, and afternoon private lessons in our Inverness and 280 studios. We also have morning classes and lesson times available for homeschooled students. Call 437-3478 for more information!
I have good news: We travel! We have two programs that can be offered in schools and learning centers. One is the award winning ABC Music and Me program created by Kindermusik International. ABC Music & Me supports the early childhood standards and requirements for “high quality programs” as defined by the National Institute for Early Education and aligns with pre-K national and state standards. ABC Music & Me has won the Teacher's Choice Award and was a finalist for the AEP Golden Lamp Award. We offer this class in schools as a breakout program for the 2 to 4 and 4 to 6 year old ages. We bring in everything we need and teach the class during the school day. This means no driving through traffic to one of our studio locations, no scheduling around soccer games, sibling illnesses and after school birthday parties. Many parents find this alternative to be very convenient as well as cost effective.
Our other program is preschool piano classes or lessons. We offer a unique, fun introduction class geared for preschoolers. We also offer piano lessons in the school setting as well. All the parent has to do is send the child's piano materials with him to school on the day of class. No driving, no waiting, no scheduling problems.
If you are interested in one of our classes being offered at your child's learning center or school, please visit our class survey to help us get in touch with your child's learning center and to help us learn what your interest is.
We also offer classes in Pelham at the Cherubs Clubhouse as well as private lessons for Bruno Montessori Academy students, and afternoon private lessons in our Inverness and 280 studios. We also have morning classes and lesson times available for homeschooled students. Call 437-3478 for more information!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hands on Piano
My piano activity materials and storybooks are almost finished. This summer, I have been writing a series of books for parents or teachers to use in teaching music to children. Over the past ten years, I have had success in piano lessons using unique stories, hands on manipulates, and mathematical explanations. My "Hands on Piano" activity books will provide private lessons teachers, teachers of piano classes and parents with templates, worksheets and storybooks to inspire an interest in piano and reinforce theory concepts.
My students this summer have been previewing the new materials in their lessons and classes. One activity that has been a hit has been the composition templates. I created templates to teach children how to compose basic melodies and add simple harmony. Children love to compose and improvise at the piano. My beginners have composed simple songs using 3 notes at the piano that they have just learned. This gives them practice in finding and playing the new notes. My continuing students have been using one of my templates and composing music on the staff. This has also helped them to review their musical notation as well as giving them a creative outlet. So far, they have composed a four measure melody within certain boundaries. In a few weeks, they will use my newly created chord templates to add the harmony. When we are finished, we will make recordings of their songs to post on the website!! They are very excited and motivated about recording their own music.
So many times in theory we focus on naming notes on the staff. This is very important because when we sightread new music, we need to quickly recognize the notes on the staff. Children can also benefit from doing the opposite. Instead of naming the notes on the staff, composition projects and music manipulatives help the children to review their notes in a different, more creative way.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Summer piano classes
Our summer piano term is halfway over! We will have 2 more classes, July 22 and July 29. You may join us at any time. Check the https://imaginationsmusic.musicteachershelper.com for a complete schedule.
Our summer classes and lessons have been going great! I have seen at least 20 new students over then summer as well as many returning students. Our summer classes have been using my new piano activity method, "Hands on Piano." All students will be using this method along with their current method books in the fall. The piano activity method has provided us with crafts, hands on activities and stories to help the students learn and review concepts.
My returning piano students have been working with my piano activity method to compose their own music and to develop improvisation skills in piano classes. They are also working with their Mayron Cole Method to perfect an ensemble piece to play together in a mini-recital at the end of the summer.
There is still time to join our classes for the summer! There is limited space for the fall so be sure to call soon. 437-3478
Our summer classes and lessons have been going great! I have seen at least 20 new students over then summer as well as many returning students. Our summer classes have been using my new piano activity method, "Hands on Piano." All students will be using this method along with their current method books in the fall. The piano activity method has provided us with crafts, hands on activities and stories to help the students learn and review concepts.
My returning piano students have been working with my piano activity method to compose their own music and to develop improvisation skills in piano classes. They are also working with their Mayron Cole Method to perfect an ensemble piece to play together in a mini-recital at the end of the summer.
There is still time to join our classes for the summer! There is limited space for the fall so be sure to call soon. 437-3478
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