Make me Musical !

Farewell February!

2012-02-28T15:13:00.002-08:00

It's been a busy, busy February so not much blogging seemed to get done the past few weeks.

It was birthday season in our family (including mine) so there were many celebrations and I even closed my studio for a few days to enjoy all the festivities. If you're reading this on my actual site...check over in the sidebar...there are some photo tweets with links to pix.

I've attended two Music Therapy Pro-D events

the online Online Music Therapy Conference OMTC 2012)
and the Music Therapy Continuing Education Day at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in the town where I live.

Both conferences were fantastic and completely different! The online conference was held over a 24-hour period with presentations at all hours of the day. It was so convenient to attend from the comfort of home and it was recorded so I've been able to take the time to listen to the presentations that occurred while I was sleeping.

The local music therapy day was incredibly fun and I had an opportunity to play with the amazing Soundbeam equipment (the highlight for me).

I've been taking part in Kat Fulton's Online Zennn website building course, working on my new studio website. I LOVE KAT'S COURSE! I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to build their confidence while building their own site.

That's it for me for now and I am promising to post some useful goodies throughout March:)

Hoping your once-every-4-years Feb.29 is wonderful!

Practise Pillow

2012-02-05T16:24:00.002-08:00

click on image to enlarge

We all need a little motivation sometimes. This is something I recently made for a young fiddle student. It's a practise pillow.

How to make the practise pillow

1. Find a pillow that will be adored.

Notice the glittering flower center! ooh-la-la...!

2. Collect several buttons that will be adored.

3. String the buttons onto a skinny ribbon.

We were going to use beads but then I found adorable doggie buttons and fancy flower buttons. Perfect for an 8-year old girl who just happens to have a new puppy she is completely in love with.

If the button hole is too tiny for the ribbon to slide through, use tiny safety pins and attach to the buttonhole. Then string the closed pin onto the ribbon and slide with the pin.

4. Pin the ribbons lengthwise across the back of the pillow.

There's even a "Susan-head" button. That's to remind this little girl that her teacher (that's me...Susan) thinks she's wonderful and has faith in her and that she CAN DO IT.

5. Use this practise pillow as an abacus to keep track of boring repetitions in technique work (some kids do find playing a scale or finger exercise to be dead boring) or tricky bits in a song that need to be memorized.

Every time she plays that tricky passage she's focussing on, she gets to move one of the cute buttons over to the other end of the ribbon.

We know children feel great once they've mastered something but sometimes they just need a little help getting there.

This was the perfect solution for this little girl. She can display her cushion on the pretty side when she's not practising and then flip it over and manipulate those fancy buttons on days she needs a little boost.

Susan and Moka planning next week's classes

2012-01-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

Have you seen the recent cover of the The New Yorker?

My husband thought the pianist and I had remarkably similar hair.

If you click on the picture to make it larger you might be able to read the caption he wrote

"Susan and Moka rehearsing at home"

9 Reasons to use Body Percussion

2012-01-30T15:09:00.000-08:00

Why body percussion?

If you've ever been to an Orff workshop you'll know how integral body percussion is to the learning process. I was taught (over and over) that you don't need the actual Orff instrumentarium to teach an Orff program. Body percussion, speech and singing, improvisation and dance were really the foundational building blocks of an Orff program.

In my early days exploring these foundational building blocks I LOVED body percussion. I used it everywhere and at all times of day in my classroom (I was a classroom teacher then).

If you were to ask me now why use body percussion (B/P) this is what I'd say...

It's fun!
It improves concentration abilities.
Children love to make sounds with body percussion.

It can be an energetic or emotional release to perform body percussion.
Using body percussion helps children to get inside the rhythm.
Once a rhythm has been internalized it can be expressed and played on their instruments with more ease.
Playing echo games with body percussion builds a rhythmic vocabulary in the body.
Playing simultaneous mirror games with body percussion improves ability to focus and increases awareness of subtle body movements.
You can use B/P to "conduct" instrument play with non-pitched percussion instruments.

with under 3 years:

use B/P to develop vocabulary for body parts (e.g. say "clap" when you "clap")
use B/P to bring awareness to the body's musical capabilities(e.g. clap a crescendo)
use B/P to build confidence (e.g. when we are all clapping together we create a feeling of fun and community and safety)

with 5 years and older:

use B/P to make texture in music (e.g. some groups clap while others stomp and snap)
use B/P to learn a rhythm that is later applied to an instrument
use B/P to keep kids moving and interested in learning

My Movement Display Board

2012-01-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

Musicalia's Movement Board

At Musicalia...we move!
There is a dedicated movement board with charts, words, pictures and it changes weekly.

Last week's board looked like this

I have posted charts and a giant metronome made by moi, also movement charts from Nurturing Pathways, Kindermusik, and lists of words inspired by Anne Green Gilbert's "Creative Dance for All Ages".

I have 2 bags of words on my board...a bag of locomotor words and a bag of non-locomotor words just in case I need them for a game. I also have lists of words posted.

Each week we learn a new movement concept. I follow Anne Green Gilbert's Creative Dance for All Ages program. Here we are learning "Body Shapes".

Last week's movement concept was "BODY SHAPES".

First we use our bodies to make each letter "B" "O" "D" "Y"...etc... I post the words for different shapes with a simple line drawing like this...

Each body shape card has a small drawing to illustrate the word.

The children copied the shapes and created their own shapes with their own bodies. We copied one another. We really had to practise symmetrical and asymmetrical until those words made sense. We had fun creating and improvising partner dances using our bodies to make different shapes.

Bag of strings...give a string to each student and let them play.

We can use string as an inspiration for moving our bodies. Throw the string in the air and copy the shape it makes when it lands on the floor.

After exploring the concept of "body parts" we're all dancing with some pretty creative moves. And now...it's time for yoga...

Close up of charts that remind us why we need to move our bodies when we are learning music.

February Newsletter is coming soon...

If you missed the last newsletter (you can sign up here if you're not on the list yet!) you missed some ideas for creative movement work with children. I'm sending February's letter out soon (before Valentine's Day).

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Have You Ever Found Yourself in Snowy Land?

2012-01-20T07:28:00.000-08:00

Our new greatest hit! This song helps us:

use our bodies creatively
use percussion...any ones we want
play a 8-beat phrase and stop together
play in ensemble and have fun
make choices about what and where we play and have it all be okay
feel good and smile

Have you ever found yourself in a snowy land?

(guitar chords G and D7)

Have you ever found yourself in a snowy land?

An icy town with snowflakes grand?

If you ever find yourself in a snowy land

just pick up an instrument and join the band!

Now converse with the kids

(what will we play?  body percussion?  shakers?  trumpets?)

Using non-pitched percussion (shakers, scrapers, skins, woods, metals)

Have you ever found a shaker in a snowy land,

an icy town, with snowflakes grand?

If you ever find a shaker in a snowy land,

just pick up a shaker and join the band!

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (everybody plays...especially the shakers)

Using other instruments

Have you ever found a trumpet in a snowy land

an icy town, with snowflakes grand?

If you ever find a trumpet in a snowy land,

just pick up your trumpet and join the band.

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (everybody plays...especially the trumpet)

(just a note...yesterday the sweetest 6 year old boy brought a trumpet to class and we sang this song and he tooted along with the band...oh my goodness...too sweet...and he really sounded fabulous with the drums!)

Using body percussion (snap, clap, pat, stomp, rub, clack)

Have you ever found yourself in a stomping land,

an icy town, with snowflakes grand?

If you ever find yourself in a stomping land,

just start stomping and join the band!

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (everybody plays...especially the body percussion people)

enjoy!

let me know what happens!

The Winter Woods have come down!

2012-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

A quick photo just before our "Christmas in Narnia" party this past December.

I painted this mural of the winter woods near Cair Paravel (from "The Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe" story...in case you're wondering) at the request of a group of children a few years ago. It's a big installation process to hang so it stays for all the Christmas parties once it's up.

This year one of the mom's asked if I would sell it to her for their family weekend ski home. I declined...we all love it so here at Musicalia...as you can see below...

Angel puppets and small children playing in the winter woods.


Yesterday was a New Year's clean-up day...the ladder's out...it's coming down...

View from top o'the ladder...14 foot ceilings are really high up!

I'll fold up my beautiful Narnian mural and save it for a future Narnian celebration.

Happy Birthday Musicalia!

2012-01-01T19:09:00.000-08:00

Today Musicalia is officially 19 years old!

Happy 19th Birthday, Musicalia!

I wrote my first Happy Birthday post last year

and then continued with about 120 posts since then.
There are really 2 major things I did this year.

-1st thing-
2011 was my year for learning about

creative computer-related things;

how to use Garageband,
how to upload my garageband creations to Bandcamp (thank you, Rachel Rambach),
how to use Skype (thank you my dear husband, Nigel),
how to work my new iPhone (I love my ocarina app!),
how to use iPhoto and iMovie,
how to use Facebook

...including creating a dedicated page (maybe you'd like to "LIKE" me???)
how to use a video camera and create videos,
uploading to YouTube,
how to work with web designers,
learning to create with Wishlist Member,
how to make a PDF (yes, I didn't even know how to do this),
how to use dropbox,
how to upload photos to Flickr,

how to use picnik (thank you, Rachel Rambach!),

gave up on my Bamboo tablet...oh well...

signed up for Twitter but I still don't really know how to use it...oh well...

how to add an accent on my computer to my
French student's names (this was my most satisfying skill-bit this year!),
learning how to use Aweber to create a newsletter (thank you to Kimberly Sena Moore for her encouragment with this),

creating advertizing to post on Rachel Rambach's Listen & Learn site,
became a member of Rachel's Listen & Learn Plus Premium site for members (so great!)
Rachel was amazing, helpful and oh so techie-savvy:) she helped me many times
(Thank you, Rachel!)

You know...I really just tried everything I could think of!

I was daunted but quietly determined so in the end I really have many more skills than I ever could have imagined I would ever have.

I took Kat Fulton's Online Zen course and learned how to build a wordpress site and I'm in the process of building Musicalia a new wordpress site right now! I actually had a new site built by a web developer this past year but the site is not behaving the way I'd hoped so I'm just going to build a new one myself (Thank you, Kat!).

-2nd thing-
And then there was Salzburg!

I was fortunate to spend most of July in Salzburg, Austria studying Orff at the Internationl Orff Conference and the International Summer Course at the Orff Institute and the Mozarteum. This trip was surreal for me (a dream more than 2 decades old) but oh so great!

Overall, I have learned that I'm still

a bit of a techie-idiot...

...sad but true...
...and what's more even though I was super excited every time I learned one new thing in the techie world, it was very, very hard and not really the most fun I've ever had. I felt pretty dumb most of the time. Of all the techie things I did it was Kat's course that was the most nurturing and gave me the most confidence in myself. I am so grateful to her for creating that course.

I have decided that 2012, the 19th year of Musicalia,
will be dedicated to spending much more of my time
creating in the old-fashioned way.

I'm getting back to my art; painting, sketching, drawing.

AND

I'm going to write paper notes, postcards and letters to my friends. I do love the immediacy of email...but I miss the warmth of handwriting and sending and receiving "real" mail.

One more thing I'm doing this year...

I am already thinking ahead to next January 1, 2013 and the big 20 year celebrations I hope to have for Musicalia! I don't know what we'll do yet and maybe all that will happen is I will have some t-shirts printed.

Right now I'm in the midst of re-negotiating my lease and it's challenging (my payments appear to be going up by more than 30%! ...gulp...) I hope Musicalia will survive this negotiaton process.

Thank you for your interest in my blog!
Thank you for your comments!

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday!

A Ukrainian Christmas Carol

2011-12-29T08:41:00.000-08:00

Susan and Erin sharing the headphones

A few weeks ago my cousin, Erin, asked if I would be willing to work with her to create a special Christmas gift for our Baba (that's our 97 year-old Ukrainian grandmother and there's a more recent pix of her here).

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://mspstudio.bandcamp.com/track/a-ukrainian-christmas-carol"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;A Ukrainian Christmas Carol by Erin and Susan&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Erin doesn't live in Victoria so we planned to get together when she came home for some pre-Christmas visiting this week. We had a couple of hours to explore different instruments and our voices and this is what we came up with. Erin is playing ukulele, I'm on guitar and we're both singing. Of course, our families are loving it:).

We presented this song on CD to Baba last week just before Christmas. Baba immediately began singing along to the recording in a strong voice. It was moving and wonderful! It seemed her singing was coming from deep inside her...truly magical.

This is a song I grew up hearing my grandmother, her sisters and their daughters sing. It seems to embody a connectedness between the generations for me and it holds a special place in my heart for sure. Neither Erin or I speak Ukrainian so we recorded it as best we could and it turned out to be the perfect way for our grandmother to sing along to.

I am sharing it with you along with a wish that 2012 be filled with as many beautiful, c r e a t i v e, musical, meaningful, festive!, celebratory moments you can possibly squeeze in!

Happy New Year!

How Big is My Christmas Parachute?

2011-12-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

JoAnn Jordan recently asked me, "How big is your parachute?"
I finally got the tape measure out...

My parachute (purchased over the phone and shipped from a military surplus store in Seattle, Washington) is 14 feet in diameter.

Last post I wrote about how much I love my parachute and in the last newsletter I shared several of my favorite parachute activities.

I have had some happy feedback about the parachute activities from those of you who are part of the newsletter group. If you are not receiving the newsletter yet, you can sign up here!

Christmas Parachute

2011-12-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

Our parachute just settling its delicate self.

I love my parachute.

It's not the typical institutional parachute that everyone seems to use with children these days. The typical ones are nice, of course, but I find them too heavy and not versatile enough to use with very young and also sensory-sensitive children.

Ours is a real, old-fashioned silk parachute purchased at an Army & Navy Surplus store.

It's white,
light-weight,
translucent for peeking through,
easy to store,
easy to hold and
still strong enough for our uses with young children in class.

I will be sending out the December newsletter soon. It will list some festive ways we use our parachute at Musicalia. If you haven't signed up for your own copy of the newsletter, you can do that here!

Where Will Santa Live?

2011-11-23T19:56:00.000-08:00

David Suzuki has a site with a seasonal message about global warming...and it's fun and interactive.

It also brings our attention to some serious concerns about where Santa will live once the polar ice cap has melted. This has nothing to do with music but it's playful:)

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating this weekend!

Reading Break for Teachers (and Moka) Too

2011-11-10T08:46:00.000-08:00

Moka takes a reading break...

So my studio is closed for a few days. My business is coming on 19 years and there have been a few things I have eventually figured out about being successful at this.

In about year 7 of running my own business, it finally dawned on me that the reason I was getting so sick every November was I was just plain tired.

The start up in the fall is so busy (August planning actually the busiest time for me) and then all the new children and the returning students in all their classes...there is so much to plan for and respond to...I find I don't get a lot of downtime.

In year 7, when it dawned on me I needed to rest a bit, I started booking off a few days in mid-November. Sometimes I would travel to the AOSA conference or take a trip up-island and stay somewhere quiet or (like this year) stay home, sleep in and, yes, do a little extra prep for the Christmas concert/party season.

So, my big plans for today include hanging out with Moka, walking on the beach, checking out an old friend's new line of greeting cards and eating, eating, eating:)

Singing Plants

2011-11-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I love this video!
What do you think?

The Boo! Curtain

2011-10-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Dressing up!

When you work with very small children dressing up at Halloween is not really an option. There is always one little person that just doesn't like the teacher to look different. So...I have never dressed up for Halloween at Musicalia...except for this year.

After 18 Halloween seasons (could Halloween be considered a season?) I am dressing up at the request of my oldest group (ages 8-12). They meet on Mondays and we're having a big Halloween party this year.

Last week I handed out invitations

I wrote Shakespeare-style then printed them out, rolled them up and placed each one inside a spider ring. I addressed one for each child, writing each name on a crackly, rotting oak leaf. The children loved them!

Double, double, toil and trouble...fire burn and cauldron bubble!

It's a busy party!

We will...

dance the Harry Potter Dance
perform the Dringo Bell creative movement piece (the kids LOVE this),
play Ghost Chickens in the Sky on guitar,
Old Joe Clark on fiddle,
then break into an Old Joe Clark band with fiddle, guitar, cello, singing original halloween verses about Old Joe Clark. (scare ye well, old joe clark, scare ye well I say)
perform Inchworm (what would Halloween be without worms??) as a Boomwhacker Orchestra
singing Trolls and Goblins
eat pizza and play Halloween charades
bob for poison apples

Last spring at our year-end celebration they asked me to be the "Evil Fairy". My hairdresser was very helpful in creating the fresh-from-the-forest look. She will not be available for my Halloween transformation however, so I've been busy gathering bits and pieces for my Scary Old Witch costume.

There's a big hat, a wig, a dress, a cape, green paint for my face, hands and feet, a long nose, black nail polish and old black fingerless gloves and my Book of Spells & Potions (it a fake book hiding the treats!).

Book of Spells and Potions

Hahahaha! Spooky treats...choose carefully.....!

I created an old broom with an long branch from our garden, tying old lavender, moss and twigs to the sweeping end for magical effect! I love this broom!

Witch Broom

I Love Halloween! (ages 2-5)

2011-10-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Love Halloween!
(sung to the tune: Love Somebody)

ages 18 months to 5 years

I love Halloween, yes I do!

I love Halloween with you, you, you!

continue singing the song with variations (see below)

*movement variation

*puppet variation

Process

1. Circle dance. Gather everyone into a circle and sing the song.

The first round of substitutions are movement words.

I love to roll, yes I do!, etc... (we all roll)

Click to check out my list of movement words here.

2. After several movement word verses, sing "I love puppets, yes I do!, etc..."

Find your puppets! I have a big bag full of finger puppets that are perfect for this tune.

We sing the song together as the children are gathering around. I hoard the puppet bag and take each puppet out one at a time...the children love the suspense.

Each child will come forward for the puppet that most attracts them. If there is an issue with more than one child wanting a puppet, we have the expectation of sharing...also I have another puppet that is sure to distract when necessary.

puppet verses:

(bat puppet) I love bats, yes I do! I love bats, yes I do! I love bats, yes I do! I love bats with you, you, you!

(skunk puppet) I love skunks, yes I do! ....you get the idea:)

3. We talk about the sounds each puppets makes as they are handed out.

The children seem to naturally take one and then put it down or give it to someone else as the song is sung through many verses.

4. We sing a clean-up song as we put the puppets back into the bag.

Rockin' Scarecrow Party! (download recording for singin' dancin' boomwhackin' percussin')

2011-10-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

The Scarecrow Family (ages 2-8)

The Scarecrow family likes to sway

On a windy autumn day.

When the stars come out at night

We dance with our friends in the pale moonlight!

Bow to your friend!

Call "Hello!"

Wiggle and shake and away we go!

(percussion orchestra)1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8

Scarecrow Party is our newest favorite tune at Musicalia. Kids and parents can sing, dance and play in the Halloween Band.

Free Download

Recording of Scarecrow Party (listen for the donkey jaw and the owl whistle)

Owl Whistle - so much fun:)

See the whistle hole on the back!

Teaching Process

1. Scarecrows

Ages 2-3 with parents

Ages 3-4 without parents

We pretend to be scarecrows swaying in the fields while I sing the song. No dancing, just swaying...stuck in one place like scarecrows on a stick.

When we get to the bowing and calling, we bow to our parents and call "hello!" with our parents.

During the counting to 8 we dance together as scarecrows in the field.

Ages 5-7 without parents

Need:

scarecrow stick puppets
puppets to be dancing friends with the scarecrows (we use crows, raccoons, bat, ghost, cat, hawk, spider...you get the idea)

Each child has 2 puppets. One hand holds the stick puppet and the other hand has a hand puppet to be the scarecrow's friend (bat, cat, ghost, raccoon...).
Practise swaying, bowing, calling. Bow with your puppets friends. Call hello in the puppet friend's voice. All of this can be rehearsed while sitting in a circle on the floor.
The children sway with their stick puppet during the verse. At the bowing and calling, they show bowing and calling with their puppets.
During the counting (1-8) the puppets dance together. At this point, the children will probably want to get up and go dancing around the room.

When the verse comes around again, ask the children to sway in one spot like a scarecrow stuck on a stick. They come off the stick during the bowing and calling and then dance again during the counting bits.

2. Percussion Orchestra

Ages 2-3 with parents

Ages 3-4 without parents
Ages 5-7 without parents
The percussion orchestra gets to play the dance music during the counting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

Donkey Jaw - perfect for our Halloween Band!

Non-pitched percussion
Any non-pitched percussion will work for this band. For the Halloween Band I gather the oddest looking ones first...

scrapers (frog callers, donkey jaw)
woods (any will do but we try to use strange looking ones)
shakers (jingle loop, and anything rattley)

Pitched percussion

Orff instruments set up with only D and A are fun to add to the mix. I use them with all ages.

Boomwhackers (D and A) the purple and orange ones. I mostly use these with ages 5 and older.

3. Scarecrow Party Performance

Let everyone choose their favorite part...

puppets(for older children),
dancing (all ages)
percussion orchestra (all ages) and can include Boomwhackers, Orff orchestra and non-pitched percussion.

I usually play guitar (mostly D chord with a couple of A7 and G chords) and sing to keep the song moving along.

Room on the Broom (part 2/2)

2011-10-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

Wall chart for Room on the Broom and Dragon Drum Rumble

This is Part 2 of the "Room on the Broom" play. Part 1 is here.
Last post we read the story and heard the song for Room on the Broom.

Today we learn the Dragon Drum Rumble and the Orff Orchestration.

2. Dragon Drum Rumble (drums and gong)

Wall chart

We are being musical!

reading repeat signs
reading crescendo and decrescendo
playing piano and forte
G! = gong
blue parts are played by drums (with hands or mallets)

Process

We practise playing crescendo (the dragon coming nearer) and decrescendo (the dragon flying away).
We play the word rhythm on the drums. ("I am the dragon, mean as can be, etc...)

3. Orff Orchestration

We learn as many parts as we can and simplify the ones that are too hard for the group (sometimes we get parents to play those parts).

Every time an animal asks if there is room on the broom we sing the song and play the instruments.

Room on the Broom - a simple recording of the Orff arrangement

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://mspstudio.bandcamp.com/track/room-on-the-broom-orff-orchestra"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Room on the Broom (orff orchestra) by Susan Seale&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

CBX - whole note D
BX/BM - D/A bordun (will you be my friend)
AM/AX/SM/SX - alternating D/A bordun
I used cello for alternating D/A bordun in the recording
GLOCKS - "tings on high D then low D" (on the word "me" in Is there any room for me?")
non-pitched percussion - play on the beat
scrapers - play on the word "any" (you'll hear this in the recording)

4. Choral Speaking!

When the animals rise up out of the bog covered in mud (we use black scarves as mud) and scare away the dragon, this is what they say..."Buzz off! That's my witch!" in a forte voice! (Those are the actual words used in the book...so we use them too...some of the kids know the story so if we don't use them...they want to anyway.)

5. Our modern 5-seater broom

chairs for the witch, the cat and the dog...

...a nest for the bird and a shower for the frog!

More Halloween fun to come tomorrow!

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Room on the Broom (part 1 of 2)

2011-10-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson

I discovered this book about 7 years ago. I turned it into a musical puppet play almost instantly and have been having fun with it every Halloween ever since.

Meet the characters

The Witch

The Cat

The Dog

The Frog

The Bird

The Dragon

Process (I use this process Grade 1 and 2)

1. Read the book and sing the Room on the Broom song with your group!

I adapt the text as I'm reading to the children to include my own version of the "room on the broom" tune.

Storyline

Throughout the story, the witch has some challenges and meets animals that help her with them. After helping the witch, each animal asks if there is room on the broom for them.

Instead of asking the question, we sing the question (D dorian mode)!

Is there any room for me?

On the broom, on the broom,

Is there any room for me?

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://mspstudio.bandcamp.com/track/is-there-any-room-for-me-melody-on-recorder"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Is there any room for me? (melody on recorder) by Susan Seale&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

The witch says, "Yes!" everytime and eventually, the broom is overloaded carrying a witch, a cat, a dog, a frog and a bird.

The broom is not strong enough and breaks in half. The animals fall into the bog and the witch has a rumble with the dragon.

The dragon stalks her, catches her and is about to eat her when the animals come to her rescue.

The witch rewards them by casting a spell on the broom and transforming it into a modern 5-seater broom that can accommodate all of them.

A modern witch's 5-seater broom!

Tune in tomorrow for Part 2!

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How Music Teachers Clean the Uncleanable!

2011-10-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

I have a Verilux cleaning wand exactly like the one above.

Cleaning and sanitizing is a constant task in a music studio...well...it is in my studio!

There are things that are relatively easy to clean and most of those things (floors, walls, washrooms) are cleaned daily by the cleaning company I hire. Everything else is on me though.

There are many things in a music studio that are just not so easy to clean and (until recently) next to impossible to disinfect or sanitize. A couple of years ago I discovered the Verilux UV-C lightwand and it has made this task so much easier!

Now...I just wave my magic wand...and things get cleaner.:)

Believe it or not, this UV-C wand kills germs, viruses and bacteria (think dustmites, influenza, MRSA and E.Coli) on things that can not be washed or are just really difficult to clean frequently.

I use it to sanitize things like:

jingle bells
those lovely organic looking shakers and scrapers from other countries
cloth/yarn mallets
drum skins
my piano keyboards (huge bonus during cold/flu season)
computer keyboard
cushions
scarves
buttons on accordians, autoharp
strings and board of my melody harps
fingerboards on guitars, violins, cello, bows, banjo, ukuleles
quick cleaning of previously handled (but not soiled) instruments in between groups (like egg shakers, sticks, sandblocks)

If you are a travelling teacher, music therapist or space is at a premium, I recommend a smaller portable wand that can easily be packed for travel. I recently learned air pilots and stewards travel with them to clean pillows and mattresses in hotels.

UV-C light has been proven to be a chemical-free method for sanitizing surfaces. This same light source is apparently used in some hospitals to treat surgical equipment before surgery.

The parents at my studio sometimes ask how I manage to keep everything clean...this is definitely one of the tools I use.

Having your own magic wand is a very cool thing!

Just a note...I'm sending out the October Newsletter in a couple of days...are you on the list? Sign up here.

Happy Thanksgiving! (to those of us in Canada)

2011-10-10T10:27:00.000-07:00

It's Thanksgiving holiday in Canada this weekend. We're relaxing and counting our blessings and watching nature turn into a flamboyant lady full of swirling dances of color. Wow!

I have so many blessings and much to give thanks for.

During this Thanksgiving I am reminded of the gratitude I feel for...
...my life with my wonderful husband,
...for the loving attention of my family,
...for my work with children and
...for the opportunities my gifts in music and dance have given me throughout my life.

I am grateful for my family and especially knowing that my Baba is still with us. Each day is truly a gift in her life as her time with us really is a day to day blessing. We are exquisitely aware that my grandmother's time with us at 97 years of age will come to an end sooner than any of us would like.

We love you, Baba!

"The only way a child will be left behind is if he doesn't learn art and music" (Bob McGrath)

2011-10-02T14:07:00.000-07:00

This coming Monday evening I am the guest speaker at a local preschool.

My Preschool Parent Talk
When I speak at parent meetings, parents are usually interested in the benefits of music in the development of their preschool-age children.

You know...most parents don't believe they should bother with extra music. They wonder, "Does it really make any difference in any measurable way?"

In fact, most ECE teachers don't know the benefits of music either! Most ECEducators will counsel parents NOT to take a music class while taking preschool. A sure sign they do NOT understand it's value over the long-term.

At my Preschool Parent talks we learn...Music is a verb!
As we all know, experiencing music is much different than talking about it so every few minutes, I engage the parents in a real musical activity for 3 and 4 year olds. It is a first-hand example of what music can really feel like when you are engaged as a participant and not an observer.

I believe (because of the research and reading I've done for so many years) that music is a language and is one of the most important ways to engage a young child when communicating with them in their early years. I'm pretty passionate about it.

I think the research is overwhelmingly supportive of this belief. In fact, if you read all that research and experience music as a non-competitive, engaging, socially fun, interesting, intellectual, creative activity you might do what I did...open your own music school for children!

Amazing study!

Many years ago, I read the results of a study where several groups of elementary-age children were involved. Group 1 received reading, writing and math as most regular school classes receive. Group 2 received music and art 2-3 times per week as well as reading, writing and math, without an emphasis on any one subject. Group 3 received music and art EVERYDAY and in order to do this, less reading, writing and math were offered each week. This study went on for 2 years.

I like to ask parents to imagine this.

Imagine your principal/head teacher comes to you and offers your child art and music EVERYDAY! You'd be excited right? Then you find out, your child would receive less reading, writing and math in order to schedule it all in. Most parents would expect after two years of this their child would perform at a lower level on academic testing, having received less academic teaching and more arts instruction.

Most parents would not be okay with this. Typically, music and art are not seen as beneficial "enough" to warrant an increase in exposure to them. The fact is...they are and increasing music and arts time has a huge impact!

Do you know the results of that 2-year study?

Group 3 outperformed both other groups on academic tests at the end of the 2 years.

The group that received less math, reading and writing instruction and more arts instruction, outperformed groups 1 and 2 on academic testing. These children outperformed the groups that received no arts and limited arts instruction.

This is always astonishing to parents...and to administrators. The idea that music and art instruction can have a cross-over effect that boosts scores on academic tests.

Oh...and one more thing...they discovered that not only was the group that received more arts teaching outperforming on academic testing, that group was also more socially cooperative!

The results of this study always causes parents to stop and think.

Then, as I roll out the research results about increased language proficiency, longevity, better memory later in life, some of them actually begin to think it might be worthwhile to find out if their preschool offers any music ed opportunities for their children. My experience is...usually not.

During my parent talk, I describe what music learning is not...

it's not sitting and listening to recorded music in the preschool classroom,
it's not just free play with a bunch of percussion instruments,
it's not just doing whatever you feel like musically
it's not just singing, it's not just dancing. (It's fun to do these things but learning that stimulates development is more than that.)

Music instruction is a form of communication and play and games and interaction between children and teachers. Hopefully, it is an active learning process that has children participating and singing, chanting, moving, listening, contributing, feeling, creating, problem solving and learning...but through music.

The generalist teacher usually has some difficulty with this, both with knowledge and musical confidence. It takes special training to know what and how to offer the kinds of activities that stimulate development through music.

These are the things I attempt to communicate to parents at my preschool parent talks.

Do you have an opinion?

What do you think?
Do you agree with the last 3 decades of research?
Is music learning beneficial enough that without it children have not been offered a full education in our schools?

If you would like practical, concrete ways to engage children in music, you would love my free monthly newsletter. Sign up to receive your copy of the newsletter here.

ABOUT THE QUOTE

"The only way a child will be left behind is if he doesn't learn art and music," said McGrath (The Times, www.mywebtimes.com) I loved this when I read it. It was posted by the ECMMA on their facebook page. You can read the whole article here.

The New Musicalia site is Live Today!

2011-09-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

Musicalia website
I've been working on my new website for my studio for many months (actually, we started the process 18 months ago...) and it's finally live!

I loved the look of my old site. It was a dreamy, creative, lovely vision but it turned out to be not very useful. I couldn't update the pages. I couldn't add a homework blog feature. It couldn't do a lot of things.

The new site has a lively, fun design and my signature green that greets children and parents as they walk in the door. The new website has a place for announcements and homework blogs for the older children. I'm pretty excited!

Big Thank you's!
I hired Dream Up Studios again to design the colors and the "look" of the site. (They designed this blog and my piano blog too.)

Charlie Over the Ocean

2011-09-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy start to my year with all the families.

I have lots to share and today it's a circle dance for ages 1-4 years.

Process:

Everyone holds hands in a circle. Sing the fisherman's song!

Charlie Over the Ocean

Charlie over the ocean (everyone steps into the middle)

Charlie over the sea (continue stepping into the middle)

Charlie caught a big fish (begin stepping back to the original circle)

Can't catch me! (stomp 3 times)

Run, run, run, run..... (still holding hands we run clockwise around circle 4 beats)

Phish! (everyone sinks to the bottom of the circle)

Let's do it again!

second time: run counterclockwise

third time: run for 8 beats

fourth time: run for 12 or 16 beats (especially with 2-1/2 to 4 year olds...they love the varied phrase lengths for running)

My Book Review is out!

2011-09-18T13:17:00.000-07:00

Last spring Angela Barker (Editor) asked if I would write a book review for Perspectives, the professional journal for the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association.

Apparently, you have to be a member of the ECMMA (which I encourage you to become!) to read the review and many other wonderful articles.

If you are not a member, this is the book I reviewed. I consume many books...and I don't usually say this...this is a book EVERY music and movement teacher or therapist should have on their bookshelf!

So, if you're not going to read the review...just go get yourself a copy of the book. It's a book I now recommend to all parents and teachers of the very young!

What does your music space look like?

2011-09-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Musicalia!

Last spring Rachel Rambach (Listen & Learn) and I began an email conversation about the new teaching/music therapy space in her home.

She was in the midst of a home renovation that was to accommodate her studio so it would be separate from the living quarters of her home. She did an amazing job!

Having set up several commercial music and movement spaces myself I had many suggestions for her. In the midst of our conversation, Rachel decided to create a feature on her blog that focused on other people's studio spaces.

Rachel kicked off this new feature with pictures of my Musicalia studio space this week! Check it out here!

If you have pictures of your music and movement/therapy space that you would be willing to share with the rest of us...send them in...to Rachel!

Oh...and check out Rachel's membership site. I'm a member and whole-heartedly recommend it to you!

Have a great weekend everyone! And thanks for shining your spotlight on Musicalia, Rachel!

Free eBook! It's a heart-warming read...

2011-09-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

Download your own copy of an uplifting book!

Do you feel grateful for the role certain people have played in your life? Maybe, you look back and can see how influential someone was in your youth? or when you were having a hard time and needed little extra support? We all have stories about a personal hero. I'm sure you do too.

I was invited to contribute to this wonderful free e-book.

this summer. My contribution (on page 105) is a tribute to my grandfather...my musical hero!

In this book, A Celebration of Personal Heroes, you will find evidence of personal heroes everywhere—people who possess qualities or characteristics we would like to emulate.

The existence of heroes helps us expand our perceptions about our own limitations and gives us something to aspire to—something every society needs.

Stories in this complimentary eBook include:
“Imagine My Surprise” by Anne Bennett, who expresses gratitude for the New Yorkers on the 9-11 attacks that she witnessed.
“Job Well Done” by Sabrina Jones, describing the heroism of a single parent and the emotional and physical strength they must possess.
“You’re a Hero Too” by Cat Traywick, inspiring us all that we can make a difference because of the hero within ourselves.

Click the link and have your own copy to read (they're free)!

A Celebration of Personal Heroes

Enjoy!

Have a lovely weekend!

2011-09-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Moka enjoying pre-Labour Day weekend events

It's been a week full of tasks, tidying, banking and prepping for fall classes (and enjoying memories and photos from the celebrations of my 30-year high school reunion last week).

Even though it's a holiday weekend, I'll be busy here at the studio for much of it.

I'm happy to be here though because I know my efforts now will make the first few weeks with the children and their families a more connected and happy time for all.

Hope you're weekend is more like Moka's!

You're Not Too Late!

2011-08-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

The August newsletter is coming out tomorrow!

I'm squeaking it in just under that calendar wire. Yikes.

This month the newsletter group receives

a relaxation technique from "Barnyard Bodies"
a listening game
two percussion games
an autumn speech piece
monthly book recommendation

If you haven't signed up yet, you're not too late.

Just head on over to the sidebar and fill in the info.

I'm pressing "send" tomorrow morning!

Do your students use music bags?

2011-08-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

When the children at Musicalia begin their full-year programs I prepare sturdy long-lasting carry bags for them.

Most of the children receiving their new blue bags this year are age 4 or 5 have already been with me 2 or 3 years and now will be with me for another 3-6 years. Some even longer! Making each bag personal, interesting and beautiful is a joy for me.

They start out as a plain blue bag with "Musicalia" printed on the front and then I add each child's name like this...

...and then I go crazy with the fabric paints like this...

...and this...

When the bags are hanging in the room during our classes they look like this...

Decorating these bags is a classroom management tool for me!
Some of the children can not read when they begin their programs so the illustrations provide a beautiful way for each child to recognize which bag is theirs in a sea of 8 or 9 other bags.

It does take many hours to complete all the bags, especially in those years where there is more than one class for 4 and 5 year olds. This year I have 17 little guys graduating to year long programs.

Branding benefits of the blue bag!

The other unforeseen benefit to having my own studio bags is that they have become a kind of branding item. Parents (and kids) can be heard saying..."Where's your Musicalia bag?" And each child in the family has their own. Some families continue to use their Musicalia bag for music lessons even when they leave Musicalia for new horizons.

I don't charge for the bag. It's just part of being a Musicalia student. I've even had my older, adult students after initially saying they didn't really need a bag...several lessons in ask for their own Musicalia bag!

Musical Chairs...for real...

2011-08-10T12:48:00.000-07:00


Moka sitting on one of the old chairs at Musicalia before it was rejuvenated! You can't tell how rickety it is from the picture...but the parents at Musicalia were beginning to make comments this spring...:)

I'm back!

I'm back at my studio after a few weeks away. I have enjoyed three weeks in Salzburg, Austria and three weeks just relaxing. It's been a restorative summer for me...

...and also for two of the chairs at Musicalia!

One of the projects I had initiated before I left for Salzburg, was to have the two chairs in my waiting room/entrance repaired. My mom had them in storage and a couple of years ago she gave them to me to use at the studio. They were in pretty rough shape though, ready to fall apart this year...and while they had a funky, antique, old brown look...they didn't really match the decor in my studio entrance.

Musicalia entrance...with the old chairs. Love the carved lyre-backs...

So, I called Doug Zarry at Heirloom Restoration in Victoria, BC, who picked them up and worked his magic.

Here is what they look like NOW!


Doug made the chairs sturdy enough for little guys to climb on (they definitely needed some reinforcement) and then painted and sealed them for easy cleaning...and now they match the decor!

A match made in heaven...my garage sale table painted green lookin' sweet with the refinished chairs.

Originally, I planned to cover the seat cushions in something more adult-like but then I found this very sweet fabric. Who could resist...musical ladybugs and butterflies reading musical notebooks?!

It's always something...

When you have your own studio there's always something non-musical to take care of as I mentioned in this post last spring. I think I'm done my studio upkeep until Christmas though...it's time to start planning my classes and preparing fun musical games for the children!

R U Stylish?

2011-08-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

I accidentally downloaded this free app to my iPhone the other night, just before dinner. It's called Songify.

Songify turns your speech into songs...rhythmic, techie songs...the kind that made us laugh and dance at our house.

While making dinner, you can make some music

My husband sometimes plays with speech as he's making dinner and we laugh at that...but with this app...honestly, the more we recorded and experimented, the harder we laughed at the playbacks.

When I first downloaded it, my husband was not so interested in participating. I recorded him speaking just the three words he was playing with while making dinner that night

..."R U Stylish?" (imagine saying it with a British accent).

The playback with soundtrack stopped him. He became the musical director after that...

"Okay, you just echo what I'm saying..."

"Now let's hear it"

"Can you email it to my friend?"

"Let's do another one"

"Can you put your iPhone in the speaker so we can really hear it?"

...yup, that's when the dancing part kicked in...:)

We have a playlist now of silly tunes we made ourselves in seconds...and we can dance to them...truly so much fun!

If you have an iPhone, just go get this app (it's free right now), and have some fun this weekend. If you don't have an iPhone, go find someone who does and convince them to play with it with you.

Are you a Conscious Listener?

2011-07-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Julian Treasure speaks in this TEDtalks video, about conscious listening.

It reminded me of the listening classes we had to complete when I was in Grade 4. We wore headphones and listened to sounds, stories and voices and then had assignments to complete around those sounds. It made me very aware of "listening" as a specific act I could consciously engage in. I think I became a more conscious listener by participating in the classes...at least for a few years.

Do you remember learning to listen?

Was listening taught as a subject when you were in school?

Early childhood

I remember being brought back to the everyday world of listening via my nephew's toddlerhood. He would be pointing to the plane in the sky before I could even hear it coming. His lack of listening filters reminded me I had filters and defenses around listening. Hanging out with him brought consciousness to my listening.

Deaf listeners

This fall I have a student registered in a class who we have recently discovered is deaf. The way this child listens is different from the way most other children listen. And yes, I do think this child listens even with the challenges of being deaf.

Becoming conscious again and again
I'm becoming conscious about listening again.
You'd think as a music teacher I'd always be conscious of listening with all the sounds and songs and instruments we use.

Well...we all have patterns and fall into routines. It's the thought that I will be planning listening activities that need to accomodate this deaf child that has me waking up...again!

Do you hide your creative ideas?

2011-07-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Kandinsky - try interpreting this as a music score!

I've been using modern works of art as stimulus for music-making for over 15 years.

In fact, didn't know anyone else who did this...until a couple of weeks ago! I didn't share much of what I did with art...I think because I was a bit afraid of criticism from other teachers.

While studying at the Orff Institute I re-discovered my "tribe"!

First, at the Orff Symposium (held at the Mozarteum) then at the Orff Institute, I met two people who do the EXACT same things with the art that I do! (and I thought I'd made all this weird respond-to-art-stuff up!)

One professor uses the art as a score for beginning violin players...so cool...and I do this too!
The other (Monika Unterholzner, a dance teacher) uses the art to stimulate creative movement ideas for child-created choreography.
I also use it with my baby programs and preschool programs. We "read" the lines and dots with our fingers tracking along and vocalize. The children LOVE it and the parents think it's so creative.

Read more about creativity at my favorite blog Colour Me Happy. Maria has some great posts on creativity here and my favorite one ever...here.

It's Good to be Home

2011-07-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

It's me sitting outside Frohnberg, the home used to film various scenes from the Sound of Music, and is now a guesthouse for students attending the Orff Institute (right next door) in Salzburg.

While it was fantastic to travel to Salzburg and to meet interesting teachers from all around the globe, I am so grateful to be home!

Would your government punish you for sharing music or dance with other cultures?
I am even more grateful to be living in a country that has broad freedoms and tolerance for differences (at least compared to some countries).

I was stunned to learn that the reason we were not to post pictures of classes with participants, was because there were students from countries run by governments with little tolerance for sharing their culture with others.

Teachers from these countries have learned to restrict their involvement in activity so as not to receive punishments personally or to bring hardship on their families.

I was truly shocked...I had somehow thought that the reason we couldn't videotape or audiotape sessions or bits of sessions was for copyright reasons or some such thing. It had never occurred to me that it was to protect other participants from being punished by their governments.


My return home to a little, black dog and a little green parrot on the day of our 3rd wedding anniversary felt even more important and dear to my heart knowing that simply because I was born and live in Canada, I am able to enjoy a charmed life. I have the freedom to live without fears.

Good-bye Salzburg!

2011-07-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

Our dance class created this score and then we danced it in many different ways! Monika Unterholzner was our instructor...her classes were wonderful, creative and colorful.

Tonight marked the end of our last day together at the Orff Institute in Salzburg, Austria. All 138 of us from 32 countries were taking pictures all day long with our instructors and one another.

I won't be able to share many of these images with you as we learned this week why video, audio, etc... were forbidden during our classes.

My time here has been a wonderful, jam-packed, buffet of music, movement and creativity with my "tribe". I have much to internalize and eventually share with you...over the next few months!

I'm packing now...excited to have been here and excited to go home. I will arrive home just in time to celebrate my wedding anniversary!

My Salzburg Studies Have Begun!

2011-07-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

Entrance to the Orff Institute

One of my friends recently emailed me to ask if I was in Salzburg to gallivant or to study!

I have been gallivanting. It was so much fun to not have responsibility for a few days..and to sample the sausages and beer!

I was at the Orff Symposium from July 7-10, held mostly at the Mozarteum for 4 days. There were 500 people there from all over the world. We were celebrating the 50th year since the founding of the Orff Institute.

Taking photos was verboten...so I don't have much to share with you from the symposium. It was pretty good as far as symposiums go (some lectures and active learning, performances by professional troupes, musicians and also students) but not nearly as much fun as this next bit is going to be...

I'm travelling in the right direction...Orff Institute straight ahead!

Today I start my studies at the Orff Institute in the Summer Course. It's formally called "The International Summer Course" focussing on Elemental Music and Dance Pedagogy in Orff-Schulwerk.

This year it is offered in English!

Last night was opening night for the course and there are over 100 people registered...a record as apparently it's usually about 20-30 people. We are from countries all over the world. Iran, Kuwait, Ireland, Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, US, New Zealand, China, Taiwan, Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and more.

I am the only person from Canada but I know I'm in the right place.

Our days are very long. We start at 9 am and finish at 9 pm. This morning I have dance then singing, after lunch it will be dance then percussion, after dinner more folk dance. Tomorrow I have more percussion and ensemble work, dance and more singing. Everyday is a bit different but I'm with my "tribe" so to speak.

We're all a bunch of multi-instrumental-dancing-singing-percussion playing teachers who love to work with children and make music with people.

So, the next 6 days are booked...no more sightseeing or church-watching for me!

Salzburg Zoo!

2011-07-06T23:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took a Salzach riverboat cruise to the Salzburg Zoo! Check out the Make Me Musical facebook page to see the sweetest little monkey video ever...

This little monkey was very curious about my video camera and followed the red light at the front of the camera...aaahhh!...so sweet!

I also visited the alpacas (and rhinos, flamingoes, tigers, lions, zebras, brown bears, gophers, parrots...)

Meet Bodega - the friendly alpaca. He tried to lick my video camera! I'm having technical difficulties uploading this funny alpaca video onto facebook. So for now enjoy his photo:)

Whoa...can it ever rain in Salzburg...

2011-07-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

So I woke up this morning to hot sunshine in Salzburg. I thought...yay...I won't need my umbrella or my rain poncho! What a great day to rent a bike and ride around...again. So I did. I ended up back at Nonnberg Abbey...just in case those nuns decided to sing again.

They didn't while I was there. I sat for a very long time inside the church just taking in the quiet,

I can't seem to get enough of the beauty of this small church.

...and taking pictures, lighting candles, giving thanks, watching a caretaker beautify the altar...

I thought I'd cycle out to the country again and just as I got into the fields and a beautiful park, dark clouds started moving in. I turned around and headed back to town because I'd heard the rains could be fierce. It did rain a bit and just as I returned my bike, the sun came out in all its glory...sigh...

So, I decided to have a cheater-lunch. I sat under an umbrella outside a café and ordered...

Cappucino...something I NEVER drink...it was a treat!

The fruit made this healthy...right? There were liqueur-soaked bananas in the bottom...:) You can't see the chocolate in this photo but it was there.

Just as I was finishing up...I can't believe I ate the whole thing...it suddenly, shockingly began to downpour (and I thought the nuns singing was an act of God!).

Can you see the raindrops bouncing? and look way in the distance under the arch...all the people taking cover!

I mean this was a loud deluge, like a torrential-waterfall-downpour! Within moments I had 4 people under my table umbrella with me (1 waiter and 2 women with open umbrellas).

These 2 women are actually holding umbrellas and standing under my table umbrella. They are so close to me I can't get a picture of them! It made me laugh because the rain was rivulleting off their umbrellas and right onto me, my table, my food...I was soaked just because they were there!

When I looked around, the platz (the place or square) was suddenly emptied of people. Everyone everywhere seemed to have stopped working, moving...except...this couple at the next table...

She ate her dessert standing up while the rains drenched everyone.

After about 15 minutes, the rains were less and I bought yet another umbrella...because the one I bought the other day was back at my room.

You can never have too many umbrellas, right?

A Glorious Sunny Salzburg Day!

2011-07-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

It's me with a bicycle and we're riding in the countryside, outside Salzburg!

The sun finally came out today and stayed out! I have a beautiful sunburn:)

A late lunch overlooking Salzburg at the old Stiegl Brewery (it's now a restaurant and biergarten!)

I don't know if I've had such a perfect day in a very long time.

This morning and part of the afternoon I joined Fraulein Maria's Bicycle Tour. We rode all through Old Town and then enjoyed many stops on a Sound of Music tour.

The infamous gazebo from the Sound of Music Movie!

The highlight for me was the Nonnberg Abbey (where Maria in Sound of Music) lived as a nun. We had an opportunity to enter the Abbey, which is still an active abbey with nuns, and while we were in the church THE NUNS STARTED SINGING AND CHANTING.

The Gates to Nonnberg Abbey

Truly, the most angelic sound. It was so unexpected and filled the chapel with such beauty.

Inside the Nonnberg Abbey...the nuns are singing!

I stopped in at the Mozarteum to see some of the Orff Symposium displays that are now up.

What an entrance!

Amazing photos from the past 50 years of the Orff Institute.

Carl Orff and Dorthee Gunther

Original instruments used in the first Orff classes. A basket of recorders, xylphones, woods.

My day ended with a captivating marionnette opera at The Salzberger Marionettentheater, with stunningly handmade marionettes from Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute).

The entrance to the Marionette Theater. It's an opera house for puppets!

Papageno from the Magic Flute

I've posted a new photo album on facebook (click the "f" on the sidebar---->)

or click here to visit the Make Me Musical fanpage.

Wish you were here!

Salzburg is beautiful!

2011-07-03T12:29:00.000-07:00

click on photo to see enlargement

So, I'm just winding up my second day in Salzburg. It's beautiful here and truly looks like a fairytale land with castles, cathedrals, forested hills, cafés and cobblestone streets.

Inside the Dom cathedral in Salzburg during a Konzert!

I posted a few pictures from my first day on my facebook page. Click here to check out the new photo album.

It's me in St.Gilgen, birthplace of Mozart's mother.

Today I took an Austrian Lakes and Mountains Tour with 48 other tourists from around the world. I'll post more photos soon with pictures from St. Wolfgang and St.Gilgen.

Victory!

2011-06-30T18:32:00.000-07:00

I did it! The first issue of the Make Me Musical newsletter has been delivered! If you are a subscriber I think it should be in your inbox. Enjoy!

Salzburg beauty

I leave for Europe in a few hours. Next time you hear from me, I'll be in Salzburg:) Woo hoo!

The inaugural issue of the Make Me Musical Newsletter is coming out tomorrow! Are you on the list?

2011-06-29T19:30:00.000-07:00

Brad and I in my dining room working on iMovie.

It's been a big learning curve for me to get my new newsletter ready to send out. The newsletter is done and it's coming out tomorrow.

Bradidude!

A huge thank you to Brad Morris of Cowabunga Life who offered to help me. And help he did! I think he spent 5 hours patiently assisting me to learn to videotape and edit, gave me valuable advice on the formatting and creation of my newsletter. I'm twice his age and he definitely has twice the online skills I may ever have:).

If you haven't signed up yet...it's not too late to add your name to the list!

When you have your own studio, the work is never really "done"!

2011-06-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

My assistant Carolyn taking a time out to flirt with Moka. Carolyn and I have been working flat out to prepare materials for next September. Now that spring classes are finished, we were able to set up big tables in the entrance area for her to work away daily compiling music books, creating my theory manipulatives and labelling instruments for the kids in September. We didn't finish but I had to clear out the entrance for it's yearly clean and the keep-it-fresh-paint-job.

This is Susan's office floor getting a fresh coat of paint. You can peek through into the wonderful storage area behind the pulled back curtain...see! It's very full of charts and bins of everything I need to bring music classes to life for young children. My studio is located in a 100-year old building. I love the space! It was a dump when we leased the space though and it needed a lot of work. When we renovated 2 years ago, the main studio space (not pictured) received sub-floors and then it was tiled. That was not possible for the rest of space! My budget allowed for painting of floors everywhere else.


After many "wrong" colors (much to the chagrin of my talented and helpful designer friend) and huge laugh-fests over those mistakes (with the painter), we ended up painting the floors the same color as many of the walls...white! It's a great modern floor color. The only drawback is that it needs fresh coat of paint a couple of times a year. So last week, Carolyn and I moved all the tables and benches and boxes out of the entrance, hall and out of my office so I could paint the floors. I completed that this weekend.


This is the empty entrance area with new white floors and a newly painted "barefoot zone" reminder for families as they walk in. Now all we have to do is move the tables, area rugs, benches and chairs back in! That's tomorrow's job!

Something new....look over here....

2011-06-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Make Me Musical has a monthly newsletter now! Look...over here...in the right hand column...there they are...sign up boxes!

I started this blog over a year ago and realized pretty quickly that sharing my experiences and expertise in this way gives me positive energy. It was energizing to learn how to work the techie part of a blog too.

Then I discovered there were people out there who found my posts useful or inspiring or interesting.

The combo of having fun, feeling energized and being appreciated by you, helped me decide to give this blog more space to grow.

In January
I hired Dream Up Studios to give my site a distinct visual personality. I loved the process and the colorful, animated result and hired them again to beautify Piano in the Family, (my piano blog).

In March
I hired the coaching services of Kimberly Sena Moore for an hour. We spoke about what my next step might be in creating a professional online resource for teachers, therapists and parents.

Now that my summer has started,
I have more time to begin the next thing on my support-other-people-journey. My next project is a monthly newsletter! I'm excited!

If you are interested in Orff orchestrations, music and movement games, songs, chants, book reviews, relaxation, self-esteem activity or other resources, then sign up.

I will send you some creative resources (not found on my blog) each month. How much fun would that be?

Come join my Newsletter Group!

Sign up!.....over here...in the right hand column!

or here...on the newsletter page!

Shadow Puppets for our Alien Orchestra Shadow Puppet Play (part 2/2)

2011-06-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

shooting star shadow puppets

back of shooting star puppets

Our story begins with the lights dimmed and the Morning Mood music playing (from Grieg's Peer Gynt suite). All the children have gathered behind the shadow puppet screen with their puppets. It was quite an experience for the class to learn how to share the limited space behind the screen (silently) while holding at least 2 puppets each for different parts of the story. Check out part one of the Alien Orchestra blog posts.

Our Story Begins...

"Two bunnies are walking through the forest on a sunny day.

It is so warm they sit down to have a rest and fall asleep. As they sleep they are dreaming.

They dream of a beautiful day in the woods where they come into a meadow. In the meadow is a giant spaceship! They are excited to find the spaceship and walk all around it looking for a door. They enter the ship and suddenly it blasts off!

The bunnies are peeking out the spaceship's portal

As the spaceship flies over the Earth, they meet up with the most beautiful birds. The spaceship swoops and turns, flying gracefully with the birds.

As the rocket leaves the Earth's atmosphere, the birds return to their perches in the trees below and the spaceship zooms through space.

back of the bird puppet - how the stick was attached

bird puppet with a moveable wing - two sticks attached to 1 puppet

Eventually, the bunnies land on the moon.

When they open the door they see an alien orchestra. The alien orchestra is playing a beautiful tune.

back of music note puppet

alien playing violin - 2 sticks - 1 attached to alien and 1 attached to the bow so bow arm is moveable

alien playing flute - flute arm is moveable

alien playing xylophone - body of alien is moveable but attached to xylophone

The bunnies dance and move to the music.

this bunny has a moveable tail

back of bunny - see how sticks are attached to the moveable parts

Eventually, it's time to head back to the spaceship and take off for home.

red tissue was glued to back of spaceship puppet to create illusion of flames shooting out the bottom upon blast-off!

Good-bye, aliens! Good-bye bunnies!

It took hours to make the puppets. I do it every year and I love it. The parents always notice the beauty of the puppets and the children have what is possibly their only real performance opportunity to play with hand-made shadow puppets created out of their vision and ideas. It's so worth it to offer this experience for the children!

Thank you for teaching me ukulele, violin and recorder.

Thank you card. Notice how Moka (the dog) and Dolce (the parrot) make the front of the card!

The little boy who made the card draws himself playing the violin (because he loves it!) and Susan playing the piano (because he says I love that!). I love these cards!

Making Shadow Puppets for our Alien Orchestra Shadow Puppet Show (part 1/2)

2011-06-21T12:10:00.000-07:00

This year, my Maestros 1 group (ages 6-7 years) has been playing recorder, ukulele and violin. At the end of our year together we have a celebration to show off our playing skills.

This year we did play our tunes on all our instruments but I have to say the most excitement came from our process work to create a shadow puppet show using the children's ideas.

I chose a piece of music in 6/8 time to use as a stimulus for our play.

Grieg's Morning Mood from Peer Gynt Suite was our focus.

Creating the Shadow Puppet Show Script

1. Listen to Morning Mood (from the Peer Gynt Suite by Greig).

Children lie on the floor with eyes closed and just keep track of the images they see in their imagination as they hear the orchestral music playing.

We gather together after listening and share all our visions. Susan writes madly as they share their visions. (see pix below)

2. The following week at our next class, we listen again, add any new ideas and then begin brainstorming how to incorporate the ideas into a story that will be accompanied by the orchestral recording of the music.

We listed the main characters from our story and then worked out a simple storyline. (below)

Creating the Shadow Puppets - drawings first

3. I don't try to nail down the storyline too precisely during the second listening but just get a general outline of the ideas that seem most popular to the children.

After our third listening, we reviewed the storyline and I introduced the idea of the shadow puppet screen and creating a set of shadow puppets for this storyline.

I asked the children to claim characters and bits of the story and to draw a simple outline of the bit they chose.

Some children chose to draw birds, the alien orchestra, the space ship, the Easter bunnies.

I've posted some of their drawings below.

Due to time constraints, I actually spend many hours outside of our class time creating the actual puppets but I base the design on these drawings.

I'll post the puppet pix in my next post only because blogger is not letting me add photos to this one now!...what's up with me and blogger???

alien playing drums

birds flying in formation

an Easter bunny

alien playing xylophones


another bunny


the spaceship - notice the flames upon lift off!

No More Saturdays...

2011-06-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Merci de Nathan! (Nathan speaks French!)

Au Revoir!
Today was my last "teaching" Saturday...ever...well for at least a year or two!

I predominantly teach classes at my studio and over the past few years, my private teaching schedule has grown...and grown...and grown...and taken over my evenings and much of Saturday and any little pockets of time in between classes.

I decided that next year I wanted to carve out a little more family time in my schedule so I would let go of my evening and weekend teaching schedule and most of my private students.


Nathan playing and singing his good-bye song for me.

Nathan's good-bye was one of the sweetest good-byes, especially considering he didn't even like music before he started his lessons with me in January.

Mom wanders in to Musicalia...
I met his mom just before Christmas when she wandered into my studio looking for donations for her youngest daughter's preschool fund raising auction. I donated private lesson time.

She told me that both her husband and herself had taken lessons as children and didn't want that experience for their children. After speaking with me and my philosophy about music for children she decided to bid on my gift of lessons. She won the bid and after Christmas we started lessons with her 7 year old son, Nathan.

Nathan's love of music has a chance to sprout...
It's been pretty spectacular to watch this little boy's lights literally turn on as he sits at the piano. He has realized how easy it is to make music and have fun doing it.

He told his mom to tell me that he never liked music at school before he met Susan, but now that I've been his teacher, he is even is beginning to like music at school.

He figured it out on his own!
What is so amazing to me is we only had time to experiment with writing chords for the left hand. (I call them "bridges" and "buddy notes".) His lessons were only 15 minutes long so we really had little time to write much!

He did learn to read some treble clef, but we didn't have time to try writing melodies at all.

His mom drew a 5-line staff for him and he figured out how to write this little tune and play it all on his own. Honestly, I hope a traditional music teacher doesn't get hold of him! He has so much creativity and natural talent that traditional methods might curb his enthusiasm.

Thank YOU, Nathan! It's been a blessing to be your music teacher:)

"Our Palm Oil Story"

2011-06-17T14:31:00.000-07:00

A local elementary school here in Victoria, BC, created this amazing youtube video.

Enjoy!

Dreamcatcher Drama (part 3) Invites & Programs!

2011-06-12T10:46:00.000-07:00

A Story of Enchantment and Inner gifts

Photo Gallery showing invites and programs!

The invitations were written in a word doc and printed out. I rolled them into a tube and drew a ribbon of glue on one edge.

Each invite (there were 8) was rolled in a pile of small feathers.

Lots of feathers! The glue is working:) Now just a bit of pruning with scissors so the feathers aren't quite so wild.

To complete the invite each one was tied with a hemp string. A wooden bead was added to each string for a finishing touch. The invites had an organic, native feel to them. I would definitely do this again...maybe not right beside my computer keyboard though...much feather dust to deal with after!

I printed out the name of each child's spirit animal and attached it to the invites. See post 2 of the Dreamcatcher Drama series for more info on how we discovered each child's spirit animal using spirit animal cards.

Parents were intrigued by the labelling and asked questions about it. This allowed the children to begin explaining a bit of how our show was put together and what their spirit animal had brought them as an inner gift. Invites went home one week before our show.

What the invites said once they were unwrapped!

The programs were prepared using a word doc template. Front of program shown.

Back of program shown

Inside program showing.

Photo of the white board in the studio entrance. It was blank as the children arrived and they requested a quick welcome sign be drawn for parents and siblings to see as they arrived.

Dreamcatcher Drama (part 2) Discovering our inner gifts using Native Medicine Cards

2011-06-11T08:49:00.000-07:00

This book is available at Amazon.com

We spread the animal cards out for the children to choose the one that spoke to them above all the others.

These were the animal cards chosen by each child. We looked each one up in the Medicine Card book to discover the inner gifts brought by each animal. Each child made symbols to remind them of their inner gifts. We molded our symbols using Model Magic (a crayola product).

One of our completed dreamcatchers.

Once we had worked through the ideas for our play (see last post about the Dreamcatcher Drama)

and had learned the dreamcatcher song (click to hear the song),

the children asked if they could make their own dreamcatchers.

We used branches from my yard and bent them into a circle shape and tied them with hemp string purchased at Michael's Craft Store.

We tied our medicine shield symbols around the edges of our dreamcatchers.

Discovering and creating our medicine shield symbols

1. I just happen to have a book titled Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson.

2. I spread the cards out on the floor and asked each child to pick the card they were most drawn to. Each child picked their favorite animal card.

We used the medicine card book to find out more about each animal's medicine. We read about the gift each animal brings to each child. The children's response was overwhelmingly positive. It was AMAZING!

Each child took the information to heart discussing and exclaiming how each inner gift fit them perfectly.

Note to reader: I'm having a lot of trouble uploading my pictures to blogger the last while. It seems that blogger will not let me place the pictures where I'd like them to be. So next post will just be a series of photos with captions. If you'd like more details about any part of this musical-inner gift-drama process...please send an email!

I will load one more post with photos of invitations and the program we created for our play.

SOOOOOOO cool!

2011-06-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

I think it will only be there today...hurry!

...go check it out...google put a virtual guitar on their homepage and you can play it online!
Click the link below to get there fast:)

Google guitar!

Wasn't that fun?

Dreamcatcher Drama (part 1/3) with the Evil Fairy!

2011-05-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Dreamcatcher

In our story, the Evil Fairy places an enchantment over the children.

They awaken on a dreamship where they discover their own personal dream catchers and medicine shields. They learn about their personal gifts.

The ship is marooned on a forgotten island and after a battle with the Evil Fairy there, they discover they have the gift of music for life.

Eventually, the children sing the Evil Fairy to sleep, steal her magic wand and use it and their gifts to get back to their real lives.

How we created our Musical Story
One of the Maestros classes asked to create their own play for their year end celebration. In all it took about 7 weeks from initial brainstorming to final presentation.

It doesn't always take this long, but this one did. In fact, I emailed all the parents and asked if we could extend our year by one more class in order to get it all together.

Process
1. Brainstorm
We brainstormed all the elements/characters they wanted in the play. It was a terrible, random list from my perspective and I had my own moments of doubt part way through whether or not I could pull their ideas together into a cohesive whole.

This is what our brainstorm sheets looked like.

strange ideas that we tried on...

2. Role play and scene creation

We worked together, trying on each role and talking about the storyline. There was much silliness. One boy was removed from the group a couple of times to regroup and gather his focussed energy.

I shut down the process a couple of times so as not to waste time with too much silliness.   I also realized that the silliness was appropriate because their ideas were quite silly...kind of like a strange dream.

We really needed something to tie these strange ideas together.   I had a eureka moment with thinking the whole story could be a dream and then the Dreamcatcher Song caught my eye.

3. Dreamcatcher Song
This beautiful song called "Dreamcatcher" written by Teresa Jennings, found its way onto my desk. It's one of those haunting modal tunes that is also a round.
Click here to listen to a snippet of this haunting melody.

I played it for the children and they loved it.

4. Learning the song.

We learned it within a couple of sessions and then experimented with instrumental accompaniments. We tried the frame drum with jingles (like the recording) and sang in 2,3 and 4 part rounds. We experimented with an improvised harmonic accompaniment using the Orff Orchestra.

5. The Orff Orchestra
This is how I set up the Orff instruments:

Leave in D, F, G, A, B flat

Take out everything else.


alto xylophone

alto metallophone


alto glockenspiel

The Evil Fairy (me) played the G & D contrabass bars for the improv. The song was in 3 time so alternating G with D on the strong beat of each measure.

6. The Improv Exploration Process

We spent time playing in 3 time.
We counted 1,2,3, 1,2,3 1,2,3 and played any bars to the counting.

I added the contra bass bars to give a solid strong first beat.
We experimented with playing melodic patterns. Some of the patterns were very long, some short. We didn't dissect it much past that point (these are 7 and 8 year old children).
I asked them to choose their favorite pattern. Each child chose their favorite and played it for the class.
We practised layering them in one at a time.
We practised a unison beginning (tutti).

The thinking behind my improv process
I am a huge fan of improvised performance with this age. It's a bit risky but I believe it builds confidence and musical independence.

Most Orff arrangements that Orff teachers purchase and Orff arrangements we are taught to compose/arrange have definite rules. Those rules are for sound musical reasons.

Teaching those rules to children once they are about 10 years old allows the children to be creative musically. With this group, they are only 7 and 8 years old so I didn't feel they needed the burden of rules beyond "start on G" "end on G".

We did try starting on G and some tried ending on G. It was easy to see and hear which children already have an ingrained musicality that intuitively creates a satisfying musical pattern from a traditional theoretical perspective.

Over many years I have explored turning over the patterning of ostinati to the children and not try to orchestrate everything myself.

Even if the final result is not perfect or perfectly sound from a musical theory perspective, the children love what they hear and they truly own their work.
Opportunities to own your music and be a creator builds a life-long love for music.

For the performance the room was set up like this:

The children played the improv as the audience entered to dimmed lights. Each child took a turn playing an improv solo and then we would all play together.

7. Our final form for the Dreamcatcher song:
intro - Susan plays alternating G/D on the contrabass bars
part A - Tutti playing their patterns
part B - Solo when Susan whispers your name
part A - Tutti playing their patterns
part C - Acapella singing 'dreamcatcher' in unison voices and then as a 2-part round.

The Dreamship that transports the children to the Isle of Enchanment!

This was an engaging and complex process.
I have more to share with you from this celebration.
Come back next time!

The Most Amazing Giant Wooden Xylophone!

2011-05-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

You will LOVE this! It's a xylophone built in the middle of a forest that plays a little Bach...enjoy!