Listen to a piece of music. Find the steady beat. Clap and march along. Describe where it is fast or slow. This is called the TEMPO.
Extension: Listen for patterns in the rhythm (long and short notes). See if you can copy it. Is the pattern played more than one time in the song?
Skills: Finding a steady beat, imitation, motor skills.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
More Violin Recital Pictures!
Everyone did such a great job at the violin recital on Saturday. If you have any pictures you would like me to post, please send them to me at tonya@elkgrovemusiclessons.com and I will add them to this collection!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
"Charlie Brown and Friends"
Spotlight Musical Theater will be presenting "Charlie Brown and Friends" this Saturday, October 30.
The performance begins at 4pm
and will be held
at Peace Presbyterian Church
9145 Franklin Blvd
Elk Grove, CA 95758
This performance is FREE and everyone is welcome to enjoy the music and comedy!
The performance begins at 4pm
and will be held
at Peace Presbyterian Church
9145 Franklin Blvd
Elk Grove, CA 95758
This performance is FREE and everyone is welcome to enjoy the music and comedy!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Costumed Violin Recital a Success!!
Special congratulations to Dana for finishing Book 1 and Mandy for her Book 2 solo. Well Done!!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Free Violin Concert This Saturday!
When: Saturday, October 23
Time: 4:30pm
Where: NewSongs, drama room, 10471 Grant Line Road, Elk Grove
What: Listen to our violin students play their latest pieces! They have been doing a great job getting ready and are excited to show us their stuff!
This is also a great time for students who are thinking about playing the violin to listen to violin music and meet our wonderful violin teachers, Ms. Sydney and Ms. Rachel!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Enjoying Music with Your Preschooler
(Ages Two to Five)
- Provide all kinds of rhythm instruments for your child to experiment with.
- Purchase age-appropriate CD players and teach your child how to use them. Let her start her own music collection.
- Give children scarves, feathers, or ribbons and turn on classical music and let them dance, sing and improvise to the music.
- Play clapping games to see if they can match a variety of simple and complex rhtyhms.
- Read to and help your child memorize all kinds of poems and Mother Goose rhymes that have a strong musical rhythm.
- Read stories about great composers, instruments of the orchestra, and general music books.
- Play marches in the morning as your child is getting ready for the day. She will enjoy marching to the bath, to dress or to eat. The strong rhythmic beat will help her accomplish these tasks with ease as well as keep her focused on the task at hand.
- Play music for your child throughout the day.
- Play classical music while your child is going to sleep at night and when she is getting up in the morning.
- Enroll your child in group music classes.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Everyday Music Activity For Everyone #1
Listen to a piece of music and draw a picture.
What does the music make you think about?
Show whatever you imagine: an action, a person, a feeling, a shape or color.
Watch Disney's Fantasia or Fantasia 2000 for inspiration.
Skills: identifying mood and timbre; art
What does the music make you think about?
Show whatever you imagine: an action, a person, a feeling, a shape or color.
Watch Disney's Fantasia or Fantasia 2000 for inspiration.
Skills: identifying mood and timbre; art
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Enjoying Music with your Baby
(Birth to Age Two)
Music education doesn't just begin at birth. It begins during the nine months of gestation! Hearing is the first fully developed sense of a baby, being developed while in the womb. The unborn baby can hear voices, especially mom's and music.
It is important to introduce newborns to music as well. Here are some suggestions for getting music into the newborn baby's day.
Music education doesn't just begin at birth. It begins during the nine months of gestation! Hearing is the first fully developed sense of a baby, being developed while in the womb. The unborn baby can hear voices, especially mom's and music.
It is important to introduce newborns to music as well. Here are some suggestions for getting music into the newborn baby's day.
- Sing or play songs to your newborn as often as possible throughout the day, especially while you are bathing, dressing, and feeding him.
- At night, play soothing classical music or vocal lullabies as he falls asleep.
- Play musical games and fingerplays. Clap the beat as you sing and take his hands and clap the beats along with him.
- Purchase age-appropraite musical toys and rhythm instruments. Xylophones, bells and rattles are wonderful beginning instruments.
- As you sing to your child, vary the tempo, the softness, and the loudness. Make your voice go up and down from low sounds to high sounds.
- Expose him to age-appropriate musical experiences and classes offered in the community.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Write a Song with Your Child!
Our names represent us! Children love to hear their names in a song. This activity will help instill a positive self-worth as well as show your child how much you love her!
Write your own song to sing with your child using her name as the basis. It is easier than you think!
Angel was delighted to do this project with me. She was smiling the whole time and felt really important singing our finished product to daddy.
It is important to allow your child to help you as much as possible! Write the song together. Then sing it all the time. You could incorporate musical instruments to make it more lively! But most importantly, Have Fun!
Write your own song to sing with your child using her name as the basis. It is easier than you think!
- Start with a popular tune such as Jingle Bells, BINGO, Mary Had a Little Lamb etc.
- Find some words that rhyme with her name
- Find some words that describe who she is or what she likes to do
- Fit the words in with the tune
Angel Joy, Angel Joy
She likes dolls and toys
She's so good at drawing and art
She reads with all her heart!
Angel Joy, Angel Joy
She loves to play outside
She has lots of sisters
And she's always by their side!
Angel was delighted to do this project with me. She was smiling the whole time and felt really important singing our finished product to daddy.
It is important to allow your child to help you as much as possible! Write the song together. Then sing it all the time. You could incorporate musical instruments to make it more lively! But most importantly, Have Fun!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Nurturing Your Child With Music: How Sound Awareness Creates Happy, Smart and Confident Children
By John M. Ortiz, PH.D
This book is designed as a hands-on, practical guide that parents can turn to when searching for creative alternatives to nurture their children. The purpose of this book is to provide a guide through which parents and other caregivers can more effectively nurture their children by raising, or cultivating, their sound awareness.
John M. Ortiz is a licensed psychologist who uses sound awareness and music to help his clients and their families.
There are great exercises for raising musical awareness in infants, using music to help toddlers and preschoolers develop their language skills, teaching children to listen, using music to create relaxation and calmness as well as to stimulate our children and get them moving.
The author presents a variety of opportunities for parents to bond with their children. His main purpose is to help families connect with one another, create memories, and maintain happy, relaxed and productive home environments.
This book is designed as a hands-on, practical guide that parents can turn to when searching for creative alternatives to nurture their children. The purpose of this book is to provide a guide through which parents and other caregivers can more effectively nurture their children by raising, or cultivating, their sound awareness.
John M. Ortiz is a licensed psychologist who uses sound awareness and music to help his clients and their families.
There are great exercises for raising musical awareness in infants, using music to help toddlers and preschoolers develop their language skills, teaching children to listen, using music to create relaxation and calmness as well as to stimulate our children and get them moving.
The author presents a variety of opportunities for parents to bond with their children. His main purpose is to help families connect with one another, create memories, and maintain happy, relaxed and productive home environments.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
NewSongs is Now a Part of Donation Program!
NewSongs is excited to be a part of The MusicLink Foundation Instrument Donation Program!
We are collecting instruments at NewSongs. Please bring any instruments you would like to donate to our studio. All donations are tax deductable.
We are collecting instruments at NewSongs. Please bring any instruments you would like to donate to our studio. All donations are tax deductable.
The MusicLink Foundation welcomes donations of new or gently used instruments from businesses or the community. We are pleased to see instruments go into children’s homes where they will be used for years of musical training and development. Our MusicLink network of teachers and businesses guide this training through lessons, materials, and opportunities.
We are especially in need of touch sensitive electronic keyboards and string instruments of all types and sizes, but will accept nearly any instrument that is in good playable condition. Instruments are loaned to children who cannot afford to rent or purchase one of their own. If students show the commitment to continue MusicLink lessons for 4 years, they are allowed to take ownership of the instrument. In the case of keyboards, the Foundation, when possible, will replace the keyboard with a donated acoustic piano upon the recommendation of the private instructor. The piano will then belong to the MusicLink family after the required 4 years of lessons and the keyboard will be recovered and re-loaned to a new MusicLink student.
Your in-kind donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by law and you will receive a Tax Receipt from the MusicLink Foundation with our thanks for helping another student realize their dream of having music lessons.
To donate an instrument, go to our website: http://www.musiclinkfoundation.org/ Click on “How You Can Help” or call the MusicLink Foundation at 703-534-9490.
Or contact us at NewSongs at 916 714-4544 or michael@elkgrovemusiclessons.com
Or contact us at NewSongs at 916 714-4544 or michael@elkgrovemusiclessons.com
Saturday, October 2, 2010
"Music has the Power to Change Us."
Book Review: Good Music Brighter Children, by Sharlene Habermeyer
In the book, Good Music Brighter Children, Sharlene Habermeyer explores the scientific research on the effects music has on the brain, how to set the tone with music in your home, being an advocate for music education in our schools and then lists great resources for exposing great music and musical experiences to our children.
Introducing children to good music can:
Did you know: "Scientists have found that music involves both left, right, front, and back portions of the brain, which explains why people can learn and retain information more readily when it is set to music." Children learn better with music. We have seen that with how quickly little children can learn nursery rhymes and their ABC's set to music.
Did you know: "When children expend the consistent effort required to learn a musical instrument, they discover that the discipline of this day-to-day task will affect how they approach their other responsibilities in life, such as the effort they put into their school studies or the degree of diligence they give to the development of other talents."
Did you know: "Listening to classical music can increase memory and concentration, and studying a musical instrument has been shown to increase spatial reasoning."
Did you know: "Additionally, studying a musical instrument helps develop imagination, invention, creative thinking, communication, and teamwork skills - precisely those attributes needed for a twenty-first century global work force."
Music education develops creativity, critical thinking skills and leadership qualitities needed in today's technological society. Hungary, Japan and the Netherlands have come out on top for science proficiency of their students. What do these countries offer in their schools that we don't? For one thing - training in music and the arts!
There are many ways to expose our children to music. Starting before birth, we can play different types of music in our homes. We can enroll our children in music classes even before they are ready to learn an instrument. Then when they are old enough, about 5-7 years old, we can give them instruction on learning a specific instrument. We can also expose them to ballets, operas, orchestras and concerts. There are always free or low cost activities in the community or we can play great CD's and watch DVD's. Habermeyer lists her favorite resources for you to find at the library or music store.
"Music whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence and whereto." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
In the book, Good Music Brighter Children, Sharlene Habermeyer explores the scientific research on the effects music has on the brain, how to set the tone with music in your home, being an advocate for music education in our schools and then lists great resources for exposing great music and musical experiences to our children.
Introducing children to good music can:
- Accelerate language development
- Improve math and science skills
- Enhance physical coordination
- Strengthen memeory and reading retention
- Benefit children with learning diabilities
Did you know: "Scientists have found that music involves both left, right, front, and back portions of the brain, which explains why people can learn and retain information more readily when it is set to music." Children learn better with music. We have seen that with how quickly little children can learn nursery rhymes and their ABC's set to music.
Did you know: "When children expend the consistent effort required to learn a musical instrument, they discover that the discipline of this day-to-day task will affect how they approach their other responsibilities in life, such as the effort they put into their school studies or the degree of diligence they give to the development of other talents."
Did you know: "Listening to classical music can increase memory and concentration, and studying a musical instrument has been shown to increase spatial reasoning."
Did you know: "Additionally, studying a musical instrument helps develop imagination, invention, creative thinking, communication, and teamwork skills - precisely those attributes needed for a twenty-first century global work force."
Music education develops creativity, critical thinking skills and leadership qualitities needed in today's technological society. Hungary, Japan and the Netherlands have come out on top for science proficiency of their students. What do these countries offer in their schools that we don't? For one thing - training in music and the arts!
There are many ways to expose our children to music. Starting before birth, we can play different types of music in our homes. We can enroll our children in music classes even before they are ready to learn an instrument. Then when they are old enough, about 5-7 years old, we can give them instruction on learning a specific instrument. We can also expose them to ballets, operas, orchestras and concerts. There are always free or low cost activities in the community or we can play great CD's and watch DVD's. Habermeyer lists her favorite resources for you to find at the library or music store.
"Music whispers to us dim secrets that startle our wonder as to who we are, and for what, whence and whereto." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
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