Elf is one of my favorite Christmas movies. He’s just so cheerful and fun! The music in that movie makes me smile. I think their version of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is perfect. Here’s a couple of links to free arrangements of the song:
http://pianosheetmusic.writtenmelodies.com/Seasonal/Sheets/Baby-Its-Cold-Outside.pdf
https://musescore.com/user/67213/scores/5308017
I’ve been thinking of a way to spread Christmas cheer in my blog. I’m excited for the annual Christmas recital which is happening Saturday. I’ll post a picture of the students when it’s over. In the meantime, I’ve been critiquing myself as I teach my students scales. One of the things I make sure they’re aware of is when they have a song written in a key they’re been working on, or even one they’ve passed off, I have them tell me what chord is being used in that specific song. Sometimes that chords are broken but still in say, D Major. For instance, I had a student who played O Holy Night for a recital piece a few years. The particular piano arrangement was written in D Major. As she played the left hand eighth notes I’d have her stop and play the notes blocked. Then I’d ask her what chord she was playing in D Major. She was so surprised to realize she knew the theory used. The I, the IV, the V, the V7 and then those same chords used in a different position. It was a treat to watch her little brain at work!
One other bit of Christmas cheer I’d like to share is a help that I use for my students when they begin to play hands together on a two octave C scale. They do fine hands separate, but when they begin hands together it’s a little more difficult. I use the word “landmark” for the third finger keys. Both hand third fingers play the same key ascending and descending. I will tell them that if those third fingers “land” on E together and then again on A together, they are playing the scale correctly. I’ll use a building in our local community that everyone knows and tell them that when I give directions to someone coming to my home for the first time, that building is the “landmark” they should look for in their quest to get here.
Kids are pretty great. They’re like little sponges, especially if they love music and love learning to play piano. Teaching music is so rewarding in many ways. If any of you have a question you think I could answer, please send it my way. I’ll do my best to get you the answer.
Teaching Corner: You’d be surprised at how many adults don’t know what the dot following a note means. Most are familiar with a three count dotted half note, but what if the dot follows a quarter note or an eighth note? A dot following a given note adds half its value or in other words, it increases the duration of the basic note by half.
In 4/4 time:
Dotted half note = 3 counts
Dotted quarter note = 1 ½ counts
Dotted eighth note = ½ count
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