Piano with a Smile

KeyNotes Play students have been learning all about the Minuet:
🇫🇷 investigating its origins
🏛️ exploring its features
🎀 adding stylistic touches to their playing (terrace dynamics, ornaments)
🎹 even playing in harpsichord mode.
This week they partnered up and danced it, elegant and gracefully with curtsies and bows. Super fun and a brilliant way to experience 18th Century Baroque💜

Bingo is a class-favourite that we pull out regularly to practise stave notes. This week in Foundations, students took a break from Ode to Joy for a quick (and very competitive!) round of treble clef practice.
It's a game that all level of readers can enjoy as we don't just name the note, we begin by describing it eg Line 2. These are the starter steps for reading - looking closely to distinguish line from space and counting the skips in ascending order on the stave BEFORE applying the mnemonics.
After that, the fun part, confirm the box number and cover with a counter😊✅

We LOVE composition💜 From portraits of wriggly, munching caterpillars to softly-flitting butterflies, Littlies did an AMAZING job this weekend with their minibeast musical creations!🦋🐛

A super-fun start to Term 3 for Play students with Rhythm Reel, a combination of Scottish country-dancing and rhythm-clapping that not only helps reinforce rhythm but also students' sense of musical phrasing💜. It's simple, addictive, and we all ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT!💜🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤩

🎈Classes are back THIS Saturday!🎹 Watch this space for openings next month🤩

🔈Roll up, roll up this Winter holiday for a thrilling week of big top fun! Circus Piano Camp is a 4-day program of music, games, arts and crafts for kids age 5-9 yrs. No experience necessary - come for a day or join for the week😊🎪.
Camp highlights:
🎩Magical melodies: discover the enchanting world of music through circus-themed tunes
🎩Rhythm and movement: dance with delight to lively beats and circus-inspired rhythms
🎩Creative crafts: bring the big top to life with hand-crafted decorations
🎩Imaginative play: games and activities to hone your circus skills
🎩Daily performance: showcase your newfound piano and circus skills for parents!
Hurry, limited spots available🎈🎹 Contact Alex on 0410 704 385 or visit:
https://www.pianowithasmile.com/holidayprograms

I'm so impressed with how quickly this class of Littlies have mastered their musical alphabet. They recognise all the letters, understand that A follows G and are fluent from any starting point👏🎉 Now to find G and A on the piano for our Whizz Dragonfly song!💙

Tempo is this term's musical element for Storytellers, explained through the tale of the Tortoise and the Hare. This week, a little Schumann (Of Foreign Lands and People) and a leisurely lap of the room to experience Andante💜😊
https://open.spotify.com/track/4CBRHXfxihKZfNoS2VYQCK?si=65a70383226844e9

This term Play students are off round the world exploring music and movement in a new workbook entitled 'Dance'. First stop: Cuba and The Rumba🪇 We're learning about the features of Latino music, African rhythms, call and response, and even trying a few steps for ourselves💛💜

We've added a fourth program at 3pm! Foundations 1 is for Storyteller graduates who are ready for reading. The topic this semester is Momentous Melodies and we begin with Pachelbel's Canon in D, learning about sharps, stave steps and layered ostinati💜