The tour de force of today’s 12th lesson, was Rina’s stair climbing. In all, she scaled five steps, ascending and descending, to absorb the concept of MELODY. It was the focus of Chapter 12, Tales of a Musical Journey by Irina Gorin.
Prior to today’s class, Rina had played assigned notes among seven previously learned, and tapped each to prerecorded music included in the instruction. Teaching goals have circumscribed fostering a round, relaxed hand position with a supple wrist; producing a singing tone, and assimilating long sounds (the equivalent of half notes). Rina had also been encouraged to arrange black and white circles (short and long durations) on the piano rack, creating her own rhythms before playing them with assigned notes and finger numbers.
Book one makes an easy transition to the Melody unit by introducing a colorfully illustrated royal set of stairs that lead to “Princess Melody’s” bedroom in the castle’s highest tower. She has named the SOUNDS on each step/stair, making them “feel very special.”
Gorin’s narrative is richly imaginative with colorful pictures interspersed that engage the interest of a young beginner.
Before Rina scaled my staircase on which I had placed a flash card note name for each step, she had tapped all eight white keys going up and down in the piano’s mid range, enriched by my chordal accompaniment.
Finally as reinforcement of MELODY in the context of step-wise motion, Rina penciled in the letter names on each stair in the circular spaces provided in Gorin’s book and further brought them to life by singing the notes.
During the week, Rina will practice playing her 8-note progression going up and down, using finger numbers 2, 3, and 4 of each hand, separately assigned.
To cap our lesson, Rina and I practiced Rebikov’s “Bear” in readiness for her performance this Saturday at the MTAC Fall Festival. (Halloween theme recital)
It will be the first of many joyful playing opportunities.
RELATED:
http://pianoaddict.com/2011/07/review-tales-of-a-musical-journey/
