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This is usually how I start my after-school lessons. I try to prompt kids into being my secret field researchers of the private and Catholic school systems. Luckily, I was pretty present during my elementary days and perhaps unluckily the curriculum hasn't really changed so I can gage what a student might learn based on their year.
It's usually a lot of fun to hear about what they love or hate to do with their day or about their teachers, so that I can collect a sounding board of what works for that student or not.
However, today's post is about what I learned today!
-I learned how to teach relative minor in Kodaly approach
-I learned how to transition a 4 year old from carpet to piano using FM
-I learned the importance of having a show you can binge watch *cough cough* TY Netflix.
Relative Minor The Kodaly approach brings out the relative minors using La. This is the 6th degree of the major scale as in {Do Re Mi Fa So LA Ti Do}. We take that scale and start it using La, but using the familiarity with the major scale to guide our way through the tones and semitones. Since the Kodaly system uses floating do, where the tonic of the key in question becomes the new Do, we can always affix the La like it's moody sister that's just hanging around.
Below is the solfa used for the major scale with the indications of Tone and semitone Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti DO
T T st T T T st
Now, here is the solfa used for the relative minor scale (also with indications of T & st)
La Ti Do Re Mi Fa So La T st T T st T T Here is the solfa used for the harmonic minor scale - here we're using a major 7! Watch out for the change in the sylables.
La Ti Do Re Mi Fa Si La T st T T T T st
Combining all of this information makes for a really hardy lesson about minor scales and actually makes them accessible. I remember in my education, trying to remember patterns - flat 3, flat 6, flat 7 } that's nat min..... so on an so fourth. Instead, this approach gives the student the ability to have realtive pitch that flexes betweens two key centres (major and minor). It's a beautiful way into more complex harmony and I am excited to try it! Plus, it sounds beautiful when students / singers are able to do it in the round - that's what we did today! Carpet to Piano, featuring FINE MOTOR SKILLS
One of the best things that I ever bought for $8 is a wipe-board that has permanent staves on it. It's large, fits comfortably on my piano and gives enough space for my students to write letters. I've decided for my 4 year old student that Tuesdays will be Fine Motor Tuesdays. She bounded into the room and immediately wanted to start writing and spelling things and drawing on the wipe board. My lesson plan went something along the lines of - Sing & Play "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" - Spell different parts of the body on the wipe board. We spelled Eyes, Ears, Toes, Cheeks. Then we spelled FACE. - Then I would write out different orders or patterns of the word face, my student would write them on the stave below (no note heads, just letters) -THEN, we would find them on the piano.
!!!!! My student did every single one and SANG while she found the notes!!!!!! I almost cried I was so happy!!!!!!! I gave her 3 Elsa stickers and we watched a Frozen clip while she got dressed because I was so amazed by her self-starting, her FM skills, her singing and her accuracy in finding the notes on the piano. ALSO, her ability to read what was on the wipe board and then find it, then look back and stay on the correct line. SO GREAT.
I end my day having been both a student and a teacher feeling pretty good. While I'm excited to hunker down into some books I got at the music library about Kodaly approach I'm also going to turn my brain off for a bit, shower, moisturize, and binge watch Lost.
- Olivia