FALL Registration

It's that time again!

Registration this year will be done online at the corporate site: www.letsplaymusicsite.com

My Fall Schedule will be:

2nd Year (Green Turtle Shells/Yellow Arrows): Wednesdays @ 3:30pm

1st Year (Red Balloons/Blue Bugs) {ages 4-6}: Fridays @ 9:30 am

Sound Beginnings - White Horses {ages 2-4} Fridays @ 10:30am or 1:30pm

Please send me an email at kendrascreations{at}gmail{dot}com if you are interested in enrolling your child, so I can send you all of the registration details.

Classes will begin August 22. 

Gold Stars Semester

Sound Beginnings semesters are different than Let's Play Music semesters, in that when you register for Let's Play Music, you register for an entire year. We register for Sound Beginnings each semester, so it creates the opportunity for a few new students to join us in January for our Gold Stars semester! I have just a spot or two available in each class and plan to wrap up registration before Thanksgiving, so if you have a child between the ages of 2-4 that you would like to enroll, please email me right away at kendrascreations@gmail.com.

SCHEDULE:

The schedule for Gold Stars will be the same as it has been for Black Spiders.

Tuesdays 10:00am                         Wednesdays 10:00amTuesdays 1:30pm                        

Classes begin January 14th or January 15th and run 15 weeks.

TUITION:

Tuition: $140 per semester or 4 monthly payments of $35

Sibling Tuition: 2-4 years old, $20/month 0-2 years old, $10/month

(Sibling tuition is applied only after the 1st family member (age 2-4) is registered.)

Download a registration form for our Spring Semester!

Sound Beginnings Schedule 2013-14

This year I am focusing my on Sound Beginnings classes! Sound Beginnings is a new Let's Play Music Program for kids ages 2-4, full of all of the things you Love about Let's Play Music but for our littlest musicians.

Take a Look...



If you have a child ages 4-6 that is ready to begin the Let's Play Music 3 year music program, please visit Mr. Dave's page. If you have a preschooler that would benefit from a fun, exciting, and education music class (i.e. all pre-schoolers), take a look at the schedule below and download a form to register.

SCHEDULE:
Sound Beginnings classes are 30 mins. long. Parents attend with their child each week. Sibling may attend at discounted rate.

Tuesdays 10:00                          Wednesdays 10:00
Tuesdays 1:30                        

Classes begin August 14th or August 15th and run 15 weeks.
Parents-only meeting August 8.

TUITION:
Tuition: $140 per semester or 4 monthly payments of $35

Sibling Tuition: 2-4 years old, $20/month 0-2 years old, $10/month

(Sibling tuition is applied only after the 1st family member (age 2-4) is registered.)

Download a registration form for our Fall Semester:

In the News...

Found this fun article about the growth of the Let's Play Music Program in Utah. My sister is now teaching there. If you have family or friends in other parts of the country, there probably is--or will be soon--a teacher nearby.  The program is growing exponentially, so tell them to keep checking the Teacher Locator on the corporate website.

Parent Orientations

Please plan to attend the appropriate parent orientation meeting. These meetings are essential to help you understand what you can do to get the most out of this program for your child, and an opportunity for you to have all of your questions answered. If you cannot attend, please let me know asap. There will be some alternative paperwork to complete, if this is the case. Parents only, please for this meeting.

3rd Year Orientation: Tuesday, August 16 @ 6:00pm
2nd Year Orientation: Tuesday, August 16 @ 7:00pm
1st Year Orientation: Tuesday, August 23 @ 7:00pm

Fall Schedule--Register NOW!

Here are the days and times for our new year of Let's Play Music. At this time I am only planning on teaching one class of 1st year students, and my class size is limited, if you are interested in enrolling your child, please contact me asap!

CLASS SCHEDULE 2011-2012

PURPLE MAGIC/ORANGE ROOTS {3rd Year Class} 

Wednesdays 3:30-4:25pm

GREEN TURTLE SHELLS/YELLOW INDIANS {2nd Year}
{A} Wednesdays 4:40-5:30pm

{B} Wednesdays 5:40-6:30pm

RED BALLOONS/BLUE BUGS {1st Year}

Thursdays 9:00-9:45

To register email me at kendrascreations@gmail.com.
Classes begin August 17!

Prepare to be Amazed! Composition Contest Video

Ever wonder where we are headed in our Let's Play Music program? Composing our own pieces will be the culmination of the 3 year program. Take a look at these winners playing their original pieces from last years' composition competition! Really amazing and exciting!

Let's Play Music is Growing in Laveen!

I have an exciting announcement! 

Starting in the Fall, there will be two "Let's Play Music" teachers here in the Laveen area! I am thrilled that more students in the area will have the opportunity to experience all the fun and learning that the "Let's Play Music" program has to offer! I will be teaching 2nd and 3rd year classes and will only be able to offer one 1st year class in the Fall that will be held on a weekday morning (TBD). I know that that class will not accommodate the growing interest in the program in this area and will not accommodate everyones' schedules. This is why I am thrilled that my friend, David Meadows (already an amazingly accomplished musician and piano teacher) has decided to jump on board and become a "Let's Play Music" teacher. Dave will offer classes in the afternoons/evenings. We will be working together to make sure we are providing a top-quality experience for your students. Some of you may know Dave already, as his son, Ethan is in one of my classes, and he regularly attends with him. But I'd like to take this opportunity to help you get to know him better

David has been playing the piano for over 25 years.  He started accompanying his middle school choir in 7^th grade and has accompanied hundreds of choirs and vocalists since.  He spent his first two years of college as a Piano Performance major at the University of Northern Colorado and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.  David has also composed several works for solo piano and for choirs.  Though David did not make music his career, he has been teaching private piano lessons for 10 years and is excited to become certified to teach Let’s Play Music starting in September, 2011!

Contact: David Meadows

davidrmeadows@gmail.com

602-339-1435

While we haven't officially started registration for the Fall (we will soon), please contact me if you would like to be on the list for my morning class, or Dave with any questions about his classes and to be on his mailing list.


***Edited to add: You can read up more about Dave on the Corporate LPM blog!***

"Asturias" by William Joseph on Dr. Phil

My 2nd year students, especially, might enjoy watching how fast and enthusiastically he plays! I bet he has spent lots of time practicing!

BLUE BUGS & YELLOW INDIANS classes will begin on January 12th!

Look for emails with more info (but don't come to class tomorrow!)  :-)

Great Giveaway from Let's Play Music

I hope you've had a fantastic Fall Break!   Looking forward to seeing the kids tomorrow for Lesson 8 (parents do not need to attend).  

In the mean time, I wanted to let you know about an awesome giveaway going on over on the Making Musicians Blog--the official blog of Let's Play Music.  They are giving away a month of Free tuition to a parent who leaves a comment on this post:

http://makingmusicians.typepad.com/making_musicians/2010/10/big-giveawayfree-tuition.html

The teacher with the most comments wins a prize, too!  So if you want to make my day, go tell them what a great teacher I am.  It's ok to exaggerate!  :-)

If you aren't following that blog, I would suggest you do.  They do things like this periodically as well as share information that may be helpful as you "play music" with your kids.

Fall Break--Green Turtle Shells

We are on Fall Break, and it should feel like a break, but there are things you can do to help reinforce the learning that has happened so far this year.  Here are a few ideas:

Traveling?  In the Car:

• Listen and sing along with your "Green turtle Shells" CD.
• Practice harmony by singing different rounds.  ( "Row Row Row Your Boat", "Clickety, Clickety Clack", "El Gallo" etc."  See if they can hold their own part, or help them while another adult sings a different part.  
• As you listen to any music, see if you and your kids can find any MRD, SSD, SLTD, SFMRD patterns in the songs.  You could turn it into a game.
• Name that tune.  Pick their favorite songs (from LPM or anywhere) and see how many notes they need to identify the song.
• Become bugs!  Keep a steady beat and see if you child can clap butterflies (for example) while you clap beetles.  If there are others in the car, see if everyone can be a different bug at the same time. 

At home:

• Encourage them to keep practicing the keyboard.  If they are bored with the same activities, allow them to experiment on their own.  See if they can play a C major and c minor chord (play an e flat instead of an E).  What ever they do, just remind them to use bubble hands and C position.  The second verse of the bubble hand song is a great practice.  You can call out random fingers for them to play.  Ex. "Where is four?  Where is four?"  They answer, "Here I am.  Here I am"  Encourage them to sing as they play.  Maybe try doing it really fast.
• We have done "Sally Go Round the Sun" in class.  That would be a fun one to do with friends or siblings.  The big goal is to make sure they all land together on the word "BOOM!"  You might remind them of some of the fun game songs from last year ("Frog in the Middle", or "A Hunting We Will Go." 
• Take this chance to review any homework assignments that were challenging for your student. 
• Any of the traveling tips could be done at home as well!

We'll see you back in class on the 20th!

Fall Break--Red Balloons

We are on Fall Break, and it should feel like a break, but there are things you can do to help reinforce the learning that has happened so far this year.  Here are a few ideas:

Traveling?  In the Car:

• Listen and sing along with your "Red Balloons" CD.
• Practice audiation by singing different familiar songs and having them leave out a line (we will sing "B-I-N-G-O-" next semester.  It is a great example of audiation and rhythm practice!)
• As you listen to any music, see if you and your kids can find any "mi-re-do's" or "so-so-do's" in the songs.  You could turn it into a game.
• Name that tune.  Pick their favorite songs (from LPM or anywhere) and see how many notes they need to identify the song.
• Go on a lion hunt!  Keep the rhythm and say the rhyme.  Let them change up the words.  "Going on a snake hunt?"  "Got my lunch!" etc. 

At home:

• Make sure they have access to their bells and can practice the activities we have done in class.
• The students love games like "frog in the middle," and "a hunting we will go".  You can play these as a family, or with friends.  Remind them to sing as they play and help them remember the mi-re-do or so-so-do patterns.
• Take this chance to review any homework assignments that were challenging for your student.  Especially helping them to recognize if a note/balloon is on a line or a space.
• Any of the traveling tips could be done at home as well!

We'll see you back in class on the 20th!

The Next Mozart? 6-Year Old Piano Prodigy Wows All

Amazing 6-year-old pianist and composer! Aside from her obvious gifts, I love her family's attitude about music and supporting her. You can tell that her music comes from her love for music. That same kind of love is what we are cultivating in our young musicians!

Audiation--Red Balloons

You saw in class this week how we sang "Three Blind Mice" leaving out parts of the song and "singing them in our heads," instead of out loud.  This is called Audiation and is an important skill to develop as it is the precursor for singing harmony and composition.  You can practice this skill with any favorite songs while hanging out in the house or driving in the car.  Just remember to ask each time if they heard the music in their heads while they were being silent.

REMINDER:  Only send the bells with the students on the weeks when parents come.  This week is a drop-off week, so all they need are their homework booklets, with their completed homework assignment!

Hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend!  See you Wednesday!

Green Turtles--This is the Red Chord

We learned some exciting things in class this week!  Did your students show you the red dots on their fingernails?  I'm sure they've washed off, by now, but you can use a red marker (or maybe a dot of red nailpolish) directly on their fingernails to help them line up their 1-3-and 5 fingers with C-E-and G on their keyboards.  Hopefully you all saw the note to add the rest of the stickers for the red chord on their keyboard/piano at home. Now they are going to be able to start accompanying themselves.  So exciting!

We also learned the correct "C position" for our right hands (they should be using just the right hand at this time).   To help them remember, we came up with a little rhyme/melody.  It goes:

"Thumb on C and a finger for each key"

Play and sing middle C for each note and on "-ger" go up the scale.  In other words "CCCCCC-D-E-F-G"  (or Do, Do, Do, Do, Do, Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So).  And played with the correct fingers (1,1,1,1,1,1,-2-3-4-5).

Let me know if you have any questions about this or the practice!  So excited for them to get to start playing songs on their keyboards!

Just for Fun...

I thought I would share this video with you.  I think it is hilarious of my daughter, but also a good illustration of how kids naturally are interested in the things that we do.  Your enthusiasm for music will rub-off on your child.  In this video, I never "taught" my daughter this song.  I was actually the one who had to perform this song for a patriotic program at my church.  Through listening to me practice and watching the performance, she learned this song!  Now I'm not sure where her performance style comes from....:-)

Interval Practice

Now that we know what our 2nd, 3rd, and 4th intervals look like on the staff, here is a fun on-line exercise to practice recognizing them.  Parents, here is a good way to see if they've got this concept yet or not.  If not, put on the "Turtle Shells" song, and have them sing and listen to the 2nd verse as they try to identify these:

INTERVAL PRACTICE

Blog Basics for parents

I'm going to use the blog to give you additional information and resources that we may not get to in class.  If the post pertains to my first year classes, it will have this graphic at the top of the post:

If the post pertains to my second year classes, look for this logo:

And if it is interesting/relevant to both years, look for both logos side-by-side, like this:

Reminder:  Parents of 1st year students attend class tomorrow (but not 2nd year)!

2010-2011 Schedule Final

At least I hope so!  Please make note of the following class times and important dates!

2nd Year Classes
(Green Turtle Shells/Yellow Indians)

• Wednesdays at 3:30pm

1st Year Classes
(Red Balloons/Blue Bugs)

• Wednesdays at 4:30pm
• Wednesdays at 5:30pm

There are currently only a couple of slots left in each class.  Contact me asap, if you would like to register for fall!

Parent Orientation (parents only, please) 

• 1st Year Classes:  Thursday, August 12 @ 6:00pm
• 2nd Year Classes:  Thursday August 12 @ 7:00pm

First Day of Classes:

• August 18