I have been working a lot on my lesson structure and am about to begin filming. Before I begin filming, I have been writing up my own curriculum to go along with each lesson. So during this process I have created my own characters that will assist me in teaching piano and reading music! I have been drawing for the last few weeks, uploading, drawing each character again on the computer, and then perfecting each of my little characters. This process is very time consuming, so I apologize for the delay in beginning with my videos and lessons. But I want to give you a sneak peek of what I have been working on.
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My favorite character right now is Mr. Giraffe! I don't have a name picked out for him yet. Seriously it's like picking the name for your child...which in our household is almost impossible. "Almost" impossible...since we weren't allowed to leave the hospital without a name. Ha! I have been through LISTS of names and just can't seem to find the right fit for him. So for now...Mr. Giraffe works.
Well, he is going to be helping me with learning the treble clef, the G notes, and might pop his tall head in for some other things too!
Learning to read music on the staff can be quite intimidating. There are a bunch of lines, spaces, squiggly marks, and notes that don't make much sense....until you learn it.
In the last 12 years of teaching private lessons, I have always used the same books! The same beginning books, same theory books, same classical books...seriously I stick with what has had the best results. But lately, I have been a little bummed out with how many of my students struggle when learning to read the staff. I don't blame them as much as I blame the books.
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The Staff |
The beginning music books in the stores never begin with just learning music on the staff. They start with letters and finger numbers. This is a great way to learn a song...which most parents just want to hear their kids play a song. It's not bad, but I have noticed way too many of my students pick up bad habits learning finger numbers before notes and they struggle way more when it comes to learning the staff.
So with all that said, I am going to try a new approach to learning music. Maybe not new in the "learning piano industry", but new to what I have always done. I haven't found a program that begins this way yet, but this is the beginning of my journey. So follow me, stick with me, try my lessons with your kids, and leave me your feedback if your kids are picking it up!