Rina’s mother attends her daughter’s lessons, takes notes, and receives a follow-up assignment.
Today, I sent her a video that summarized what we had accomplished yesterday along with a goal-setting outline.
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The child has been working on her legato which is a new and enticing musical universe. For the better part of 6 months she’s had considerable saturation with single, detached notes, using one finger at a time.
Last week, I felt it was the perfect moment to join notes in a connected fashion because I’d seen her do this on her own, and felt she possessed the musical and physical ability to move forward.
Here’s a snatch of Rina’s legato from her last lesson:
And her preliminary work on Minuet by Reinagle:
SEE LESSON PLANNING FOR A FIVE-YEAR OLD STUDENT:
https://arioso7.wordpress.com/2012/03/08/lesson-planning-for-a-5-year-old-piano-student-video/
She’s now playing her “Frere Jacques” in Major and minor (with Eb) using connected fingers (Legato)
In this regard, Rina currently “reads” a pre-notational form of music, where the notes in various rhythmic values float in space, going up and down in STEPS and SKIPS. Bar lines have been inserted along with letter names and finger numbers. (These pre-staff landmarks have been gradually learned)
EXAMPLE of the format with “Frere Jacques”
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This latest video prepared for mom pertains to practicing an expanded five-finger warm-up in legato and the Reinagle Minuet in G Major.
NEW:
MY PREP VIDEO for the Reinagle piece, created earlier, encouraged ear-training, clapping and singing activity, etc. in readiness for playing.
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For the intricate intervals in measures 13-16, I’d planned to enlist staircase activity which is demonstrated on video. (Note that a FLAT can be added for the Parallel minor, which I illustrated at the conclusion of footage)
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Finally, here’s an overview of Rina’s progress before she embarked upon legato phrasing:
