Multi-Day Piano Class #2 for 6-9 Year Old Students With Mrs. Karen (8 Weeks)

I am very excited to offer this 8 week multi-day beginning piano class for students that have completed the "Multi-Day Beginning Piano Class (Ages 6-9) With Mrs. Karen", or have some knowledge of the piano and where the notes are located.  I am a retired public school music teacher and have taught private piano lessons in my home for many years.  Through music, children learn about other subjects, such as math, science, language, and history.  Music is a wonderful way to share your feelings with others and it can definitely affect your attitude in a wonderful way!   My private piano students use the same teaching method that I will be using in this class:  “Faber Piano Adventures”.  The book used in this class is the Primer Level book.  There are several books in this series for each of the learning levels, but I am only requiring the “lesson book” to be used for this class (most students will already have this book from the previous class). The price of this book is approximately $6.95 and will  be used in all of the piano lessons for the duration of this class.  We will be beginning about half way through the book (on page 42), where  the previous class stopped at the end of the 8 weeks.    Any additional practice sheets and activities will be emailed to you either before or after class.  

There are a great deal of music skills taught in this half of the lesson book.  Many of the skills have several songs in the book that are practice for this skill. As we go through the book, we will skip songs, but I will make sure that the students learn the music skills on all pages. As with any group situation, it is sometimes difficult to move at a pace that is perfect for all students.  If your child becomes discouraged at any point during this class, I encourage you to message me so that I am aware of this and can give suggestions to help your learner.  I would also suggest watching the video created during each class in order to review the skills taught.  Learning music and playing the piano can be a difficult new skill to learn.  It takes time and outside practice in order to progress.  A new skill will be taught in each class, and that new skill will build on the skills already learned. if your child misses a class for any reason, I encourage you to watch the video created during that class so that the learner will learn the skills taught and be ready to move forward in the next lesson.

In this class, we will cover the skills on pages 42-the end of the book (hopefully).  There will be songs that will be omitted as we go along. The students will learn all of the basic skills in the book, but will not learn all of the songs. Hopefully by the end of this course, they will be able to use the skills they have learned to learn the additional music on their own. Links for practice videos will be sent each week for reinforcement of skills and songs taught that week.

During most of the weeks,  there will be a "challenge song". A "challenge song" is one that uses the same skills that have been introduced in class.   For "challenge songs", students have learned all the necessary musical knowledge so that they can attempt to play the song at home on their own.  I will play the "challenge song" during class so that they know what it sounds like.  A "challenge song" is not a required homework assignment for the students, but intended as an extra song for students that are interested in additional music.  Hopefully, this will help to create a more "individual" learning experience for each of  the students in the class. Not all 6, 7, 8, and 9 year old students learn at the same pace so this gives an additional opportunity to work at their own individual "comfort zone". If at any time, you are interested in additional feedback from me about your child's performance, I would love for you to send a video of your child playing solos. This can be sent to me privately and I am always happy to respond with feedback and helpful hints for them.  I have had parents do this multiple times in the past and I really enjoy a one-on-one experience with the children. 

During each lesson, it is my hope (depending on time) to give each student a chance to play a solo at the beginning and end of the lesson.  This is certainly not a requirement and students are never pressured to play alone.  Depending on time, there may be classes that we are only able to perform solos one time during the lesson for that week. 

Material to be covered in each lesson: 

 Week 1- During the first week of this class, students will review the basic musical knowledge  known by students at this points. They will then continue their learning by learning about steps on the staff and the time signature. They will also learn the notes “D”, “E”, and “F” on the treble clef staff. We will review the songs on pages 40-41 and learn the song using the C 5-Finger right hand scale on page 43. Page 42 will be a "challenge song". 

Week 2- The second week will be spent reviewing the notes "C", "D", "E", F", G" (right hand) and "F" (left hand). They will also learn about the time signature (4/4).  The song on page 44 will be learned in class. The song on page 45 will possibly be a "challenge song" (moving hands to different positions). 
 
Week 3-  Students will learn the new notes "B" and "A", played with the left hand. They will also learn the new time signature 3/4 and the word "minuet". The students will learn the new notes covered on pages 46-49. The songs on pages 46 and 48 will be learned in class. The songs on pages 47 and 49 may be both be "challenge songs". 

Week 4- Students will learn the note G" to be played with the left hand.  They will also learn about "skips" in music. The song on pages 50-51 will be learned. The song on page 52 may be a "challenge song" for this week. 

Week 5- During week 5, students will learn more about "skips" in music, as well as reviewing skills they have learned previously. The song on page 54 will be taught.  The song on page 55 uses the same "skips" in music. If time, it will be taught in class. If not, it will be used as a "challenge song".

Week 6- During week 6, students will learn the notes "Bass D" and "Bass C" and where these notes are located on the staff. They will also learn the C 5-Finger Scale in the bass clef (left hand).  The songs on pages 56-58 will be learned. 

Week 7-  During week 7, students will learn about the "octave" and the musical "tie". We will skip several songs in the book this week, but the students will learn the skills introduced on those pages.  Students will learn the songs on page 59 as well as 64-65. The songs on pages 60-61 and 62 will be "challenge songs".  

Week 8- During week 8 (the last week of this session), students will learn about the "quarter rest".  This is the last major musical skill that is taught in this book. They will learn the songs on pages 68 and 69.  The song on pages 70-71 will be introduced for them to practice at home. This song uses a variety of skills they have learned. 

I will try my best to stay exactly with this weekly schedule, but my main focus is teaching music skills to these students at a level that they can easily understand. Because of that, I may need to deviate from the schedule a little in order to move at a speed that is comfortable for the students’ understanding.  I will try to move at a pace that keeps the students engaged in the activities in order to learn as much information about music as possible during this class.  If during any class there is extra time, I will play through additional pages that have been skipped so that the students can hear these new melodies and practice them (if they wish) at home. I will also send links each week in the class notes for practice videos. 

Throughout this eight week class, I may send home written activities and /or melodies for the students to practice at home. All of these activities will be chosen to reinforce the particular skills the students are working on in class at that time. 
 
It is important that students begin this multi-day class from the very first lesson so that they can learn as the rest of the students learn.  Music is a skill that is built on knowledge learned in previous lessons (much like math skills are built).  I have  a great deal of experience working with young children in the public school setting, in my private studio at home, and in online teaching.  I am a very enthusiastic teacher and believe in giving a lot of positive encouragement and reinforcement as students move through their musical experiences.  During lessons,  time management will be used in a variety of ways as we spend time playing the piano keys, clapping, singing,  and writing basic music theory skills needed.   I am excited to meet each of the students as we learn about more about the world of music together.