Kitchen Rock

When I am cooking dinner I have found that the best activity to keep my children entertained is letting them bang on pots. We call this activity Kitchen Rock and play it often, so I decided to make it a learning experience to help teach my children about music.

Here are a few ideas to help spice up Kitchen Rock:

1. Get out a variety of pans, bowls, and pitchers. You can use metal, plastic, or anything else that won't break.

2. Get out a variety of utensils for your child to hit the pans with (each utensil produces a different sound.)

3. Teach your child about tempo by demonstrating the difference between largo and presto. For an older child you can teach him or her the 7 basic tempo markings:

• Largo -- very slow (40 - 60 beats per minute)


• Larghetto -- rather broadly (60 - 66 beats per minute)

• Adagio -- slow and stately (66 - 76 bpm)


• Andante -- at a walking pace (76 - 108 bpm)
  


• Moderato -- Moderately (108 - 120 bpm)
  


• Allegro -- fast and bright (120 - 168 bpm)
  


• Presto -- very fast (168 - 200 bpm)

Once your child learns the tempo markings you can quiz your child by calling out a tempo and having him or her play that tempo.

4. Teach your child about dynamics by demonstrating the difference between piano and forte. Quiz your child by asking him or her to demonstrate the difference between the two dynamics.

For an older child you can teach him or her about the 6 different dynamic markings:

1. pianissimo/pp (very soft)

2. piano/p (soft)

3. mezzo-piano/mp (moderately soft)

4. mezzo-forte/mf (moderately loud)

5. forte/f (loud)

6. fortissimo/ff (very loud)

5. Turn on different styles of music and let your child play along. Show your child how you would play the pan differently while listening to slow/soft music vs. fast/loud music.

6. Have fun!

Teaching Your Child Solfege

Music Lesson: Solfege

(Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music)


What is solfege?
Solfege is an important part of learning to read music and is a technique used to teach sight-singing or sight reading. Each note in solfege is sung to a different syllable do, re, me, fa, so, la, ti, and each note has a corresponding hand sign (as seen in photo below).

To teach your child solfege do the following:

1. Sing do (doh) to the first pitch of any major scale (i.e. if you choose the major C scale, C would be your first note).

2. Now, sing and sign do with your hand (as seen in photo below).

3. Have your child sing and sign do. If needed, help mold your child's hand into the do shape until he or she can sign do his or herself.

4. Continue to teach your child every solfege sign and syllable.

5. Note: Solfege is a great way to introduce music to your baby!

Solfege Pronunciation:

Do = Doh (For the C scale you will sing C pitch)

Re = Ray (For the C scale you will sing D pitch)

Me = Mee (For the C scale you will sing E pitch)

Fa = Fah (For the C scale your will sing F pitch)

Sol = Soh (For the C scale you will sing G pitch)

La = Lah (For the C scale you will sing A pitch)

Ti = Tee (For the C scale you will sing B pitch)

Beethoven Lesson

Music Lesson: Ludwig Van Beethoven

Teach your child the following lesson:

Biography:



Beethoven was one of the most influential and respected composers of his time and played a key role in bridging classical and romantic music. Beethoven was a composer and played the piano in the 1700’s. He was born in December, 1770 and grew up in Bonn, Germany where he lived with his parents and 6 brothers and sisters (although 3 of his siblings died after infancy).

At age 8 Beethoven had his first known public performance on the piano, and at age 14 he started playing the organ for a choir. When Beethoven was 17 years old he went to Vienna, Austria to study with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. After Mozart died Beethoven started studying with Joseph Haydn.

When Beethoven was about 27 years old, he may have gotten tinnitus (ringing in his ears caused by infection or loud noises) which caused him to eventually go deaf. Although Beethoven was devastated from his hearing loss, he figured out that he could hear the music through vibrations from his piano (which is why he was still able to write music).

Beethoven’s Music:
Scholars have divided Beethoven’s musical works into three periods:

During the first music period, Beethoven was finding “his personal voice.” He wrote: string quartets, piano sonatas, piano concertos, and symphonies. Here is an example of music Beethoven wrote during his first music period: Beethoven's Symphony No. 1


During the second period, Beethoven wrote: an opera, symphonies, piano concertos, and quartet music. The second period is known as Beethoven’s independent period because he was known as one of the best pianists and composers of his time. Beethoven became friends with some of the richest and noble families in Vienna. He gained prominent devoted fans such as Prince Lichnowsky. Beethoven would often make the Prince wait in the waiting room on purpose so he could compose music! Here is an example of Beethoven's second period music: The Eroica Symphony


During the last period, Beethoven’s music became reflective. He started to use variations (new rhythms, new meter, new tempos, new embellishments, and new figurations) in his music. Although Beethoven had bad health and family struggles during this period, he still managed to write some of his best musical works during this time. Here is an example of Beethoven's third period music: Beethoven String Quartet Op. 131

References:

A History of Western Music, Grout and Palisca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven


Beethoven Coloring Activity:

Click here to print a coloring page of Beethoven.

Quiz on Beethoven:

Click here to give your child a quiz on Beethoven.

How to Make a Piano

Today's lesson is on how to make a piano. Tell your children that making a piano is no small task, and let your children watch the video below:

Learning to Sing Music Pitch

Learning Objective:

Your child will be able to match a pitch sung or played on an instrument.

Instructions:

1. Sing a song with your child that he or she knows well.

2. Practice teaching your child the notes of the song by singing each note and having your child match the pitch your are singing. For example, if you were to sing Mary Had a Little Lamb, you would sing the first note of the song and have your child match the pitch. Then you would sing the next note and have your child match the pitch. Do this for every note in the song.

3. Most young children cannot match the correct pitch at first. If your child is singing the wrong pitch, listen to hear if the pitch is lower or higher than the pitch you are singing and do the following:

If your child is singing lower than the desired pitch, point your finger up and tell your child to keep singing higher until your child sings the desired pitch.

If your child is singing higher than the desired pitch, point your finger down and tell your child to sing lower until your child sings the desired pitch.

When your child sings the desired pitch, tell your child that is the pitch you want them to sing.

4. If your child does not have the patience to sit and learn every note, you can sing a song with your child and randomly stop on a note and have your child match the pitch.

5. You can also try matching pitches on a piano or other musical instrument by playing a note on the instrument and telling your child to match the pitch.

Assessment:

Can your child match any pitch (within their range) you sing or play? If not, keep practicing with your child until he or she can.

You can also start teaching your young child about pitch. I do this lesson with my 2 year old and she loves it!

Music Lesson: Importance of Using a Metronome

What is a metronome?
A metronome is a musical device that keeps a steady pulse.

Who should use a metronome?
Everyone! Even professional musicians use metronomes.

When do I use a metronome?
A metronome should almost always be used when practicing.
















What type of metronome should I use?

There are 3 types of metronomes:
1. Digital
2. Analog
3. Mechanical

One of my favorite metronomes is called Boss. These can get pricey but are great for musicians who are playing a lot of complex rhythms. For beginning music students I would recommend an analog metronome because it is easy to use and easy to pack around. You can read more about the differences between the 3 types of metronomes here.



Where can I get a metronome?
You can get a metronome from a local music store or on-line. You can find good prices at http://www.amazon.com/.









Why should I use a metronome?
I cannot over emphasis the importance of using a metronome! If someone does not practice with a metronome, he or she will not play with a steady beat.

Using a metronome is a MUST because a metronome helps you to do the following:
1. Play with a steady beat
2. Feel the tempo of the piece
3. Play at your tempo goal (e.g. if a piece has a “difficult to play” tempo, starting slowly and gradually speeding up with a metronome will help you to play at your tempo goal.)

How do I use a metronome?
There are a many ways to practice with a metronome when trying to learn a new piece. Here are some ways I have my students practice with a metronome:

1. Set your metronome to the speed of the piece, and play the whole piece with the metronome on. Can you play the whole piece without making any mistakes? If not, slow down the metronome to a speed you can play at without making any mistakes. Once you can play the piece with out making any mistakes at the slower speed, then speed up the metronome a few clicks. Gradually speed up a few clicks (only if you can play at each speed with out any mistakes,) until you reach your goal speed.

2. Practice playing through your piece a few measures at a time with the metronome on. For example, let’s say your piece is 8 measures long. You can repeat measures 1-2 until you make no mistakes. Then, go on to measures 3-4, 5-6, and 7-8 repeating, these measures with out any mistakes. Now play measures 1-4, and then play measures 5-8. Once you can play these sections without any mistakes, play the whole 8 measures until you make no mistakes.

3. There is a GREAT website that contains information about metronome use: http://www.metronomeonline.com/ . This site has a free, on-line metronome and has articles on how to use a metronome, on tempo markings, on how to practice music, and on timing.

How to Get Children Interested in Music

First Steps to Starting Your Child in Music

Recently, I had a great visitor, Angie@keepbelieving, comment on my blog. This is what she said:

“…I don't even know where to start with my kids. We have no instruments. My husband and I have never played anything. I can't read music and I don't know what first steps to take with my 5 and 6 years old boys.”

I have received many questions like Angie’s, so I have compiled a list of the first steps to take to help your child get integrated in music:


1. Listen to music daily. Play a CD for your child everyday as part of his or her daily routine. I like to play different styles of music everyday for my children during their snack time. I tell them who the musical artist is and what style of music they are listening to.

2. Take your child to a music concert.

3. Expose your child to many styles of music. For example, your child may be more interested in one musical style over another.

4. Make musical instruments/crafts. This is a great way to get your child interested in music at a young age.

5. Sing to your child. Teach your child a new song often. I hear many a parent comment that they don’t want to sing to their children because they don’t like the sound of their own voice. That is okay! I promise you that your children would rather hear you sing than not at all. For many children, singing time is a favorite part of their day.

6. Turn on music and dance with your child to the beat. This is a great way to bond with your child and to help your child feel the music.

7. Give your child musical toys. Some examples (although there are many) are as follows: a play keyboard, drums, maracas, tambourines, radios, xylophones, and guitars.

8. Learn about music. It’s never too late to start! Since the best way to teach is by example, if your child is seeing you learning about music, then he or she may want to learn about music, also. For example, you can take music lessons or teach yourself how to play an instrument by going to a music store and buying an instructional book.

9. Enroll your child in a school band, choir, or orchestra program. These programs start as early as 5th grade and are a great way to start your children in music. Even if your child is in home school, most public schools will let your child participate in their music programs. The great thing about school programs is if you don’t have an instrument for your child, they have instruments to borrow.

To enroll your child in one of these programs, go to your local public school and talk to the music director about signing up!

10. Find out about music store programs. Many such stores have programs your child can participate in. For example, a local music store here in Alaska has a summer band program. This program has weekly rehearsals and a concert they put on at the end of the summer. Check out your local music stores to see what they offer!

11. Start your child in private music lessons. This is an excellent way to help your child become interested in music. Sometimes private music lessons can be pricey, but the price is well worth it!

When do you start private music lessons? Some private music teachers will start children as early as 3 years old. Generally, a good time to start private lessons is when your child learns to read.

Finding the right teacher is essential when getting started in private music lessons. Make sure you do your research. To do the research, you can ask other students, moms of students, public school music teachers, and local music store personnel their opinion of who a good teacher is. Once you find a teacher, ask him or her if you can sit in on a lesson before you sign up to see if you are a good match. (Many teachers will let you sit in on a lesson.)

If you feel private music lessons are too costly, local colleges and universities have upper-class music students who give lessons. Most of the students are great and cost a whole lot less. Make sure you do your research. Ask the music professors at the college or university who they recommend.

12. Rent a musical instrument from a local music store. Most music stores will let you try different instruments before buying or renting. Some music stores even offer a free music lesson with your rental! Depending on the instrument you rent, most rentals can run between $20.00 – $60.00 a month.

Have fun!

For more information about learning music, check out my post 10 Reasons Why Children Should Learn Music.