Reminder! NO lessons July 26- August-9.
If you forget, my Mom will be here to check your theory assignments 🙂
Category Archives: Theory
Who Slobbered On My Songbook? New VU Book For Summer
This laugh-out-loud resource follows the hilarious adventures of a homework-hungry dog who has been framed for chewy crime he didn’t commit.
Inside you will discover 7 piano solos, a teacher-student duet, warm-up exercises, note reading games, sight-reading and rhythm activities, a practice tracker, and a certificate.
If you want to check it out, the Studio has a couple copies. As always, students who would benefit from this book will get a free copy.
Daily Listening Assignments ~ June 30, 2020
John Cage 4’33”
Daily Listening Assignments ~ June 23, 2020
Schools Closed? We have a Plan!
Note: As of March 16, 2020, All FCPS school buildings are closed until further notice.
What Will Happen If Schools Close In Fairfax County?
Piano lessons will continue because we have a plan!
Please note that I clean the piano and keyboard keys with Clorox wipes between each student. Students are expected to wash hands before lessons and after using the restroom. Hand sanitizer is available.
I am continuously monitoring press releases from public health officials both locally and nationwide and have developed a plan for continuity in piano lessons should we need to implement it.
If any of the school districts that students in our studio attend close down or the health department provides suggestions to more seriously limit interaction and engage in social distancing, piano lessons will continue for students of ALL ages.
Our contingency plan if Fairfax County Schools close is to:
- Close the physical studio temporarily
- Provide online lesson options completely customized towards each student using an app/website called Tonara. All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- All assignments are due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new ones along with comments about the past week will be given during the regular lesson time. Students will still be expected to continue practicing, completing all assignments and demonstrating progress.
- We started using Tonara March 11, 2020 for assignments so that students will be accustomed to it is needed for real.
- There will be assigned theory games using an app called SproutBeat. You can download this in the app store. All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- There may be assigned theory games using a website called SproutBeat Leap. You use it in a browser window at https://leap.sproutbeat.com/home . All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- There may be written theory work from your assigned theory book If so, please take a picture of it in Tonara and upload it along with other assignments. It could also be scanned and emailed to maryoconnor@gmail.com
- For students with iPads, please be sure that you have downloaded PianoMaestro. There will be weekly assignments listed under “Home Challenge”. Please try to get 3 stars. It is possible to slow the pieces down but you may lose points/stars doing so. If it’s really hard, try the Learn Mode.
- For students without iPads, I will assign at least one or two pieces to be videoed in the Tonara app/website and submitted to me for feedback. These will be due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new (or review) ones will be given during the regular lesson time. Feedback will also be provided during the scheduled lesson time.
- Depending on how long school is canceled, we may have online lessons using StreamYard as a virtual piano studio during the regularly scheduled lesson time. I will create a ‘broadcast’ for the day and send the same link to all my students. When a student clicks in I see them “backstage” and add them to the lesson, so we can both see/hear each other. Then when the lesson is over the next one has already arrived. I click that one through and the 3 of us are there for a minute. they say hello/goodbye just like in a live lesson.
- Other Apps you might want to try at home:
- Theory: Music Theory Pro – a great tool for preparing for auditions: scales, chords, intervals and more
- Theory: Jungle Journey
- Rhythm: Rhythm Swing – a fun, interactive game that covers basic note values
- Rhythm: Rhythm Lab – assign rhythms for students to practice and tap- hands alone or together
- Rhythm: Rhythm Cat
- Note-Reading: Flashnote Derby – a customizable game where students ‘race’ to select the correct note
- Note-Reading: Note Squish: think whac-a-mole with notes. Also customizable by clef (includes alto clef!)
- Note-Reading: Noteworks
- Note-Reading: Staff Wars
- Note-Reading: Note Rush: great for keyboard geography. Students have to play the note that pops up
- Note-Reading: Treble Cat
- Note-Reading: Bass Cat
- Ear Training: Beat Melody – great intro to ear training
- Ear Training: Ear Cat
Your payment will still be due at the same time. All assignments are due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new ones along with comments about the past week will be given during the regular lesson time. Students will still be expected to continue practicing, completing all assignments and demonstrating progress.
If you have an underlying health concern or family member who has one that you believe puts you in a high-risk group and you would like to take steps ahead of time to mitigate your exposure, please let me know and I will set up online lessons for you (see #10 above).
Did I forget anything? Questions or comments?
All About Music Theory
As all my students know, I teach theory with all piano and organ lessons. Sometimes, it’s from a theory book that matches a lesson book, sometimes on the fly on an “as needed” basis.
This book looks like it would be interesting to use as a review or to look ahead and see what’s coming. I have just ordered a copy for the studio if you want to check it out at the next lesson.
From amazon.com:
If you wish there was a fun and engaging way to help you understand the fundamentals of music, then this is it. Whether it’s learning to read music, understanding chords and scales, musical forms, or improvising and composing, this enjoyable guide will help you to finally start understanding the structure and design of music.
This fun-filled, easy-to-use guide includes:
* Music notation
* Scales and modes
* Melody harmonization and counterpoint
* Chord progressions
* Song form and structureListen and learn with the CD that has 90 tracks, including over 50 popular songs such as:
* Beauty and the Beast
* Candle in the Wind
* Imagine
* In the Air Tonight
* Killing Me Softly with His Song
* Let It Be
* Message in a Bottle
* Misty
* Satin Doll
* Take the ‘A’ Train
* Unchained Melody
* What’d I Say
* and more!
Schools Closing? We have a Plan!
What Will Happen If Schools Close In Fairfax County?
Piano lessons will continue because we have a plan!
Please note that I clean the piano and keyboard keys with Clorox wipes between each student. Students are expected to wash hands before lessons and after using the restroom. Hand sanitizer is available.
I am continuously monitoring press releases from public health officials both locally and nationwide and have developed a plan for continuity in piano lessons should we need to implement it.
If any of the school districts that students in our studio attend close down or the health department provides suggestions to more seriously limit interaction and engage in social distancing, piano lessons will continue for students of ALL ages.
Our contingency plan if Fairfax County Schools close is to:
- Close the physical studio temporarily
- Provide online lesson options completely customized towards each student using an app/website called Tonara. All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- All assignments are due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new ones along with comments about the past week will be given during the regular lesson time. Students will still be expected to continue practicing, completing all assignments and demonstrating progress.
- We started using Tonara March 11, 2020 for assignments so that students will be accustomed to it is needed for real.
https://youtu.be/eFCaRZhRKm4 - There will be assigned theory games using an app called SproutBeat. You can download this in the app store. All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- There may be assigned theory games using a website called SproutBeat Leap. You use it in a browser window at https://leap.sproutbeat.com/home . All students have been assigned user names and passwords already. Your log-in information is in your student’s notebook or I will send it to you.
- https://youtu.be/8XtYuGAk41A
- There may be written theory work from your assigned theory book If so, please take a picture of it in Tonara and upload it along with other assignments. It could also be scanned and emailed to maryoconnor@gmail.com
- For students with iPads, please be sure that you have downloaded PianoMaestro. There will be weekly assignments listed under “Home Challenge”. Please try to get 3 stars. It is possible to slow the pieces down but you may lose points/stars doing so. If it’s really hard, try the Learn Mode.
- For students without iPads, I will assign at least one or two pieces to be videoed in the Tonara app/website and submitted to me for feedback. These will be due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new (or review) ones will be given during the regular lesson time. Feedback will also be provided during the scheduled lesson time.
- Depending on how long school is canceled, we may have online lessons using StreamYard as a virtual piano studio during the regularly scheduled lesson time. I will create a ‘broadcast’ for the day and send the same link to all my students. When a student clicks in I see them “backstage” and add them to the lesson, so we can both see/hear each other. Then when the lesson is over the next one has already arrived. I click that one through and the 3 of us are there for a minute. they say hello/goodbye just like in a live lesson.
- Other Apps you might want to try at home:
- Theory: Music Theory Pro – a great tool for preparing for auditions: scales, chords, intervals and more
- Theory: Jungle Journey
- Rhythm: Rhythm Swing – a fun, interactive game that covers basic note values
- Rhythm: Rhythm Lab – assign rhythms for students to practice and tap- hands alone or together
- Rhythm: Rhythm Cat
- Note-Reading: Flashnote Derby – a customizable game where students ‘race’ to select the correct note
- Note-Reading: Note Squish: think whac-a-mole with notes. Also customizable by clef (includes alto clef!)
- Note-Reading: Noteworks
- Note-Reading: Staff Wars
- Note-Reading: Note Rush: great for keyboard geography. Students have to play the note that pops up
- Note-Reading: Treble Cat
- Note-Reading: Bass Cat
- Ear Training: Beat Melody – great intro to ear training
- Ear Training: Ear Cat
Your payment will still be due at the same time. All assignments are due by the beginning of the student’s regularly scheduled lesson time and new ones along with comments about the past week will be given during the regular lesson time. Students will still be expected to continue practicing, completing all assignments and demonstrating progress.
If you have an underlying health concern or family member who has one that you believe puts you in a high-risk group and you would like to take steps ahead of time to mitigate your exposure, please let me know and I will set up online lessons for you (see #10 above).
Did I forget anything? Questions or comments?
Technic Series: Scales and Arpeggios
PDF Article on Scales and Arpeggios
In music, a scale is any set of musical notes ordered by fundamental frequency or pitch.
An arpeggio (it. /arˈpeddʒo/) is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than being played together like a chord. This word comes from the Italian word “arpeggiare”, which means “to play on a harp”. An alternative translation of this term is “broken chord”.
How to Read Notes on the Treble Clef
This is the high notes’ answer to “All About That Bass (Clef)“. This video teaches the lines and space notes of the treble clef.
This is the high notes’ answer to “All About That Bass (Clef)“. This video teaches the lines and space notes of the treble clef.
A Great Book For Parents or Adult Students
I have several copies of this book for the music studio so parents can check it out to see if it would be useful for them to buy for home use. If any of the studio parents have this book already, please let me know what you think.
Some of my adult students have this and have found it helpful in doing theory assignments.
From Amazon:
Help Your Kids with Music is a step-by-step visual guide to music theory and is the perfect primer to help students gain a solid foundation in music, no matter their age, skill level, or instrument.
Help Your Kids with Music clearly explains key concepts in five step-by-step chapters:
- The Basics explains the types of instruments, notation for keyboard and stringed instruments, the “musical alphabet,” and counting a beat.
- Rhythm covers the length of notes and rests, as well as basic rhythms and meters, phrasing, syncopation, tempo, and using a metronome.
- Tone and Melody includes everything a student needs to know about tones and how they work together to build a melody.
- Chords and Harmony shows how intervals work together and includes examples for horn and woodwind instruments.
- Form and Interpretation helps students understand how musical form can aid appreciation and interpretation for classical, jazz, blues, and other musical styles.
Sample pages:
MaryO'Studio 