Progress of Mel02 -- 4.5 year old (4th week)

Mel02 wrote: Ten day back video, playing Musette in P5 mode

I love her performance very much!
Now I understand, why may be hard for her to play with the videos. Her fingers are tiny and she plays real piano - not a keyboard.

Weighted keys will help her fingers to become stronger, but you shouldn't stop on the songs 'till they will be polished to the video level.
I would recommend you to move on to new pieces after complete memorizing and being able to play it with computer and without.

Great job!

Mel02,

I am sorry for being late with my answers!
I hope that formation of our PTO will give me more flexibility with my time and increase my presence in the forum.

Mel02 wrote: Hi Helene,


I went over the "Summer Curriculum" again thinking over my question in last post, I think all you and others have indicated about ear, in the description, it says listen, but is it to "listen to chords" or "listen to the harmony between the chords and the right hand tune" ? In the weekend, when we tried the game, I found I was weak in saying "listen", I don't what to listen about, what to tune in. So the child was lost about it.

Well, the task is more simple that it seems like.
Here some steps in such activity:

1. Open a Solfeggio and Chords Album (btw, did you get your 2_6 update, 'cause I placed Level numbers next to each Album and you don't have to think twice, where to start.

2. Open the FIRST piece of the Album and press S to listen the piece (I always recommend to listen any music on the 6th presentation)

3. Press L3 . It is important! Do not use 5 or 6. Your daughter needs some 'break' in thinking process. In no means does she have to guess the notes names. The goal now is to 'get' 3 chords with ease (coordination wise). The goal is achieved, when her left hand is having perfect score in almost 0 time. Don't worry, if the songs being memorized or not, but COORDINATION in playing these chords have to be established!

4. Press L 3 (H) - now you have to play these chords using your memory/ear and try to make perfect score.

5. After such practice with the first piece, you open 2nd, 3rd etc and practicing like this: S and LH.

If to practice playing chords often and make it routine, you and your daughter will catch them very quickly.

Also, when you mentioned "ear/memory", did you mean by memory of ear, I often cheated by eye, when the sheets went over, I can see the pattern of the chords right away, so should we do the listening by closing eye?

Sure! Why not? You may watch or not watch the chords, but the goal is to play all the Albums and explore all the chords. Limited amount of mistake - to perfect score is a must!

Did you mean play at LH by from memory-- what you heard? And maybe even at playing at LH, close eye or turn the compute screen away?

No, just guess the chords. Believe it or not, but entire classical music is being built on 3 chords: Tonic, Sub dominant and Dominant. Tonic is a mother, who is gathering all family members around and taking care of everybody. Well, I wrote, who Tonic is in my 'Kingdom of Tune' - her word is always the last in any music piece. Dominant is Tonic's husband. He is absent minded and always asking questions. (In our Introductory songs, for example, Tonic is Do So or C G chord of left hand and the Dominant is Fa So or F G). Sub-dominant is their dear child that tends to be and to mother and to father and sounds not as sharp and demanding (Fa La or F A)

By learning to recognize these 3 chords you will open the door to harmonization of any melody and will be able to transpose as well.

How does musician pick chord? I know there is music theory to assign chord to a song, (my music teacher when I learned keyboard in middle school taught us and I practices a few songs), but that was reading the notes and do some calculation, it was more math to me. Does musician listen to song first, then pick chords in real time?

Yes. And for centuries people considered this skill possible just for musically inclined people. With Soft Mozart we develop abilities to hear and produce the chords from scratch.

Here is couple of videos of how my students are learning to do this:

5-year-old girl working with chords recognition:



I teach 9 year old students to pick up chords in Minor:



Let me know, if my explanation helps!