What a great first lesson! There is always so much info to squeeze in while I have you in class once a month. Thank you for coming!

Our last semester of Let’s Play Music is jam-packed with amazing musical concepts that some kids will get in high school music classes, if they are lucky!! This is going to be an amazing ride as we make skipping snakes, play with the roots of chords, build triads, compose a song, add to our musical repertoire, and much, much more.

Because we are moving right along now, my hope is that you will continue to put highest priority in helping your child play the piano at home. Each week we will be building on concepts and skills practiced the previous week. Of course, we have been doing this all along in the other LPM semesters. However, if the students get behind this semester, they will most likely feel lost rather quickly. As a result, it is possible they won’t feel happy going to class because they won’t know the material and won’t have practiced the songs. This can lead to frustration and unhappy students. We’d like to avoid this from the start, by putting highest priority on practice from the beginning. This will eliminate much of the distress that could develop because of neglected practice. I have included a Play Plan in the front of their songbook that you can fill out with your child. This little document allows you to think together about your schedules and when would be the best time to sit down and practice. Just taking the time to make a plan can make a world of difference!

Digital copies of the calendar can be found HERE. This document is the easiest way to find out if it's parent day or not, when private lessons happen, and when we don't have class (ie: Spring Break). If you don't have your student's homework booklet in front of you, you can always check the calendar on my website in the 3rd Year Student Resources.

Orange Roots is extra special because your kids get to compose their own original piece. Lessons 6 and 11 are NOT normal classes - instead, your child will come to a 20 minute private lesson where we will start drafting and creating their original composition. Look for a link to a Sign-Up Genius next week! 

Listening to the music album is SO IMPORTANT this semester! The lyrics teach the theory they are learning in class. Please have your kids listen to the music tracks often and learn the words. Download the album from the Let's Play Music app or click here to download the tracks to your computer and/or phone.

Click here to see my studio's 2025-2026 class schedule starting in the fall. My OR students will be graduating, but this is also applicable to anyone that knows someone that would like to have their child start 1st year of Let's Play Music in the fall. 

If you need any help aiding your kiddo with playing the piano at home, check out my Play at Home Videos at the link below.

Phew! Thank you for making it through this long email! I promise the rest of this semesters' emails won't be this long. :)

Primary Root Chords Song

Wow! We had to do some hard thinking during class with this song. Playing our old familiar song in a new way is helping us understand that root and how to play chords when they are in root position. We are jumping all over the keyboard to play this song, but don't forget, to play these root position chords you simply put your thumb on the root and then play what 'feels' like a red chord.

Cockles and Mussels

Our first repertoire song this semester is an old Irish folk song from the 1800s. This week, we are focusing on learning the melody. The fun part of this song comes soon, when we look at the ROOT position chords in the left hand. This piece allows us to strengthen our fingers as hands play together, tests our sight reading skills, and gives us the opportunity to improvise with a broken chord variation. Ha ha! Is there anything it doesn't do??? Our Let's Play Music blog has a great post with fun facts and practice videos dedicated to our new 'Cockles and Mussels' repertoire piece. Gather the family together and enjoy!

Let's Find the Root

Ever wonder why we learn so much about chords in Let's Play Music? Chords are the building blocks of songs and harmonies. In our 6th and final Orange Roots semester, we will finally analyze and label the chord theory and structure that our fingers have been playing and singing since we were Red Balloons! The idea of 'it's not about the shape, it's about the pieces' will take on new meaning as we label those pieces and discover the most important of those pieces-- the ROOT! Don your sunglasses, and keep it cool while you sing 'Let's Find the Root' to understand what the root is, and how to find it in our chords! 

In case this feels a little foreign to you, CLICK HERE for a parent help that dissects the lyrics to Let's Find the Root with visual examples and simple explanations to better help you understand the theory concepts I am teaching in class.

Monsters is such a fun puppet show and I think you'll appreciate this hilarious short video of some trombone pranksters!

I value open and honest communication so please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments.

Thank you!