Marimba Ponies

OK. Forgive me if you have already seen this! I have been accused of not watching enough T.V., so I was pretty excited to find this video on You-tube while searching for something else. I am especially amazed at the tiny fellow at the marimba. Enjoy!

Piano Camp Week 2

Summer Piano Camp - Week 1

This was one of the best weeks ever for Piano Camp! Thank you parents and children. Enjoy the slide show... (48 pictures).

Why Group Lessons?

Group lessons means working together! It is vital to realize that group piano lessons are not just several people in the room at the same time. Singing , dancing, drumming and playing notation games together are activities which capitalize on the psychology of group participation.

Consider these contrasts between group and individual musical learning:

*Singing with a group is relaxed and fun. Singing alone can cause anxiety since so much attention is fixed on accuracy.

*Beat and rhythm are best experienced as part of a group. How can one learn to move expressively to music or follow a conductor by only practicing alone?

*Dancing and drumming create a joyful dynamic within a group. Here, the group synergy produces a mutually-enhancing experience whose whole surpasses the sum of its individual parts.

*Motivation through peer interaction is most effective. Prompting from an adult clearly takes second place and self-motivation will come later with maturity.

*Thorough deep learning occurs as a result of the group's multi-track approach to singing, moving, listening and discussing. Private lessons often end up dealing primarily with a student's own technical challenges.

As a group approach to piano study, Musikgarten capitalizes on the child's love for participating in activities with other children. The beginning piano student longs to be part of a group, especially one of peers. The group setting creates an ideal learning environment for children, and is especially ideal for music learning.
(adapted from Music Makers: At The Keyboard Teacher's Guide year 2)

Just for Fun

Music for Toddlers

Just a few snapshots so that you may see the youngest students at Dorla's Piano Studio in action! Adrianna, Gabriel and Tomas shaking the egg shakers to the music (t00 loud for Tomas?).
Even dads join our class from time to time and it is a special treat to hear them sing with their little ones. Keep bringing your dads Tomas and Miscily!
Even Samuel (who will be 6 in May) enjoys this class. He is supposed to be my assistant in class...
The happy faces of Elizabeth and Adrianna.

Office Orchestra

Thanks to T'resa Weaver for sharing this video with me!