Yellow Arrows #2

NEED TO KNOW

Yellow Arrows #2: Your Yellow Arrows are doing so great! It is amazing to me to see how much information they have in their cute little heads! I love it!

LEFT HAND BLUE CHORD: Color your Chord Helper with the bass blue chord, and/or put the stickers on the correct keys. Help your student to remember to use 5-2-1 as fingering for the LH blue chord (just like the RH yellow... 1,2,3,4, move your thumb and nothing more!). Here is what it should look like! There is also a great visual on page 58 of your workbook in the Reference Section.

 

KEEP IT UP WITH THE RIGHT HAND: Make sure your student is comfortable moving between the three chords (red, yellow, blue) in their right hand. We use this skill all the time, and if they have to slow down to remember it, it will frustrate them! Use the RH chord helper to remind them, then take it away and show them they are learning it. Help them enjoy all the new left hand stuff they're learning by making sure the right hand is solid!

CLASSES FOR FALL: I know we just started Yellow Arrows, but I'm getting my schedule outlined for fall classes. Here are a few questions about your students' schedules that will help me set classes to be the most beneficial for you. Registration opens in March!

GOOD TO KNOW

CELEBRATING CONNECTION: A few ideas for playful practice this week include acting out the Robin Hood song, and using marshmallows, raisins, LEGO, toy cars, or any other small treat or toy to mark intervals and chords on the keyboard. 

BLOCK AND BROKEN: Reading music uses reading skills: we start at the left side of the page and move to the right. Sitting to the left of your student will make it so as you help guide, you're not blocking the notes that are coming up. In this song, help them get three steady beats in each measure. You could do this by singing "1-2-3, 1-2-3," or "red chords plays do mi sol" or "red-2-3, do-mi-sol" to the beat. I always do a mashup of these during class.

SNOWFLAKES ARE FALLING: Brrr it's cold outside! Warm up inside your home by playing this ostinato on the tone bells. Sing starting on D, "Snowflakes are falling, falling very gently." Then play A, G, F, E for "down, down down down." (This song is in a minor key. To be able to use the bells we put it in d minor, so our engraved solfege syllables don't match up... just go with the note names on this one!) Keep singing the lyrics then repeating this DOWN pattern until you're feeling toasty inside. Then finish the song by playing a final DOWN on the D bell. Try it in a round with the recording!

FUN TO KNOW

Our Pirate Ship puppet show comes from Brahm's Hungarian Dance #5. Check out this rockin' arrangement with a piano duet and a drumset! I love the performers in this clip. They are seriously having so much fun making the music!