Private Lessons (25 Mins): KodÁLy Singing and Ear Training

In this eight week music course, students will be introduced to solfege and will learn syllables and hand signs for "do, re, mi, sol, and la," starting with intervals most natural to children and then moving through the rest of the scale.   They will sing "call and response" phrases and learn to recognize each pitch in relation to one another.  We will do exercises where teacher plays a note and the student will try to identify it, or teacher will say a name and the student will try to sing it.  This ear training will be balanced with reading notes on the staff.  Students will be introduced to the concept of "belly breathing" and “head register,” will learn about beat and observe tempo, and will practice rhythms involving quarter and eight notes using “ta, ti” solemnization.   Students will learn to dictate simple rhythms using this method.  Students will learn to sing folk songs built on the pentatonic scale and use hand signs while they sing.  Students will also be asked to purchase a cheap ($14) xylophone to reinforce concepts and accompany their singing.  This is the first unit of a series of 8 involving the Kodály method.

 
****Week one: Students will learn the sound of and hand signs for “sol & mi,” will sing with hand signs, play on xylo and dictate “She Sells Seashells,” will learn the difference between tempo and beat and learn about quarter notes and rests, and will learn and sing “Frog in the Middle.”
****Week two: Students will practice head voice and pitch matching, will review the sound of and hand signs for “sol & mi,” will sing with hand signs, play on xylo and dictate  “Fall is Here,” will learn the difference between quarter notes and eighth notes, and will sing “Old Mother Witch.”
****Week Three: Students will practice diaphragmatic breathing, will learn the sound of and hand signs for “la,” will read one measure patterns with quarter and eighth notes and learn about simple meter, will sing with hand signs, and dictate (pitch and rhythm) “Bounce High, Bounce Low,” and will learn and sing “Icka Backa.”
****Week Four: Students will review the sound of and hand signs for “sol, mi, la,” will review eighth and quarter note patterns, will sing with hand signs, play on xylo and dictate  “Engine, Engine,” and will learn and sing “Lucy Locket.”
****Week Five: Students will learn the sound of and hand signs for “do,” will read and dictate rhythms, will sing with hand signs, play on xylo and dictate (pitch only) “Fuzzy Wuzzy,” and will learn and sing “Mouse, Mousie.”
****Week Six: Students will learn the sound of and hand signs for “re,” will sing and dictate “Hot Cross Buns” with hand signs, will dictate rhythms, and will learn and sing “Go Round the Mountain.”
****Week Seven: Students will review the sound of and hand signs for “sol, mi, la, do,” will review eighth and quarter note patterns extended to two measures, will sing with hand signs, play on xylo and dictate (pitch and rhythm) “Rain Come Wet Me,” and will learn and sing “Here comes a Bluebird.”
****Week Eight:  Students will learn the sound and hand signs for “sol, mi, la, re, do,” will sing and dictate “Frosty Weather,”
will review eighth and quarter note patterns extended to two measures, will learn and sing “Great Big House” and will be evaluated on which notes and rhythms they have mastered.