Eileen (16 months) and Jolene (adult)

Hi, Eileensmum!

eileensmum wrote: Hi,

My little girl is a bit young to start fully yet although we printed flashcards to learn the symbols and she can identify Do on the keyboard, so I am trying to learn myself so I'm in a better position to support her when she is two.

Good choice! Our kids education should start with ours.

I've started a diary here as suggested in the reply to my forum post but I'm still finding my way with the software so it may not be correct! It was suggested that I start at Prep C Level so I tried to do Segment 1 today and here's what happened.

First I started to play Surprise Symphony in Gentle Piano

Right Hand
42 of 44 was the number in bottom left
17 was the number in the bottom right (not sure what it means)

It means that you made A wonderful job. You made only 2 mistakes and your time - 17 seconds - is much less then amount of notes played. You have excellent fine motor skills, eye/hand coordination.

Left Hand
23 of 23
11

Your left hand is also very well developed.

Both Hands
63 of 67
26

The numbers are still good (only 4 mistakes and 26 sec in delay). Using both hands now is your stage of development. You are going to see, how amount of your mistakes and time number will decrease every time. Ideal time is 0, but only machine cn do that. Our goal is to keep the time as low as possible.

Then I played the Guess Key Game. I played until it said 2:00 in the bottom right hand corner but it seemed like a lot more than 2 minutes. The score was 366.

This is a tricky game. I would recommend you to play it a minute at a time and stop by pressing F1. Every time you start the game, it takes you by different rout (based on how well you play). We call it 'game', but it is in fact a module that works with your mind developing skills to play piano keys without looking down, develop your voice and ear. Singing notes names contributes a lot to the task.

Next I played Mulberry Bush In Gentle Piano:

Right Hand
23 of 23
5

Left Hand
12 of 13
5

Both Hand
25 of 36
6

Then Hot Cross Buns in Gentle Piano:

Right Hand
15 of 15
4

Left Hand
21 of 22
7

Both Hands
34 of 37
17

I found it confusing to do the Fa then Sol notes on the left hand, don't think I was doing it properly.

Yes. Press them together at once!

Finally I played French Song in Gentle Piano:

Right Hand
27 of 28
5

French Song
Left Hand
19 of 20
3

French Song
Both Hands
47 of 48
13

It seems to me that you are very talented student.
Next steps for HCB and FS should be hiding the notes (Memorization): R, RH, L, LH, P and PH.

Please record at least your hands playing the pieces on You Tube. I will be able to help you to chose most effective repertoire for your development.

Again I got confused with the Fa then Sol notes on the left hand, especially when trying to play both hands together.

Yes, it is confusing: they are not sitting on the yellow line together, but it is common way to write them down. Just consider them as unit.

I'm really not sure if I have followed curriculum right so far so any advice would be great!

I think, you start is very remarkable. Videos /screen shots would be a great help for teachers to judge your progress. But the numbers are telling me that you are going to play several pieces at Holiday recital. Keep up your great job!

eileensmum wrote: Thanks for all your guidance. I haven't been able to get any video as we have recently moved house and the web camera is still packed away somewhere.

I've continued practising and for Surprise Symphony I am currently getting 67/67 with an 11 second delay but this is playing with two hands without hiding the notes.

Very good score!

On the Guess Key Game my latest score was 45 in 1 minute (using a timer).

Time should be 'game time': when expired, please, press F1 to stop the game

In Mulberry Bush with both hands and notes visible I am currently getting 35/36 with a 4 second delay.

It seems to me like you are readu for challenges

I have memoried Hot Cross Buns and playing it with both hands and notes hidden I am getting 37/37 with a 1 second delay.

He-he. I am going to give you couple of more piano pieces. These are way too easy for you.

I've also memorised French Song and playing it with both hands and notes hidden I am getting 48/48 with a 5 second delay.

Do I continue as is or should I be memorising the Surprise Symphony and Mulberry Bush too?

No. These pieces are for acquaintance with music appreciation/solfeggio/ sight-reading. They are not meant to be mastered.

I've also tried to play Old McDonald as it is my daughter's favourite song at the moment. With both hands and notes visible I am currently getting 94/98 with a 12 second delay. I've definitely found this harder than the other songs!

Aha! You pushed yourself to the 1st grade. This is good! I would give you:
Fav Classics 1 - Radetsky March
Nursery 1 - Old Mc Donald, Pop! Goes the Weasel
Boogie 1 - Robot Rock

Please, don't miss this announcement and let me know, what do you think: www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=60822848...98340&type=1&theater