Hoops and scarves are super props to foster creativity for dance and expression with toddlers. Check this out:

I like to use the Edwin Gordon method of teaching rhythm to young folks. We use short syllables to match the beats.  Such as Du-da-di for a 3/4 time signature. Here is a video of one of my 7-year old students playing a simple piece from a Bach minuet. There are quarter notes, half notes, and dotted half notes in this piece. Adapted from Bach's Minuet in G major. She is singing the rhythm "du - di" etc.

Use sandblocks to teach easy note values to young children

Can you teach a 4 or a 5 year old the difference between a quarter note and a half note and how that sounds and feels? I think so. I use sand blocks. Two quarter notes - clap the blocks together twice and say "one, one" as you do each clap. Half note - clap together on "one" and slide as if you are sanding once on "two." Dotted half note - clap together on "one" and slide up for "two" and slide back down for "three."

I better make a Youtube video of this idea.

It's hard to explain with just words! It's fun, and most children catch on. They really like the whole note where we clap on "one" and slide the blocks back and forth when we say "two" "three" "four." I explain we only clap on the word "one" and slide on the additional beats in a note.

Naturally, this does not work for eighth notes! http://palmbeachmusicclasses.com

Intervals and Why They Matter

Intervals

In music, an interval is the distance between two notes or two pitches. For example, the distance from C to D is a second, since this involves two “whole” notes (or whole tones). The distance from C to E is a third (3 notes – C,D, and E, skipping over D), and the distance or interval from D to A is a fifth – it involves five whole notes. Traditionally, chords are spelled in intervals of thirds. Musicians are trained to recognize intervals quickly. Many musical directors contend that a knowledge of singing in solfege (or solfeggio) will lead a person to recognize intervals quickly in written music, thus making sight reading easy and fun. When we sing the Italian “Sol, Mi, Do” in Musikgarten, we are singing a third, and then another third. When we sing “Do, Sol,” we are singing a fifth, such as D to A. Reverse that to “Sol, Do,” and it is still a fifth.

Some familiar tunes can help you learn several musical intervals: “Oh, When the Saints” begins with a major third. “Here Comes the Bride” begins with a perfect fourth. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” begins with a perfect fifth and “My Bonnie lies over the Ocean” begins with a major sixth.

When I refer to “do” - pronounced dough - I refer to the moveable do on the piano. “Do” can be D, or C, or G, or F, etc. Consequently, all the other solfege syllables move along with “do.”

What Your Preschoolers Can Do On Their Own

Put on a belt

Zip his or her pants
Make an easy sandwich, like peanut butter (toast the bread first so it's easier)
Sort socks
Fold towels
Help set the table
Put clothes in the laundry basket
(Do not expect neatness - just encourage him or her to help you and reinforce this with "great job!")

Music Theory Through Fun Card Games

Just as words and sounds are the building blocks of language, tonal and rhythm patterns are the building blocks of musical literacy. In Musikgarten, we introduce these patterns from the very beginning, just as you introduce your babies to your native language.

When children are old enough to point to the golden arches and say "That's McDonalds" then they are probably old enough to participate in our floor card games. And who doesn't like to play games? We have fun identifying certain tonal and rhythm patterns, like a broken (separated) tonic chord or 2 quarter notes. Careful preparation make simple written patterns a joy for the children - pieces of a fascinating, simple puzzle, which they can take pride in putting together. They will come for the fun, and they will want to stay for the education!

Music, Scarves, and Children

Children like to have something in their hands. It focuses their attention and acts as an extension of the hand. Handling and manipulating scarves calls for different muscular responses than for other musical activities. The sensations resulting from these scarf movements link them with feelings and memories mapped in the entire body.

Moving scarves suggest shapes. Spatial concepts are clarified and directionality is greatly enhanced (up/down, side to side).

Scarves add a wonderful dimension to dancing, and most children simply love to dance! Great activity for a rainy day.

How Parents Can Help Teach Piano Over Summer

Keyboard geography - yes, that's what I mean to say.  How we find our way around the piano based on how it looks - its geography!  Most piano method books begin by showing young children the difference between a group of 2 black keys and a group of 3 black keys.  Look at this picture:

Do you see a group of 2 black keys on the left, and then another group of 3 black keys on the right?  You probably do, but your 5 year old probably does not, at first.  He or she may see a bunch of black keys (like 5) and many white keys, but they may have a hard time telling the difference between a 2-black key group and a 3-black key group.  These are landmarks on the piano - and they will most likely be a starting place for many beginners' first pieces.  We find middle C using the 2-black key group, and we find F (and B) using the 3-black key group.  

Susan Fonger with preschool piano students

During your leisure times on the weekend, or over a vacation, you can teach your 3 or 4 year old the difference between a group of 2 items, and a group of 3 items.  You can use lincoln logs, dominos, chopsticks, pencils, pens, spoons, or just about any item that is sort of rectangular.  I am sure your creativity will find a way to turn this into a grouping game or a fun activity with a scorecard.   The possibilities are endless.

Hint:  the easiest fingers for young ones to use due to their developing motor skills are:  fingers 2, 3, and 4.

The thumb is the most difficult since you usually need to turn it on its side to use it correctly on the keyboard or on the piano.

www.singingsusan.com

Raise your left hand!

I am surprised at how few parents teach the concepts of left hand versus right hand. As soon as a child begins to speak, parents please begin showing your child this all important concept. Your creativity can help your child grasp this at a very young age.

The obvious way to teach this concept is the following: hold up your left hand, then create an "L" with your thumb and pointer finger. Have your child do the same. They will be looking at the topside or outside of their hand, not the inside of the palm. Once they start sounding out words, and they can recognize a phonetic "L" sound, this should help them. My guess is that you can find a lot of other ways to teach this important concept. On the piano, our left hand plays low sounds - another "L" connection. When you talk about left versus right, use the word "correct" for affirmation, not the word "right." I imagine the reason for this is obvious! This concept is so important to success at the piano. Please post your own creative ideas so we can all learn from one another! http://palmbeachmusicclasses.com

10 ways to bring up an unsuccessful child

This is an amazing article from www.familylife.com

If I offend anyone with this, I apologize in advance. I myself am guilty of some of these 10 when I raised my son, Curtis. Thank goodness my errors were not lasting! He's O.K. in fact, he's doing very well! I'm grateful for the grace of others.

Here is the article:

http://www.familylife.com/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=dnJHKLNnFoG&b=3575621&ct=10878353¬oc=1

Curt Fonger is Moving On

Curt Fonger, TV news anchor is moving on, embracing new challenges and opportunities.

Read more here:  http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/aug/09/veteran-channel-12-news-anchor-curt-fonger-leaving/

And visit his website:  http://curtfonger.com

Vocal Development Leads to Decoding Symbols

All children can learn to sing. The voice is our most important musical instrument, and the children bring it with them to every music class. The use of the child's own voice and body is the point of departure for his or her musical involvement and development. Vocal imitation of all kinds of sounds and the accompaniment of movement with vocal sounds lead to an exploration of the vast range of possibilities of the human voice. Combining vocal exploration with movement is the path to understanding basic concepts of sound and graphic notation.

Beyond Organic with Jordan Rubin is my way to better health

I'm a member of Beyond Organic so I can have organic food delivered right to my door. If you know Jordan Rubin, and like his vitamins and supplements, you may be interested in his new passion, Beyond Organic. I loved his bestseller The Maker's Diet. Now he has 2500 head of cattle on 8,000 acres in southern Missouri, and spring water in Blue Ridge, Georgia. My friends are joining me now in this new organization for direct distribution of grass fed beef, raw cheese, organic chocolate, probiotics water, and much more. The first products will be available in July.
To find out more, register with me online for free...just click on this link:

http://www.beyondorganicinsider.com/becomeaninsider.aspx?enroller=1904

From Susan, Independent Mission Marketer

Composition and Improvisation

When children become fluent in the language of music, such as echoing tonal and rhythm patterns, they enjoy creating their own music, e.g. composing. Using our notation games and cards, they will compose both melodic and rhythmic pieces. Their creations, or compositions, will be performed in my class - sometimes as a solo, and sometimes as individual sections in a class rondo. The practice CD is a big help in this regard, and so is the habit of echoing the patterns after the teacher says or sings them. These patterns also become the building blocks for improvisation. Usually, improvisation occurs at first in the Singing Circle, and then later at the keyboard. (thank you, Musikgarten/Music Matters)

Musical notation games

Notation means written communication.  In music, a composer writes out his musical ideas using notes and a staff, so that others can read and play what that composer created, such as a piece of music, a song, or a symphony.  I use notation games in my basic music classes with children as young as 3 years old.  I do so after the children have experienced tonal (sound) and rhythm patterns with their voices and their bodies in many different ways.

My notation game cards (yellow, white, blue, red, green) give children objects they can touch and rearrange in many different ways.  Tracing the pattern with the finger enhances the kinesthetic memory and leads the children directly to reading when they trace the notation and repeat the sound presented.  (source: Music Matters/Musikgarten) These card games allow for repetition, which establishes comprehension of the concepts. And they are fun to play!

These pattern cards allow children to compose their own melodies, their own chants, and ultimately, their own music.  And who doesn't like to play and read their own work?  http://palmbeachmusicclasses.com and http://musikgarten.org

Why do we begin all our classes with a singing circle?

In Musikgarten, we begin each class, regardless of level, with a singing circle.  This enables us to develop beat, meter, tonality, and patterns. 

These musical elements are key to success and are advanced through activities such as:
Tapping the beat while singing - to foster beat competence
Adding a simple body movement, such as rocking from side to side - to lay the foundation for understanding meter
Inviting the children to sing the resting tone at the conclusion of each song - to create an understanding of tonality (the key in which the piece was composed)
Listening to and echoing patterns - to provide the first steps to music literacy 
For more information, you can visit http://singingsusan.com or http://musikgarten.org

What is solfege or solfeggio?

Solfege, solfeggio, or solfa, is a system of attaching short (easy-to-say) syllables to the pitches (notes) of a musical scale.

It is the “use of the sol-fa syllables to note the tones of the scale; solmization.” (www.YourDictionary.com)  I first heard of solfege when I watched the movie The Sound of Music, in which Julie Andrews taught the children in her care the song, “Do, Re, Mi.”  Later I learned of solfege from my son, Curtis, who had studied this in depth at the American Boychoir School in Princeton from 6^th through the 8^th grade.  If you take a major D scale, and sing up 7 pitches, you would sing Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La, Ti and then Do again for the higher D.  The note names would be D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#, D.

“The seven syllables commonly used for this practice in English-speaking countries are: do (pronounced dough), re, mi, fa, sol, la, and ti which may be heard in "Do-Re-Mi" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's score for The Sound of Music (Wikipedia)”

With the above, I’m referring to the traditional Western diatonic scale.  If you want to study different kinds of scales, Wikipedia has a volume of information on the many different kinds of scales, probably more than you would want to know.  The one we Americans are most familiar with is the diatonic scale that exists of whole notes and half notes (or whole tones and semitones).

Musikgarten uses the solfege syllables for its tonal patterns, such as “sol-mi-do.”  Also, we use what is called a moveable “do,” not the fixed “do.”  Our “do” will change, depending on the key in which we are singing or playing an instrument.  This helps with sight-singing, and with understanding and learning intervals in music.  My next blog will be about intervals (the distance from one pitch or note to another).

Show Your Child a Major Third

Musikgarten is a joyful and fun place where toddlers, and preschoolers, and young children experience and learn music fundamentals together.

If you have a piano or keyboard, show your child where the D above middle C is.  Most children's singing range is in the key of D.  Then find F# (sharp).

Play D and F# together.  Ask your child to sing and hold the D while you sing the F# at the same time.  This will take some practice for most people.  Try it every day for 5 days.

Why we use hoops and scarves in a music class with young children

Exploration of the space defined by the hoop is helpful to the child in order to establish the boundaries within which s/he can move.  Moving a hoop up, down, and around the body further identifies its space, contributing to the building of body image.  Later on, around age 5, a child needs to learn the concept of high notes versus low notes.  A hoop is perfect for learning this concept in a very concrete way.

With scarves, spatial concepts are clarified and directionality (up/down, side/side) is greatly enhanced.  The light, flowing movement of the scarf also leads the child naturally to expressive movement, and children need to move in order to learn.  Source:  Musikgarten, Music Matters

Which comes first - writing music or reading music?

Writing music comes first for children starting at age 4.  If a children writes a symbol that represents a sound, the child can "read:" what he or she has written.  Reading what someone else has written is far more difficult for the child, even though it is certainly possible for some children.
Around age 4, the hand of the child is physically ready to write, to leave a mark, to express his or her own thoughts.  Writing is a simpler process than reading, because the sound to be written is known to the writer.  Reading, however, is more complex since it involves the analysis of each graphic symbol into its unique sound.  The act of decoding (reading) is a translation of someone else's thoughts, which represent an unknown, whereas writing language is self-expression - recognizable by the writer (or the child who wrote it).  I like to have 4 year olds draw their own notes for the sounds we know so well.  We begin with Sol, Mi, and Do, starting at the top of the page and descending to the middle, and then to the bottom.    This prepares them for the act of decoding musical notation at the appropriate time!   (source: Musikgarten/Music Matters)