As I've mentioned before, the jump from playing music written on the staff has been a challenge for WonderGirl. We've been flying by with the first Alfred Prep book but it was quite a leap. I have a 7 year old student who is nearing the end of the book who hadn't the slightest hiccup while making the transition, but WG is still very much a 4 year old. Both of us were wringing our hands, so I headed to the local music store to see if I could find a book that spent a little more time introducing the staff.
Voila, enter the Faber My First Piano Adventures. I'd looked at the series a few months ago, but the first book didn't seem quite WG's speed (it's delightful though). The second book is all about introducing the staff, note by note (it comes with a CD that we haven't tried out yet - I'll give you info on that when we do). It moves slowly, but it's chock full of games, theory and cute songs with catchy lyrics - which is exactly what WG needs right now. She learned how to read English, but she'd been speaking it for about 2 years already - she's only been speaking "music" for a few months now, so I need to remember to be patient.
The bright illustrations and cute stories have WG excited, and I'm thrilled to pieces. I plan on coming back to the Alfred book in a bit and using both, because she responded well to it too. Plus I know once we get a firmer grasp on reading notes on the staff, it'll give her a big confidence boost to be able to rock the songs that had previously been difficult.
The lesson I've learned here is: if your kid seems to hit a brick wall, sometimes you need to head to the music store and find a book that has a different path around the wall. The end destination is the same place, and will be more peaceful experience for both of you! Who knew great method books could make a mom so giddy??
2 comments:
"Any port in a storm" is a phrase I remember from growing up and it's true. If it works, don't ask why, just go with it.
Have you done flashcards with her? I haven't had a student yet who had trouble with reading notes after a solid week of flashcards...
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