Lesson 2

I am a day behind -- Sorry!

Try this!

Find the D like I showed you last week. Put your 2nd finger of your right hand (the pointer finger, or as my students affectionately call it, the "booger-picker") on the D closest to the middle of your piano. Next, rest your right thumb on the C that is just to the left of that D. Your thumb will be more on its side as your other fingers will be curved and upright.

Then, lay out the remaining 3 fingers on the corresponding keys, E, F, G with fingers 3, 4, and 5 respectively. This is called a 5-finger position.

Practice playing each note individually, C-D-E-F-G, then back down, G-F-E-D-C. We are training the fingers to work independently.

You can do the same with the left hand, starting with your pinkie (finger #5) on the next C down, and laying finger #4 on D, 3 on E, 2 on F and your left thumb on G. Practice the same 5-finger position exercise until you can move the fingers smoothly up and down.

Then try it hands together at the same time!

Have fun!

Next week we will learn to play The B-I-B-L-E.

Lesson 1

This will be an easy one!
Just 3 things to work on this week.

1. Practice saying the alphabet A - G frontwards AND backwards. You need to know it equally well in both directions.

"A-B-C-D-E-F-G .....G-F-E-D-C-B-A"

2. When listening to music, try to feel a steady beat count -- it would be the rhythm that you might tap your foot to. It will usually be either a "1-2-3-4" beat or a "1-2-3" beat. The 3-count beat is used for a waltz type song, the other is for everything else. You want your counting to be just like a clock ticking, even and steady.

3. If you have a piano or keyboard at home, look at the keys. The black keys are divided into groups of 2's and 3's. Practice finding the different groups. This might seem elementary, but it is a good exercise to train your eyes to find certain keys. The black keys are going to be our clues and shortcuts to finding the notes that we want. Take note of the fact that the WHITE key directly in between a two-group of black keys is the letter D. That is the first note we will learn. Try to find all of the D's on your piano. Be sure to use only the 2 group black keys for this!

I'm still working on figuring a way to show you pics and illustrations of these things. By next week I'll figure that out!

Have fun!

Making Melody In Your Heart

Listening to music is a delight! But even more than just listening, CREATING music is a joy and a gift that we can all enjoy. Music is fun and easy to learn. I am so glad that God created music! I believe that God wants us to use music to praise Him and as a means of expression toward God and toward others. Music is a language of the heart. It is emotion and science and math and art and communication all rolled into one!

Did you know that there are certain learning pathways in our brains that are only connected through the use of music and foreign language? When children learn to read music and create music at an early age, it lays a foundation for learning and prepares those pathways in the brain for a better understanding of certain educational concepts.

Music is a wonderful tool for family interaction. My goal with this blog is two-fold. First, I want to encourage families to enjoy making music together. Singing can be a fun time in our school day, or a sweet time together before bedtime, a way to pass the time while driving in the car, or just a way to connect with each other.

Secondly, I want to encourage others to take a few minutes each day to learn how to play the piano and to read music. The piano is the basic fundamental musical instrument. From the piano, you can easily progress on to another instrument. Piano teaches all elements of music notation, rhythm, melody and harmony.

One of the greatest joys in my life is sitting at the piano with my children beside me and listening to their little voices sing the hymns and choruses from church. The book of Psalms is a lyrical book, and the verses are very easily set to music. How wonderful to hide Scripture in our hearts when set to a pretty melody that can be replayed over and over in our minds.

Talent is irrelevant when it comes to enjoying music. God put music in ALL of our hearts. Sometimes it just needs to be encouraged and developed and USED! If you know your alphabet up to the letter "G" and if you can count to 4, you are all set to start making music! It helps to have a piano or a little keyboard at home. The important thing is to play everyday!

Each Wednesday I will give you a new song and a few new concepts to start using. When you start to learn the songs, it may feel funny at first to sing along, but you'll get used to it. I do not have a pretty singing voice, but you know what? My kids don't care and neither does God. Our voice is a muscle and it can be developed, but you'll have to see my friend Kina for that! :-)

For now, just take one small step at a time. Start with these simple songs, teach them to your children, show them how to play the notes -- it is amazing how quickly children can learn to play the piano! Sing whenever and wherever you can, and encourage your children to sing.

Have fun and enjoy making melody in your hearts to the Lord!