Notey Noteheads – Cards for Beginning Readers

Notey Noteheads

I  decided to make a new set of notehead cards, a set that both teachers and parents can use. With that in mind, I made them the size of playing cards with only 3 pages to cut out. There is one page each for steps, skips, and repeats. I also included a very detailed parent/new teacher instruction guide that took me a lot of time to write, so I really hope it helps. Trust me, if you only show these cards to parents, they make no sense. Once parents see how they work, they are delighted to know they do not need to know how to read music to help their child! I loan these cards to parents, but you can also email parents the link for them to print. Remind them they are free!

Parents Guide Included in Notey Noteheads

There are 5 pages included in this printable. The first 3 pages are the cards. The 4th page is the colorful back to the cards, which seems really important to my students, because it makes it more fun. Children are very visual and are attracted to colorful images. The 5th page is the guide for parents. For those of you who have no idea how to print on the back of cards, or how to print only the first 3 pages,  I posted a tutorial on my FAQ page. Scroll down to read it. When cutting out the cards with printed backs, use the colorful side as your cutting guide.

There are notehead flash cards like these on my website, but they are larger, and I don’t think as user-friendly for parents or as enjoyable for students. Daily use of these cards when students are learning notes that move up, down, and repeat can make a big difference in their music reading abilities.

They can help both the precocious child, and the child who needs lots of extra help.

One more thing. Start with the stepping cards. If students have not been introduced to skipping notes, save them for later. Be sure to tell your parents which cards to use.

A Snail’s Gotta Do What a Snail’s Gotta Do

Snail, Snail

Recently I sang this with a preschool student to help him find his singing voice. After numerous questions that only a 4-year-old can ask, such as, “Why did the snail want to go around the water pail?” and “What is a water pail?” he started giggling and told me he “liked this song.” Trying hard not to get distracted, I told him that was just what snails like to do. Then he asked me to teach him how to play it on the piano.

So, always ready to please my students (preschool children are so more easier to please than high school students!), I wrote it out for the piano. I have to admit I get a little thrilled when a student asks to play something. This time his questions were about my drawings. (“Why is the snail smiling? Why is he green and orange? Why is the water blue? What does a snail eat? What if he falls in the water pail?”). I hope you have a sense of humor because you need it with children.

Getting back to piano, notice that Snail, Snail is played with the third finger of each hand. This is my sneaky way to help little students learn to brace their third finger and drop into the keys. If you have a beginner who is having trouble developing a rounded hand shape, maybe this piece will help. If you are a parent helping your child, be sure to drop into the keys, not lift individual fingers. Try to help them keep all their fingers rounded and not poking out this way and that. Suggest that their hand is holding a cute green snail and we don’t want to crush it!

You can learn about the braced finger from Nancy and Randall Faber’s Piano Adventures and My First Piano Adventures. If you’re not sure how to teach the concept, check out their videos. [On their homepage click Teacher Guides, > My First PA Tour and Videos, > Video Lesson Guide, and watch Hangin' on a Fence Post.]

Let’s Play Ball

Let’s Play Ball

I have made a lot of worksheets to help students learn piano keys, but I have not made one for baseball. I have one little guy who just loves the game so I made this for him. In order to save paper and make it more fun for students, I designed it big enough to use on an iPad. If you don’t  want to use this on a mobile device, print it out just as you usually do. Be sure to print in landscape orientation. Don’t try to click on the picture above, because that will just pop up a low resolution image that is only for illustration purposes and it does not look good in print or a mobile device. Click the heading under the picture and it will take you to my website where you can print it.

If you want to try it on a mobile device, here is one easy way to download this into Skitch, a free app for Apple and Android.

Directions for using the Skitch app

1. Using your iPad, open the Skitch app. On the home page there are several icons on the top row. Select “Web.”
2. When the next window opens, there will be a place to type in an address. You will have to open the typing tool. Type in http://www.SusanParadis.com  (do not use the address for this blog)
3. Select “Worksheets” and scroll way, way down the page until you see number SP614, Let’s Play Ball. Select it and then select “Download”. This opens the Let’s Play Ball printable, but you are not going to print it.
4. Turn the iPad to landscape orientation (sideways). Using two fingers, center the graphic exactly like you want it.
5. Click the camera icon on the top left side of the app.  Skitch saves the graphic and places a tiny icon of it on the home page for future use. You cannot change my graphic (other than crop it or zoom in or out), but you can draw or type all over it.
6. Now the student can use the arrow or pencil tool and draw a line from the keyboard to the correct letter.
7. The trash can icon at the bottom of the left hand side will clear the graphic of any marks your student makes so that it will be ready for your next student. The third icon down on the left side is the “send to” tool. You can send it to a parent to show them how much your student is learning!

If you want more info on how to use Skitch, see my 2 posts from this past summer.

Disclosure: I have no connection to Skitch whatsoever, nor does the company know I recommend the app, but I’ve found this one is good for piano lessons. I wanted an app that was easy to use and didn’t take much time to learn, and Skitch is my favorite. Leave a comment if you have a favorite app to use with your students. If you like my printables, please go to my Facebook page Susan Paradis’ Piano Teaching Resources and “like” it!

Halloween and Fall Piano Music

 

If you are looking for beginning Autumn or Halloween music, here are some of the easy pieces I wrote for my students. They range in level from the first lesson to the first year. Many of you have downloaded these pieces over the years, but here they are in a convenient collection.

Students who have only had a few lessons are so excited to get a Halloween piece!

I wrote some of these in both pre-reading and on-the-staff notation so they are perfect for beginning students. They are not in middle C position, so they help with interval reading. The last one is 2 pages and a little more difficult.

Click on the links, not the pictures to download these. If you have trouble, try downloading the latest version of Adobe Reader.

What Will I Say On Halloween? (Finger numbers only. Very easy for the first week of lessons)

It’s October (Finger numbers only. Very easy for the first week of lessons. Does not mention Halloween)

Hey Mr. Mummy  (On the staff with teacher duet)

See the Scarecrow  (Very easy on staff piece for students just learning to read notes. This is a fall piece that does not mention Halloween.)

Halloween is Almost Here (pre-reading)

Halloween is Almost Here (on the staff)

Halloween, Halloween (pre-reading)

Halloween Halloween (on the staff)

Once A year On Halloween (pre-reading)

Once a Year On Halloween (on the staff)

Spooky Spiders (on the staff)

Five Little Pumpkins(pre-reading, but too long for a young beginner. This is the well-known folk song.)

Five Little Pumpkins (on the staff)

Sneaky Sneakers (Level 1. Two pages, does not mention Halloween)

 

An Easier Version of Easter Bunny

Easter Bunny

I promised yesterday that I would post a shorter version of Easter Bunny. This version came about when I realized that I wrote the original too difficult for my preschool student. While the version I posted yesterday was great for another student, teaching preschool children often requires short songs that repeat. She was so happy to get this, just in time for the Easter bunny!

Be sure to set your printer orientation to landscape when you print this version.

One of the reasons I wrote this tune was to give students a little extra practice with the 4th finger. Beginners often get the 2nd and 4th fingers mixed up. It takes even longer for preschool children to get the concept. I have a bag of plastic rings in all kinds of cute shapes that I bought from the dollar store. She chose a color and put a ring on each 4th finger. That made the biggest difference in her ability to enjoy playing this little song. Here is a picture of the rings on finger 3. You can see how it helps to put the rings on finger 4 as they play this piece.

If you want some even easier seasonal music on the black keys that can be used at a student’s first lessons, check out my left and right hand versions of Hot Cross Buns. The left hand version is here. Children who celebrate Easter enjoy learning about the tradition of  hot cross buns. I have also posted some sacred pre-reading and level 1 versions of hymns suitable for the Easter season. You can look at them in the music section of my website, www.susanparadis.com.

A Fun Pre-Reading Easter Bunny Song

Easter Bunny

I wrote a little song about the Easter Bunny in several different levels of difficulty. This is the first version. It is suitable for young beginners who are comfortable with the thumbs on the white keys. I have an 8-measure version in landscape orientation and I will post that tomorrow. I also have an on-the-staff version for students in their 2nd method book (Level 1 in most methods, Level 2 in Hal Leonard)  that I am working on. This is the reason I like to self publish. I can customize music for different levels.

To help students who get their hands mixed up, I like to highlight the right and left hands with 2 different colored highlighters. If you have never done this in their lesson book you will be surprised how helpful it is. Students enjoy picking out the colors and that adds a little motivation. (Try to find a set with purple. It’s very hard to come by!) We all have students who focus on one hand and need some extra help to get them together. Some students always get the left and right hands mixed up, as well as some adults, such as me! Simple songs like this can really help that problem before they move on to reading on the staff.

Blogging is a spare time activity for me, and I have not had time to post all the spring time material I’ve made. Sometimes things sit in my files for years before I have time to modernize, revise, and post it. Thank you for all your suggestions, and thanks for understanding! I really appreciate and have learned so much from my readers and the blogging community.

Do you find it helpful for me to highlight the hands like this? Leave a comment if you do. You may remain anonymous!

Roses Are Red – a Pre-reading Valentine

Roses Are Red

I have a new little student who just started lessons using the unique and very creative piano method book, My First Piano Adventures, by Nancy and Randall Faber. This wonderful series is has everything you need for young beginners, but I like to make extra material to go along with the book, just for fun or review.

My student was so excited when I asked her if she would like a Valentine’s song! When I checked out my resources, I could not find a Valentine’s piece that was easy enough, so I came up with a Valentine she can play.

If you like using this kind of material for young beginners, get a copy of My First Piano Adventures Book A and study it carefully!

What Will I Say On Halloween? a beginning piece

What Will I Say On Halloween?

I wrote this for a new student right after her first lesson. She saw the all the Halloween sheet music around my studio,  and wistfully asked me if she could play a Halloween piece.  Of course I had to draw one before her next lesson because she is so darling and wanted one so badly!

Since this student is on the first pages of her book, I wrote it without notes, just finger numbers. I am sharing it with other teachers because it was too much work for just one student! She was having a little trouble with finger numbers, so I’m going to put an pumpkin ring on her 4th finger.

It is intended to be in 3 meter, played on the black keys with the left hand. The last note in each line is a dotted half note. If you tap out the rhythm on your piano cover, students will get a feel for how it goes.

So if you have a beginner or a preschool child of your own,  please feel free to use it. Maybe the ending will encourage your  students to compose their own song! What will they say at the end?

School Is Starting Back – a pre-reading piece with duet

School is Starting Back

I composed this little solo for a beginning student who has taken long enough to play on the white keys. In order to avoid skipping fingers I tried to make all the notes seconds. Sometimes that leaves a little to be desired when it comes to melody. Although Beethoven was able to produce the greatest 5-finger melody ever written using only seconds and a couple of skips,  I don’t have that ability by any means! However, I added a teacher duet you can play along to spice this up.

The most difficult spot may be the fourth finger in the right hand of the last phrase. That is not a strong finger so I plan to do a little spot practicing there.

As usual, my teaching suggestion is to teach the song first without piano (transpose, because it is in a register too low for children), tap out the rhythm like a drum on the fall board, repeat using the correct hands,  practice playing in the air with the correct fingers, play using fingers on the fall board, and finally try it on the piano. Usually if I do all that, the student is successful and very proud of himself! Of course, older students won’t need all those steps, usually.

A pre-reading version of Bingo

Bingo

I often receive email from teachers who are not used to young beginners or  parents who want to try out my pre-reading music,  so I am posting a suggested teaching plan for this fun folk song. Experienced teachers do not need to read on!

1. Before you begin, teach the song if you discover your student doesn’t know it. Have fun, and maybe play some instruments or march around the room.  

2. With both hands, drum out the rhythm on the fall board, singing along. At this point, chanting or singing the song in rhythm takes the place of counting.

3. Using the correct right and left hand, tap the rhythm on the fall board. Each hand has a different colored highlight to help students who get mixed up. 

4. I am going to assume your student knows piano finger numbers. But if he does not have experience with skipping fingers, you will need to work on that before you proceed. A good piano method book for young children is invaluable. Also, I have posted some pre-reading solos  easier than Bingo that I use as supplemental music.

5. If this is the first time he has used skipping fingers, practice 3 to 1 and 4 to 2 on the fall board. Circle the places on the music where these are found.

6. Play the song in the air, using correct fingers. Try it on the fall board. If he ”gets it”, he’s ready to play. Let him find his position.

7. Always count off. Like most folk songs, this one has a pick up beat, which you don’t need to explain at this point. It helps the rhythm if you count off 7 beats at the beginning:  “1 2 3 4, now let’s play….”.  Point to the notes as he plays so he will learn to read and not look at his hands. This is where all that preparation helps.

8. Make sure he drops into the keys using fingertips and keeps his wrist fairly level. Drop with the forearm. Avoid excessive lifting of each finger up and down in isolation to the rest of the hand. That will lead to some hard to fix problems. 

If you are not sure what I mean, watch the following videos.

Dennis Alexander This video shows the student tapping the rhythm on the fall board and playing with a relaxed hand.

Nancy Faber This video shows how to drop into the keys. Watch her other videos of beginning lessons for more information.

A Thanksgiving Pre-reading Piece

Hurray, Thanksgiving Day

There aren’t too many Thanksgiving carols and hymns,  and trying to find a pre-reading one is even harder. With this in mind, I started writing some this summer, but time being in short supply, this is the only one I’ve been able to post.

As I wrote it I thought about all the fun I had when I was a little girl in South Carolina getting together with all my relatives on Thanksgiving on the farm. I had many cousins, and we all played together outside and had a great time.   When I asked one of my beginning students what is the most fun about Thanksgiving, she said it was playing with her cousins, so I guess things have not changed that much after all!

This beginning piece is not in middle C position, so follow the fingering on the tiny keyboard. There is a skip on the first line in the left hand as well as a fourth. That will be a problem, especially the skip,  so practice your “skipping fingers” on the piano cover. I highlighted the left and right hand parts to make it easier for one of my students. I also made an on-the-staff version, and I hope I get it posted before Thanksgiving!

It’s October

It’s October

I wrote this  piece  for a new student because  I wanted something special to play at her second lesson. She was delighted with it.  

If you’ve never seen piano material like this before, this is a pre-reading piece that can be used at the first or second lesson. The student plays on the group of three black keys, moving down toward the bass.  If you need more help, check out some of the newer piano methods at your local music store. I use My First Piano Adventures for pre-school and first grade children,  and Book A of that series contains a lot of pre-reading material.

No wonder students get confused when learning to play the piano. The numbers and words go one way (right), while the left  hand moves down the keys the other way.  In a few weeks it is normal for most students, but others have get confused.  It is something to think about when we try to understand why some children have so much trouble learning to read music. Reading music presents so many challenges for young children! 

If you want some more music for the first lesson when students have not yet learned quarter notes, I have posted a few.  From my website you can download:

What the Robin Said to the Worm,

What the Worm Said to the Robin, 

 Fourth of July, and 

 Canada Day.

In addition, there is a lot of pre-reading music on my website using quarter, half, and whole notes. The ones above use only finger numbers.

Hot Cross Buns – Pre-reading for Left Hand

Hot Cross Buns for Left Hand

When I made up the original Hot Cross Buns for the right hand, I also made one for the left hand and due to popular demand, I am posting the left hand version today.

Put this in their binder with the right hand version and  ask your young students the difference in the two pages. See if they can notice that the stems go down, the buns are on the left side, the finger is blue, and the border is a different color. Learning to notice things on the page will help later on when they have to notice musical symbols and expression marks.

Why do some people like me have so much trouble with their right and left hand?  When someone says use your left hand, to find it quickly I make an “L” with my left hand and thumb. I have students who do that, too.  I’m right handed, but I use my left hand for a lot of things, such as eating and using a computer mouse. I don’t know if that has something to do with it or not.

I’ve seen teachers get impatient with those of us who have this problem and say “left hand, left hand, left hand” louder and louder, as if saying it louder is going to help. Trust me, it doesn’t! The best thing to do is just accept that it has nothing to do with intelligence or musical ability and go on from there. One of my students is a wonderful artist and musician, and yet she always mixes up her hands. She composes and plays by ear, too. I usually just gently touch the hand I want her to use and that works.  

Hot Cross Buns for Pre-reading

 

Hot Cross Buns

I made the notes very large on this, probably because I have been having so much eye trouble that I could barely see the computer screen. Rather than shrink the notes down,  I decided to leave them big for my young beginning students.

How do you like my drawing of the hot cross buns? I hope they are drawn right.  Those of you from the UK or wherever they are common can let me know.  I’m not really an artist but I like to pretend!

Now I have a great new pair of computer glasses and I hope all will be fine for a while. 

Do you think I should post the one I made for the left hand?

Ed: After I posted this, I noticed a mistake in the last 2 measures, and I have corrected them.

Canada Day

Canada Day

There are a lot of Canadian teachers who read this blog, and they are all so nice. They email me with such nice comments,  support the site quite out of proportion to their numbers,   and I am so appreciative.  I have visited Canada and the people are good-hearted and friendly.  I am a big fan of your maple syrup and beautiful summer flower gardens.

I remember back in 1976 when I was in a small town in near the Canadian border watching a Bicentennial parade. The town was so small there was no band, so a high school in Canada sent their tiny marching  band to play in the parade. They had learned a bunch of American tunes to play just for the parade and to honor our Bicentennial. It was so sweet and I’ve always wanted to thank them.

Canada Day is July 1, close to our Fourth of July and it is a holiday like our Fourth of July, with picnics, lots of red and white,  and all kinds of summer fun.  I borrowed the format and some other things from my 4th of July pre-reading piece, but I started from scratch with the flag and the border.  I even made a maple leaf brush in Photoshop to draw the border!   

Change the fingering if you wish. Be sure and set your printer to landscape, and I hope your little students enjoy this! Let me know if I captured the feeling of Canada Day for your youngest beginning student.

What the Worm Said to the Robin

What the Worm Said to the Robin

Last year I posted What the Robin Said to the Worm and this year I am posting What the Worm Said to the Robin. Ok, the worm is a little slow! Better late than never.

I am trying to finish up the summer binder that I plan to give my beginning students.  I want to include some simple pre-reading pieces to play,  since this is all about playing the piano.

How is your pre-school binder coming along? If you don’t have a student to use this with now,  you might want to print it anyway and start a binder for the future.  If you are like me, by the time fall rolls around you will forget where on the web you saw it!

In the poll  I posted last week, pre-reading pieces received the most votes, so in addition to this new piece, I am reposting some that are in  my student’s binder. Below are the the easiest I’ve composed.  My student just loved Right Hand, Left Hand and played it over and over! I am working on some more that I will eventually post,  but  this is a very time consuming job.  Teachers also suggested some note learning printables, and I actually have made one for the summer which I hope to post soon.  It’s not too late to take the poll.

You will find many more pre-reading and easy on-the-staff songs on my website, if you look under the Music menu and take the time to scroll down. They are scattered throughout the Music menu, and some are more difficult than others.

I am working on one like The Fourth of July (posted below) for Canada Day, so all you Canadians can check back in a few days.

If anyone has questions on  how to teach these pre-reading pieces, send me an email and I’ll  post instructions  here on my blog.

Thanks to all of you who have donated to keep my website going!

What the Robin Said to the Worm

Fourth of July

Right Hand,  Left Hand

Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah

Someone’s in the Kitchen with Dinah

Here is another pre-reading solo. This is actually from a collection of folk songs that I wrote “on-the staff”  and made into a book for my younger students who had learned to read music at the primer level. My daughter illustrated the book  for me. I decided to turn this song from the book  into a pre-reading solo and share with you.

Be careful if you use this with beginning students. There are some skips that need to be addressed, as well as the tie. If your young child has never played skips before, do a lot of pretend play in the air and on the piano cover before attempting to play. It will make a big difference. I’ve found that children who play a lot of pre-reading pieces with skips do a lot better when they come upon them in their music.

The Bulldozer

The Bulldozer

If you have been following this blog for while, you know that I have a special, cute, red headed beginning student who loves for me to compose songs for him. He parades into the room, looks for his footstool, and gets right to work.

Starting on the black keys we progressed slowly, learning the names of the keys, how to hold the hands, how to drop into the keys, left hand and right hand, finger numbers, and all the other things we teach beginning students.  I  wrote one song a week for him for many weeks, mirroring what he liked and his favorite activities. My student was very young and could not sit to practice for too long , so we took our time and leisurely went through his first book,  My First Piano Adventures.  Now he is learning to read notes on the staff, and thanks to a great background, he is doing very well. But I have a nostalgic, bittersweet feeling, because I know that period of his life is gone and he is growing up. It is the same feeling we have when we drop off our children for the first day of kindergarten. We’re happy and sad at the same time!

This was the last pre-reading piece I wrote for him.  He was thrilled to play hands together and he loved the sound of the open fifths and the minor key. A lot of practice drumming this out on the piano cover helped to get hands together, as well as all the rhythm activities we have been doing for the past 9 months. He sailed through the skipping notes because we did a lot of preparation. This is a great song to memorize and play for others because it sound impressive. My student repeated it an octave lower for a longer piece.

If your student has trouble with the skipping notes, play them in the air and on the piano cover before playing on the keys. Unless your student is older, this should not be one of his first pieces. Wait until he is ready.  

Some teachers do not think it is good to spend so much time on pre-reading. But I would like to point out that it took weeks for this student to develop the coordination to play with the correct fingers consistently.  Other teachers wonder why start piano so early if it take so long to get anywhere.  Why not wait until they can learn it faster? But he enjoys his lessons so much, and loves to play. This alone is a great motivator for him and a good ego boost. Plus, there is no doubt in my mind that the earlier children are exposed to rhythm and musicality, the easier they catch on, just like learning a foreign language. I can guarantee that this student will have no rhythm problems when he is older, unlike many of our students who start at a later age. If boys are playing impressive sounding pieces by the time they are in the later elementary grades, they are much more likely to stick with piano.

The words and art from this song is recycled from my book Sunny Solos. In that book this piece is on the staff with a different melody.  My daughter was able to draw and color the bulldozer in about 5 minutes. I wish she could do all my art!

To print this song, go to my website, click *music*,  scroll down to SP013 and click *download*.

We Three Kings in a pre-reading version

We Three Kings

This is a pre-reading version of We Three Kings. I am using it with a student who doesn’t have the attention span to do two pages, so I only wrote the first verse and left off the chorus. Maybe you have a student like mine and can use this with her. To help with tracking I made blocks of color like I did with some of the other pre-reading music I posted this year.

Pre-reading Away in a Manger, Anglican version

Away in  a Manger

There are several tune settings for this well-known Christmas carol. Last year I posted the version that is the most popular version here in the United States.  But there are other versions, including the one I am posting today.   This version is also the one most often used in the UK, according to my friends from England. If you are from the Anglican tradition, this is probably the version you know.  

I did some research on this tune. For some reason I thought maybe it was an old English tune, maybe even a folk song. I was surprised to discover the tune was actually composed by a member of the Methodist church here in the United States. How it became the tune used by the Church of England is probably an interesting story! Maybe it was chosen because it is really a lovely melody and very child friendly. Spanning just over one octave, it is easy to sing and play. The lilting melody has no dotted notes and fits the words perfectly. The harmony is charming and I hope to add a teacher duet one of these days.

I tried very hard not to put this in C position, but it really made no sense to force it into another key when the key of C  works out so well for pre-reading this melody. I did have to add a hand crossing to play the A above middle C, but I don’t think that will be too much of a problem if your student started lessons a few months ago. I hope the diagram at the top will help with that.

For those of you who always ask, yes, I drew the pictures including the manger, the hand, and the keyboard in Photoshop. I  engraved the score in Finale.

I have a traditional  score that I’m using with some of my students that is exactly like this, except the notes are on the grand staff . If there is enough interest from the UK, I will also post it here.