Yellow Arrows #4

NEED TO KNOW

Yellow Arrows #4: Your Yellow Arrows are doing so great! They are absorbing so much during class, and I can tell you're working with them at home too. I'm throwing a lot at them in class, and they're rolling with it! 

LEFT HAND YELLOW CHORD: Color in the yellow chord on your left hand Chord Helper! Here's what it should look like whether you use the Chord Helpers or the stickers!

LEFT HAND MAJOR SCALE: We learned how to play the ascending major scale with the left hand. I outlined in great detail how to play this in the "good to know" section,  complete with a skillls video, so please keep reading!

ROBIN HOOD HIGHLIGHTED LINE: In the practicing portion of this week's assignment, it says to practice the "highlighted portion" of Robin Hood. During class, I highlighted your student's book so they'll know what to play. If you weren't there, it is the bass clef (left hand) of the first line, all of the slug note 5th intervals. 

SCHEDULE FOR NEXT YEAR: And be sure to fill out my scheduling questionnaire form for the fall! Thank you to those who have done this already! I'll have my schedule solidified soon. Third Year classes will be held on Tuesdays, and I'll set class times before next week's Parent Day. 

NEXT WEEK: Parent week is next week! Be ready to be amazed! Tuition will also be due. I'll send an invoice later this week. If you don't get one, it means you've already paid for this portion.

GOOD TO KNOW

C POSITION AND MIDDLE C POSITION: HOMEWORK HELP: In each of these hand positions on the keyboard, the RH Thumb (finger #1) is on Middle C with a finger on each key. In C position, the LH Pinky (finger #5) is on Bass C, ready to play the red chord. in Middle C position, both RH and LH Thumbs rest on Middle C, with a finger on each key.

A fun review is to chant each position, simply moving the LEFT HAND back and forth. Practice at the piano, but also in the air, at the kitchen table, and in the car running errands! We also played Simon Says in class, going back and forth between C POSITION and MIDDLE C POSITION. It was fun to catch the kids moving when Simon didn't say! Your student's homework this week is identifying C POSITION and MIDDLE C POSITION. Here is a skills video!

C MAJOR SCALE: We learned how to play UP the C Major Scale (Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do) with our LEFT HAND. There were various levels of success on this skill. Don't worry, we'll go over it again! We don't have enough fingers to play a major scale, so we learned that after Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol, we anchor the thumb on Sol, and pop the bubble. Then finger #3 jumps over the thumb and lands on La. We then reset the bubble and finish Ti-Do with fingers 2 and 1. Practice this SLOWLY to ensure that your child plays this correctly. Here is a skills video from LPM showing this skill.

Summary:

1. Play Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol with 5-4-3-2-1 fingers with a rounded bubble hand.

2. Anchor the thumb and POP finger number 3 over to land on and play La.

3. Reset the bubble around finger 3 and finish the scale with 2-1 on Ti-Do.

BUILD A YELLOW CHORD: The bottom-heavy yellow chord is built with a 3rd on the bottom and a 4th on the top. When we play this chord with the left hand, we use fingers 5-3-1. Place the left hand in C Position. Finger 1 (thumb) stays put while all the other fingers slide down one baby step. Now time your musician and see how many bass clef yellow chords they can play in 30 seconds!

FUN TO KNOW

Your Arrows are learning LOTS of new things. Sometimes it can be overwhelming. But don't worry, they'll be flying soon!