Eight-year old Claudia surprised me today when she brought a melody she had composed. Her new book, Faber Adventures, Lesson Book One inspired her to create a piece beginning with notes on the first four lines of the treble staff.
Together, we explored the first phrase of her music, worked on fingering, rhythm and added a bass part that derived from the melodic outline. Discussion about articulation, phrasing, and dynamics enlarged and enriched the activity. The treble and bass lines were notated correctly on manuscript paper.
Claudia added another phrase that was videotaped and included here. She will now practice her piece in the way we approached it at her lesson, step-by-step, beginning with separate hands. Dynamics and phrasing will be an important part of her musical awareness.
RELATED:
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/piano-students-as-composers-stimulating-a-creative-teaching-environment/
Fritz, age 7, composes “Finding Gold”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFObHOAwNV0
