Maia (5.9 y.o.) and Camelia

How nice the transposing course is! We are going to study today .

Hello!

After the May Recital, Hellene gave us a few precious pieces of advice.
First of all, we should start using the metronome. And I think the easiest way to start this is with the finger exercises we learned at the very beginning of our piano experience.
Here is Maia's first attempt:



And here is another exercise we made up (I hope this is not a wrong idea):



And here is "Jingle Bells" (right hand):



Take good care, have a wonderful weekend!

Today, Maia turned 6!
The last month was hard for us, she is still not recovered, but she insisted on learning "Jingle Bells" and play it for Hellene today .
With some hesitations, this is how she plays it so far:



A wonderful weekend to all of you!

Very nice job, Maia!

How beautiful, dear Natalia!!!! Thank you so, so much!!!

Hello, dear friends!

These days, we are all surrounded by the wonderful Christmas carols, aren't we?
Therefore, while practicing for the Winter Recital, I thought it was high time Maia learned the meaning of the most beautiful English carols.
So, my recommendation for today is an exquisite Usborne book, called "The Usborne Christmas Carols Sticker Book".
It is a gorgeous 305 x 238mm book, and it has 24 pages, plus 8 pages of stickers.





Isn't it absolutely great for the children to develop their fine motricity (while placing the stickers in their right places), to practice reading the music sheets provided for 11 well-known carols and learn about the meaning of their words?!

See how great the pages look:



And look how beautiful the stickers are:




And here are two fragments taken from the text that explain the origins of these carols, as well as interesting explanations of some of the words found in them:

"God rest ye merry, Gentlemen" appears in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. It is sung by the carol singer who is turned away by the greedy old miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.
"God rest ye merry" means "May God keep you strong."
In the 19th century, town watchmen sang this as they walked through the streets at Christmas, hoping to earn extra money at rich men's houses.

The original words and music for this carol were written in the town of Oberndorf in Austria, and first performed there at the Church of St. Nicholas on Christmas Eve, 1818.
During the First World War, "Silent Night" was sung by English, French and German troops at the Christmas truce - when they stopped fighting - on Christmas Day 1914. It was the only Christmas carol they all knew.

I hope you enjoy my recommendation .
Have a wonderful week!