Video response to the age-old question. Listen here.
Winter break is December 23 through January 7th.
Point Contest begins January 1. Keep track of you listening! Work on memorizing and theory pages.
Music Lessons resume Monday, January 8.
The sheet music for All the Pretty Little Horses is now available as a digital download. Included in A Year of Folk Tunes for Piano, the digital download version has F Major warm-ups and preparatory studies to make it easier to learn the piece.
The first verse can be played with no hands together notes and could stand alone as a solo. The second verse requires hands together and a left hand position change.
Watch and listen to the Infant Holy, Infant Lowly Piano Solo. Get your own copy and start practicing it today.
In A Year of Folk Tunes, November’s key of the month is B Flat Major and G Minor.
I wrote four rounds to help navigate this key. Everyone who played them, got a lot better at the hand positions required for B Flat Major and G Minor.
The rounds have one part doubled so they would be playable with only two parts. In score form, each tune also has an optional piano part for extra rehearsal. The rounds were named after football plays.
Hook and Ladder is in 4/4 time and B Flat Major. The cello begins the first half of the two-part round; the uppers strings take the field first in the second half. In addition to the scales and arpeggios in the melody, double stops are a big part of the action.
Flea Flicker is also in 4/4 time and B Flat Major. There are eighth note followed by dotted quarter note snappy rhythms. All the parts have to count ties as well.
Primarily using eight note patterns, Coffin Kick runs and leaps across the fingerboard. Shifting is needed in the viola and cello parts.
A G minor round in 4/4 time, Wildcat uses position work and bariolage to improve everyone’s technique.
Get the digital sheet music for the new pieces.
Hook and Ladder
Flea Flicker
Coffin Kick
Wildcat
Listen to the canons here.
Hook and Ladder
Flea Flicker
Coffin Kick
Wildcat
Thank-you Sophie for playing the violin in the videos for the new pieces.
Current round count: 44
The sheet music for Simple Gifts is now available as a digital download. Included in A Year of Folk Tunes for Piano, the digital download version has B Flat Major warm-ups and preparatory studies to make it easier to learn the piece.
The first verse can be played with no hands together notes and could stand alone as a solo. The second verse requires hands together and one extension.
Watch and listen to the Simple Gifts Piano Solo. Get your own copy and start practicing it today.
The sheet music for The Erie Canal is now available as a digital download. Included in A Year of Folk Tunes for Piano, the digital download version has E Flat Major warm-ups and preparatory studies to make it easier to learn the piece.
The first verse can be played with minimal hands together notes and could stand alone as a solo. Both hands change position in the first half. The second verse requires more hands together and hand movement.
Watch and listen to The Erie Canal. Get your own copy and start practicing it today.
The October song in A Year of Folk Tunes is the Erie Canal. Some students caught on quickly and so we worked on swing for the rest of the month. Listen to how it turned out.
Video performance of the Erie Canal on the violin.
Video performance of the Erie Canal on the cello.
We began a deep dive into B flat major and G Minor. We worked on one octave scales and arpeggios and Simple Gifts, the song of the month in A Year of Folk Tunes. If you missed it, you can catch up with the video.
12/8/12 and 12/21/12
Miriam Troxler 