Why does do, re, mi solfege help me read music?

In musical ear training, solfège is a technique for the teaching of sight-singing in which each note of the score is sung to a special syllable, called a solfège syllable. The seven syllables used for this practice in English-speaking countries are: do (or doh ), re, mi, fa, sol (so in tonic), la, and ti/si, which may be heard in "Do-Re-Mi" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's score for The Sound of Music.
Learning solfege in singing very naturally leads to recognizing musical intervals in music notation, in an easy and organic way. The beginning of “Here Comes the Bride” is a fourth, and is sung in solfege as do fa, fa, fa in your major 5-finger position on the piano. This method leads to lifelong musical literacy and learning when singing or playing a musical instrument. Thank you, Wikipedia, for the skeleton of this post.

Parent feedback about the Musikgarten Workshop

"We really really enjoyed listening to you and learning more about this super program. We feel so grateful to have found you and grateful that our daughter is learning such great music, values, notes, rhythm etc.. I've played the piano since I was 3 years old and it's only by sight. I've always struggled because it's not by ear... so if she can learn to hear something and play it on her instrument- that would be amazing. We have been singing "tap hello to (name), tap hello to (name) tap hello" all weekend long,. It's in my brain!!! ahhh can't stop signing my words! love it!!! ;)"

Make your own shakers

Make your own African shaker, a percussion instrument - here is the link for the how to

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/crafts-by-type/music-instruments/musical-instruments/shekere-665646/

History of Treble and Bass Clef

Nice graphic representation of the evolution of the Treble Clef and the Bass Clef

http://www.cybermusicacademy.org/lesson5.htm

Teach musical finger numbers early

Ask a friend to hold up his/her first finger. Many adults will hold up their "pointer," or their second finger. In music, your thumb is finger number one, pinky is number five and so on. Make up a game or a song in the car and have your child sing it with you as they wiggle each finger. Remember, one through five for each hand, not one through ten. That would be another error for future musical success. The left hand mirrors the right hand so put your right hand up to a mirror and talk about that with your child as well. When your child traces his or her hand on a piece of paper, help them number the fingers one through five on the right and five through one on the left.

Link to a great site for teaching methods

Here is a fun site for parents and for music teachers. Learn a little more about solfege here and music and movement - go to
http://www.classicsforkids.com/teachers/training/handsigns.asp

Sweet Potato Ocarina is Fun to Play

Looking for something fun for your elementary-age child to play? Try the ocarina, or the sweet potato. You'll find it on amazon. It may be easier to learn than the recorder. Here is the definition from wikipedia...

The ocarina (pronounced /ɒkəˈriːnə/) is an ancient flute-like wind instrument.[1] While several variations exist, an ocarina is typified by an oval-shaped enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouth tube projecting out from the body. It is often ceramic, but many other materials, such as plastic, wood, glass and metal may also be used. http://wikipedia.com

I got one from a music store, and the directions on the back appeared to make learning this easy (I hope). I sent it to a nephew for Christmas, so now I'm hunting for another one. I may just get this from amazon today!