Unit 1 Teacher Training Workshop

Clinician: Rachel Schott
Group: Northwest Suzuki Institute
Event: Unit 1
Date: August 1-6, 2010
Register before June 30
Location: University of Oregon
Fee: $350 (registration $50)
University of Oregon room/board $295 single, $235 double
Contacts: Heather Figi, director

The Northwest Suzuki Institute at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR) is thrilled to be offering Music Mind Games, Unit 1 teacher training for the first time in Oregon. Please join us the first week of August for a week of training with dynamic and innovative Music Mind Games teacher trainer Rachel Schott. For more details please download the complete institute brochure at: http://music.uoregon.edu/downloads/cmi/NSI2010.pdf . 

Rachel: "I can't imagine trying to teach theory without my Music Mind Games training.  So many subjects to cover, so few ways to make them memorable and fun.  After my first week of taking training I felt equipped to take my students well into subjects I never dreamed I'd be able to cover - things most musicians don't beging studying until college.  Now, years later as a Music Mind Games Teacher Trainer, I'm thrilled to be able to share all I've learned with other teachers."

Michiko: "Rachel had great energy for life, teaching and Music Mind Games. She has taken Unit 1 and 2 seveal times, taught Music Mind Games at numerous workshops and institutes as well as to her own students and assisted me with my Unit 1 courses. I am delighted to recommend Rachel. Her Unit 1 courses will be great!"

Blue Jello Rhythm Puzzles

Purchase both the blue jello rhythm puzzle set and rhythm bingo cards (Panda 2 Rhythm Pack) and save 10%

The blue jello rhythm puzzles are a set of two durable foam puzzles, each measuring 8.5" x 12". The puzzles are ideal for teachers and parents to teach rhythm math and reading rhythms in all teaching situations. One puzzle is dark blue and one is bright blue. Puzzle pieces are to be intermixed to create a puzzle with a dark blue background and bright blue pieces and a puzzle with a bright blue back ground and dark blue pieces. With a total of 98 puzzle pieces, there are endless possibilities for making rhythms.

The blue jello rhythm puzzle, which originally was available from 1992 – 2005, was one of the most popular items in the original Warner Bros. materials. Now teachers and parents who have wanted a puzzle need to look no further. These puzzles have been completely updated and revised by Michiko, making it possible to make single notes and rests, combinations of rhythms such as "jel-lo jel-lo" (four eighth notes) and "gooseberry" (eighth note and two sixteenth notes) and even complex rhythms such as "celery" (sixteenth note triplet), "huckleberry lo" (four sixteenth notes and one eighth note), and "macadamia" (sixteenth note quintuplet). The puzzles will be a hit with individual lessons, group classes and in the classroom.

Blue Jello Rhythm Puzzle Ideas: The 8-page insert includes the article, "Blue Jello – A Delicious Way to Study Rhythm" which explains the philosophy behind teaching rhythm with the Blue Jello vocabulary, Blue Jello hand signs and Blue Jello drawings with a handy, detailed chart of these concepts. Four games are included for guidance and to spark the imagination.

If you've been lucky enough to have the original Warner Bros. puzzle, you'll want to upgrade to this fully revised set of two puzzles. CLick on the link to see photos and a cool animation of the puzzle.

blue jello puzzle set website price $35 

Rhythm Bingo Cards

Purchase both the blue jello rhythm puzzle set and rhythm bingo cards (Panda 2 Rhythm Pack) and save 10%

The rhythm bingo cards are a set of 12 two-sided, colorful cards measuring 11" x 16". Not your ordinary bingo cards, these versatile cards will help students read rhythms, see patterns of notes and rests as "rhythmic words", understand the relative values of notes and rests, and keep a steady beat. 

The cards: Each card is unique with nine carefully arranged patterns on each side. The patterns on Side 1 use rhythms from the blue jello cards set 1 in 4/4 time. Side 2 uses the rhythms from blue jello cards set 1 and set 2 (available soon as a downloadable material) in three different meters: 3/4, 4/4 and 6/8. To provide a touch of humor and engage different learning styles, each card includes several Blue Jello word drawings.

Rhythm Bingo Cards Ideas: The 8-page insert, includes the article, "Blue Jello – A Delicious Way to Study Rhythm" which explains the philosophy behind teaching rhythm with the Blue Jello vocabulary, Blue Jello hand signs and Blue Jello drawings with a handy, detailed chart of these concepts. Four games are included for guidance and to spark the imagination.

Also includes: Teacher's Guide, magic notes, and one magic wand.

If you've been lucky enough to have the original Warner Bros. set, you'll want to upgrade to this fully revised set of cards. Click on the link to see photos and a cool animation of the rhythm bingo cards.

rhythm bingo cards website price $45 

Recently several teachers emailed me to ask, "What is a Unit 1 Overview?" Here's what I wrote back: The 3-day Unit 1 Overview is the most detailed Music Mind Games workshop available besides a complete 5-day Unit 1. The Unit 1 Overview covers as much of a Unit 1 workshop (First Steps games) as time permits. Since it's important that the pace be appropriate for each individual workshop, this will depend on the number of teachers, the amount of questions and the time it takes for teachers to understand the various games and the philosophy behind how Music Mind Games teaches various subjects.

The value of a Unit 1 Overview is that it is shorter, less expensive and it still contains a lot of content. Participants will leave with an excellent understanding of Music Mind Games and an abundance of ideas to use for years and years. The Unit 1 Overview will not serve as a prerequisite for Unit 2, but there are teachers choosing to retake Unit 1 who are finding that each time is more enriching. So, if you ever want to carry on with more training, there are good opportunities with anything from a one-hour presentation to a 1-day workshop to a 5-day Unit 1.

Unit 1 Overview Workshop for Teachers

Planned to coordinate with the Suzuki Association of the America's Conference

Clinician: Michiko
May 24 -26, 2010 - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
9:30 - 4:30 with an hour lunch break at noon
MacPhail Center for Music
   501 South 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
www.macphail.org
Fee: $210 ($240 after April 15)
Questions?
Katherine Wood Wood.Katherine@MacPhail.org
Michiko Yurko michiko@musicmindgames.com

Register online

Added Benefit - Discount on Materials: After your registration has been approved and you send your username to Michiko, a 10% discount will be applied to all your purchases at the website. You may use this discount as often as you like until two weeks after the conclusion of the workshop. 

Unit 1 Overview Workshop for Teachers

Planned to coordinate with the Suzuki Association of the America's Conference

Clinician: Michiko
May 24 -26, 2010 - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
9:30 - 4:30 with an hour lunch break at noon
MacPhail Center for Music
   501 South 2nd Street
Minneapolis, MN 55401
www.macphail.org
Fee: $210 ($240 after April 15)
Katherine Wood Wood.Katherine@MacPhail.org
Michiko Yurko michiko@musicmindgames.com

Register online

Discount on Materials: After your registration has been approved and you send your username to Michiko, a 10% discount will be applied to all your purchases at the website. You may use this discount as often as you like until two weeks after the conclusion of the workshop. 

 
Workshops in April, May and June:
 • Teacher Workshop in Ogden, Utah (April 22 & 23) •
• Unit 1 Overview in Minneapolis, Minnesota (May 24 - 26) •
• Student Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah (June 14 - 19) •
• Student Institute in Orkney Springs, Virginia (June 20 - 25) •
• Unit 2 - Holstebro, Denmark (June 21 - 25) •
 

"I loved the "quiet skills" that Music Mind Games teaches, such as character qualities needed to develop life skills, e.g. assertiveness, faith, gentleness, goodness, honesty, joy, kindness, love, patience, place, self control, self-esteem and understanding that I endeavor to promote in my teaching." Marthé M.

"This has taught me how to teach in an incredibly fun and non-threatening way." Tari. R

"I am taking home more ideas than I'll be able to use in years of group teaching and lots of techniques to use with specific problems in private teaching." Melissa R.
 

I've been wanting to send out a newsletter for awhile, so I'm happy to finally say, "Greetings everyone!" Here in the Washington, D.C. area where I live, we had many gorgeous spring days in April with sunshine, abundant cherry trees, dogwoods, azaleas and daffodils in full bloom. Wherever you live, I wish you beautiful weather, too.

1. Blue jello rhythm puzzle and rhythm bingo cards: A very helpful group of volunteer proofreaders/editors and I have put the finishing touches on these two greatly anticipated materials, and I sent them to the printer yesterday. Yea! They will be released for sale in two weeks; I will send around an announcement as soon as they are ready. Thank you for your patience - they will be worth the wait. The big blue jello cards - set 1 is nearly ready and will be next.

2. Revised blue jello word cards: Thanks to the innovations during development of the puzzle and bingo cards, e.g. new Blue Jello drawings and greater emphasis on rainbow colors for rhythm values, the blue jello word cards have been revised. I will be uploading the new files soon. If you've purchased these downloadable cards, your update is free. I will send an announcement and instructions when they are ready.

3. Danish website: Congratulations to Aalborg, Denmark on the debut of their own Music Mind Games website. There are photos, an interview with Danish teachers and me and other interesting things. There is great energy for Music Mind Games in Denmark. www.musicmindgames.dk  

4. Minneapolis, MN 3-day workshop (May 24-26): This Unit 1 Overview is a great opportunity to understand how to teach Music Mind Games and have a hands-on opportunity to learn how to play dozens of games. Planned to coordinate with the Suzuki Association of the America's Conference, the workshop will be at the MacPhail Center for Music. Registration has been great - there are a few spaces remaining. Information and registration available online. Includes a 10% discount on materials.

5. Free shipping to the Suzuki Conference: Young Musicians will be carrying a limited supply of Music Mind Games materials at their booth at the conference. This is your chance to save on those pesky shipping and handling charges with free shipping. Here's how you can make it happen for you. Email an order form (attached at the bottom of this newsletter) to me on or before Monday, May 17 and your materials will be waiting for you at the booth. This way you are guaranteed to get the materials you want. If you have questions, please send me an email. The sooner you place your order the better; it will be helpful to me. And if you're going to the conference, please stop by the booth and say hello!

6. Seven new Music Mind Games teacher trainers: During July 9-16, seven dedicated Music Mind Games teachers will be meeting with me for a Unit 1 Teacher Trainer Retreat. Each of them has taken Unit 1 and Unit 2 training multiple times, assisted me at workshops, taught Music Mind Games with their home students and led short workshops on their own. After July, each of them will be certified to lead Unit 1 workshops. Up until this point I have been doing all the Unit 1 and 2 training, e.g. 10 weeks of Unit 1 and 2 last year, so I welcome their help. New trainers will be Amy Fowers, Utah; Rachel Schott, Kentucky; Joyce Bennett, Virginia; Elizabeth Cunha, Maryland; Carsten Viuf, Aalborg, Denmark; Gitte Chren, Aalborg, Denmark; and Inge Brink Nielsen, Aalborg, Denmark. Kristian Dalgaard Nielsen, who has been very active in bringing Music Mind Games to Denmark, will also attend. After sessions here at my studio, the retreat will take place at the beach in Delaware. Check out Upcoming Workshops to see if any of their workshops work for you.

7. Welcome European dealers: To help Music Mind Games be more accessible to European teachers, three dealers in Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark are now carrying our materials: Notencafé in Luzern (Switzerland), ECHO Musikproduktion VÄXJÖ (Sweden), and Aarhus Musik - noder.dk in Aarhus (Denmark). Many thanks to Pia Siegwart (Unit 1 2008) for translating the text in the Puppy Packet and Panda 1 Pack materials into German. Her translations accompany all items sold by Notencafé.

8. International shipping costs: We are making efforts to find less expensive means to ship materials overseas.

9. Emily's blog: Have you visited Emily's blog on the website? She is an independent piano teacher living near Baltimore, Maryland who uses Music Mind Games in her lessons rather than in group classes. Emily has taken Unit 1 (2005) and Unit 2 (2006) and assisted me with workshops, editing documents and designing the Music Mind Games materials. She and her mother, who also teaches piano and Music Mind Games host a study group for local teachers in Baltimore who are interested in learning about Music Mind Games.

10. Freddie: This newsletter was actually ready to send out in April, but I simply couldn't bring myself to make the announcement that our dear dog, Freddie has died. Even now I am having great difficulty writing these words. Many of you know Freddie from the materials and tell me that you and your students talk about Freddie often. He died of natural causes on April 11 following only two days of being ill. My husband, Cris and I were with him in the middle of the night when he passed. The next day we buried him in our backyard. To honor him, we have planted a camellia bush and a dogwood tree that will bloom each spring.

Freddie was a rescue dog from our local shelter when he was about one-year old and was part of our family for nearly fifteen years which is a long time for a large dog. He was a happy, active shepherd-chow mix with expressive eyes. He was very intelligent, a good watch dog, loyal to the family, and walked off-leash in our neighborhood and on outings. He had an excellent memory and, as the little drawing of him shows, could really sing. We miss him greatly but we're comforted knowing that he is helping children enjoy music theory.

Workshop for Teachers and Students
"I loved the "quiet skills" that Music Mind Games teaches such as character qualities needed to develop
life skills, e.g. assertiveness, faith, gentleness, goodness, honesty, joy, kindness, love, patience,
place, self control, self-esteem and understanding that I endeavor to promote in my teaching." Marthé M.
• "This has taught me how to teach in an incredibly fun and non-threatening way." Tari. R
• "I am taking home more ideas than I'll be able to use in years of group teaching and
lots of techniques to use with specific problems in private teaching." Melissa R.
 
Clinician: Michiko
Friday, February 19, 2010
Teachers: 9:30 - 5:00
Students 3:30 - 4:30
Brooklyn Conservatory of Music
58 Seventh Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
www.bqcm.org 
$115 for teachers and $20 for students
Contact Julianne Carney
Julianne.Carney@bqcm.org 
718-622-3300 ex. 25

Next month:
03-20: Workshop for Teachers in Odense, Denmark (March 20, 2010)
03-26 Unit 1 Overview in Flagstaff, Arizona (March 26-28, 2010)

There are more workshop opportunities this year than ever before. Teachers: Come learn new concepts, ideas and updates that are only available with the person-to-person atmosphere of a workshop. The hands-on experience will give you insights and tips galore. Treat yourself to a fun time! In some cases, the number of participants is limited, so early registration is encouraged.

1-29 Teacher Workshop in Frederikshavn, Denmark
1-30 Student and Teacher Workshop in Denver, Colorado
2-5 Teacher Workshop in Svendborg, Denmark
2-6 Teacher and Student Workshop in Sun Valley, Idaho
2-12 Teacher's Convention in Washington, D.C.
2-19 Teacher and Student Workshop in New York, New York
3-20 Workshop for Teachers in Odense, Denmark
3-26 Unit 1 Overview in Flagstaff, Arizona (3 days)
5-24 Unit 1 Overview in Minneapolis, Minnesota (3 days)  ** register online

 
More information is posted at Upcoming Workshops.

** This 3 day Unit 1 Overview Teacher Training Workshop has been planned to coordinate with the 2010 Suzuki Association Conference. If you're a Suzuki teacher, attend both and be a superstar!

6-14 Student Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah (June 14 - 19, 2010)
6-20 Student Institute in Orkney Springs, Virginia (5 days)
6-21 Unit 6-21 Unit 2 - Holstebro, Denmark (5 days)
7-11 Student Institute in Boulder, Colorado (5 days)
7-26 Student Institute in Honolulu, Hawaii (5 days)
8-1 Unit 1 and Student Institute in Eugene, Oregon (6 days)
8-16 Unit 1 in Kensington, Maryland (5 days)  register online

More information is posted at Upcoming Workshops.

Play: The other player than the dealer takes the first turn. If possible s/he chooses one of his/her three face up cards and discards it into either of the center piles. The card must be either one value higher or one value lower than the top card and either choice is correct*. S/he replaces the card with one from his pile so three cards are facing up. Players take turns discarding cards. If someone doesn’t have a card to play, s/he says “Pass,” and the other player can play. 
 
If both players say “Pass” in a row, each takes one card from the side piles and turns it face up onto a center pile to break the impasse. The player who said "Pass" first takes the first turn and the game continues. If the side piles should run out of cards, the two face up cards on the center piles remain, and the rest of the pile is turned face down to become a side pile. 
 
There’s no limit to how many times one player can pass. Players can help each other. The game is over when a player discards all his cards.

Variation: Since this is a Classic Game, it's possible to reinforce other skills with this game. Use with do re mi cards (use just five do cards - choose an interval and don't forget to sing the pitches as the cards go in the center piles), alphabet cards (to practice intervals or key signatures), and grand staff cards (choose an interval).

*Sequence and wraparounds: The sequence must include a dotted note between values whether the cards are notes or rests since that's what we're trying to teach. Whole notes or rests wrap around to sixteenth notes or rests and vice versa.

A group of teachers and parents from all over the world help me as volunteer proof-readers and I would like to thank them. They look over new publications, web pages and newsletters. Thanks to the magic of Internet, we do all our communication through emails. They download projects to their computers and respond with corrections and suggestions. The turnaround time is often rather quick and I'm grateful for their flexibility. Some of us have met and some have not. Some have studied with me at workshops and others only know Music Mind Games through the materials, book and website. This helps ensure understanding on many levels. Thank you everyone!

Arian Johnson, Springfield, Virginia
Carol Tarr, Denver, Colorado
Cindy Dittrich, Springfield, Missouri
Donna Murray, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Elizabeth Cunha, Silver Spring, Maryland
Emily Lowe, Baltimore, Maryland
Ethel Olsen, Elkton, Maryland
Gail Matulaitis, Simi Valley, California
Jana MacKay, Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Janet Harrison, North Reading, Massachusetts
Jean Carlson, Chevy Chase, Maryland
Jill Kuhn, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Kathy Coltof, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Linda J. Smith, Richmond, Minnesota
Lynne Schefke, Naperville, Illinois
Margy Barber, Hixson, Tennessee
Marie D'Andrea, Weaverville, North Carolina
Melissa S. Robol, Worthington, Ohio
Moon Teng Yap, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Naomi Kusano, Washington, D.C. 
Sue Bakshi, Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Sue Edwards, Manlilus, New York
Teri Wheeler Roosa, Lee, Massachusetts
Terry, Falmouth, Maine
Tina Raimondi, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
 

The revision of the blue jello rhythm puzzle has been in development for nearly two years. I would like to thank teachers who are helping me test the new puzzle sizes and proofread the inserts of game ideas. I'm delighted to announce that the puzzle is finally in the production phase. This means Panda Rhythm will be available in the spring. 

Alicia Derr, Salt Lake City, Utah
Alexia Luscher, Kailua, Hawaii
Anita Schultz, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin
Debbie Lowry, Antioch, Tennessee
Elizabeth Cunha, Silver Spring, Maryland
Emily Lowe, Baltimore, Maryland
Hazel Roggen, Auckland, New Zealand
Jan Lance, Gilroy, California
Judy Bohne, Hamilton, Ohio
Leslie Katz, Sherman Oaks, California
Linda J. Smith, Richmond, Minnesota
Lynne Schefke, Naperville, Illinois
Naomi Kusano, Washington, D.C.
Pat Bowen, Little Rock, Arkansas
Patti Ladpli, Madison, Wisconsin 

The melodic bingo cards (Panda Melody) and rhythm bingo cards (Panda Rhythm) have been a fun project but very labor intensive for more than two years. A big thank you to these teachers who are helping me test the cards and proofread the inserts of game ideas.

Anita Schultz, Cottage Grove, Wisconsin
Anna Kofner, North Potomac, Maryland
Carol Jiling, Denver, Colorado
Elizabeth Cunha, Silver Spring, Maryland
Emily Lowe, Baltimore, Maryland
Jessica Lackey, Bowie, Maryland
Katie Hoody, Garland, Texas
Leslie Katz, Sherman Oaks, California
Linda M. Calhoun, Bella Vista, Arkansas
Lynne Schefke, Naperville, Illinois
Moon Teng Yap, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Naomi Kusano, Washington, D.C.
Patti Ladpli, Madison, Wisconsin
Shannon Hall, Los Lunas, New Mexico
Sharie Stegeman, Potomac Falls, Virginia
Sue Bakshi, Lansdale, Pennsylvania
Sue Edwards, Manlilus, New York   

Many of you tell me that your students really like Freddie, the drawing of the singing dog who tells us if the various Music Mind Games cards are upside down or right side up. Freddie is my dog and he is saying Hello! He was a rescue dog from our local Humane Society in 1995 when he was about one year old. He was really quite wild but responded well to our training. He learned to sit, lie down, stay and come with voice and hand commands. If we put a treat on his paw and give him the sign to stay, he won't eat his treat until we tell him, "Okay, Freddie". He never liked to walk on the leash so we taught him to walk on the grass next to us. He sits down at the end of each curb and waits until he's told to cross, even if we cross ahead of him. When we get to the other side we turn around and he's looking at us with a twinkle in his eye. We call out "Cross, Freddie" and he bounds happily across the street full of pride. We've also taught him not to chase squirrels or cats since he's never been very fast and besides, it's not polite or kind.

He learned to sing on command, too. Often when my husband Cris would practice his saxophone, Freddie would begin to howl. We would say, "Good singing, Freddie," so he learned the word "sing". Soon we could say, "Sing, Freddie," and he would sing. It helped if I would howl a few notes to get him started.

Freddie is half German Shepherd and half Chow. He weighs about 62 pounds and is a happy dog. He is more than 15 years old which is old for a dog his size. His fur has turned grey around his eyes and he can't bark or sit any more. He takes medicine for arthritis, has had lyme disease two times and has an inner ear problem so he's a bit wobbly. He eats twice a day and enjoys his daily walks in the neighborhood. He loves when it snows and can't wait to go out and play (like me). He loves to eat snow. We have never fed him table scraps or people food except for a few raw vegetables he gets when we're cooking. His favorites are green peppers, cucumbers, the spines of romaine lettuce and the ends of brocolli and asparagus. He also likes to eat grass. As I write this, he's sleeping upside down with his feet in the air, right by the front door and a heating vent. This is his favorite spot and he's proud of what a good watch dog he is. He doesn't know that he's old enough to retire.

He used to come downstairs into my teaching studio to listen to lessons and lie in the middle of Music Mind Games classes and workshops. Sometimes we'd have to make our cards go around him or he'd roll over the top of our staff slates so our magic notes would slide around. Now his legs aren't strong enough to take him up or down a flight of stairs.

Freddie has an excellent memory. He acts differently and makes special sounds when friends or family arrive at our door. Several times someone has visited us after more than five years. We could tell Freddie remembered them because he made his special sounds. He has very expressive eyes and will blink at me when he understands. Just like people, our pets are often smarter than we think if we only go out of our way to recognize it. If you have a favorite pet whom you love, you will know what I mean.

As a thank you to all of you Music Mind Games enthusiasts, I am sending some holiday cheer in the form of 10% off all our items. That means 10% off Puppy Packets, Panda 1 Packs, Musopoly, the Music Mind Games book, blue jello word cards and all the individual items like grand staff cards, rhythm playing cards and blue jello cards. This special will last for one week only: December 15 - 20, 2009* so teachers, put your favorite items on your wish list, give a nudge to your Secret Santa or simply reward yourself with a well-deserved gift. Tell your parents about this opportunity to enrich their children's lives with a Puppy Packet or Musopoly game that will last for years and be entertaining as well.  

We are usually able to provide same day shipping depending on the time of day your order is received. Once your order leaves us, it's up to the carrier to get it to you in a timely manner. Of course, we always provide you with tracking numbers so you can trace your order. Please note that this offer does not apply to orders placed prior to December 15th or purchase orders.

*Specifically: December 15 at 5:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) through December 21 at 5:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time)

As a thank you to all of you Music Mind Games enthusiasts, I am sending some holiday cheer in the form of 10% off all our items. That means 10% off Puppy Packets, Panda 1 Packs, Musopoly, the Music Mind Games book, blue jello word cards and all the individual items like grand staff cards, rhythm playing cards and blue jello cards. This special will last for one week only: December 15 - 20, 2009* so teachers, put your favorite items on your wish list, give a nudge to your Secret Santa or simply reward yourself with a well-deserved gift. Tell your parents about this opportunity to enrich their children's lives with a Puppy Packet or Musopoly game that will last for years and be entertaining as well.  

We are usually able to provide same day shipping depending on the time of day your order is received. Once your order leaves us, it's up to the carrier to get it to you in a timely manner. Of course, we always provide you with tracking numbers so you can trace your order. Please note that this offer does not apply to orders placed prior to December 15th or purchase orders.

*Specifically: December 15 at 5:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time) through December 21 at 5:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time)

January 30: Student Workshop - Denver, Colorado
March 26-28: Unit 1 Overview - Flagstaff, Arizona
June 21-25: Unit 2 - Holstebro, Denmark
July 7-16: International Music Mind Games Teacher Trainer Retreat
July 26-30: Student Workshop - Honolulu, Hawaii

Details are available at Upcoming Workshops. There are more workshops in the planning stages. Information will be posted when available.

My tip this month is to learn "Daily Do" and teach it to your students if you haven't done so already. "Daily Do" (Handbook page 29) helps students sing triads, scales and intervals on pitch, sight-sing their pieces in solfege, learn the sequence of the keyboard, understand the relationship of major and minor scales and prepare for scale and key signature studies. A teacher in Prince Georges County, Maryland, who has just completed Unit 1, told me that all the students in her combined school choirs have learned "Daily Do". As a warm-up at a concert this month, 545 students sang "Daily Do" together. Wow!

Here's my response to a teacher in New York who emailed me asking about the choice of the do re mi colors.

The colors are simply the colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, red. It's good to use the do re mi cards to play games so students can experience the colors. Once the students have learned to sing "Daily Do" and are ready to relate the pitches to the keyboard it's time to use magic notes to write out the do re mi rainbow colors. Each student has a handful of magic notes and a paper piano (Panda 1 Pack). Classroom students can easily share materials. Rather than merely telling them the colors, I ask them these questions so they can discover the color sequence themselves and thus remember it more easily. The first time we use a C major scale. Try this with your materials and you'll see how logical it is.

1.   Q: What are the primary colors? A: Red, yellow, blue. We place red, yellow, and blue magic notes on the major triad keys, C E G.

2.   Let's figure out the color for D. Q: What color is formed by combining red and yellow? The students hold up the red and yellow magic notes to see for themselves. A: Orange. We put an orange magic note on D.

3.   Let's figure out the color for F. Q: What color is formed by combining yellow and blue? The students hold up the yellow and blue magic notes to see for themselves. A: Green. We put a green magic note on F.

4.   We put another red magic note on high C.

5.   Q: What color is formed by combining blue and red? The students hold up the two magic notes to see for themselves. A: Purple (violet). We put a purple magic note on B.

6.   Q: What color is formed by combining blue and purple? The students hold up the blue and purple magic notes to see for themselves. A: Indigo (I may need to help them with this color name). Since the magic notes don’t come in indigo we stack two magic notes together (blue on top of purple, or two blues, or blue on top of pink) to create the color indigo on A.

7.   Ta da! The major scale in do re mi rainbow colors.

The above photo shows my student singing “Daily Do” and pointing to the magic notes. The magic notes on her paper piano show the eight tones of the major scale. When she sings the minor section she will push up the lower LA and TI that are waiting in the margin and pull the upper TI and DO into the margin. Her magic notes will then form the minor scale. 

The workshop teachers photographed in the preceding article are using do re mi rainbow colors to take melodic dictation on staff slates. They are using do re mi cards as a reference.

I'm happy to say that I’ve finally learned the color sequence for rainbows which are now even more beautiful to me. 

From an earlier newsletter:

If you want to relate "Daily Do" to the staff, that's easy! Here's what students of Patty Ladpli in Wisconsin did:
 

David, Naomi, and Sofia (ages 5 and 6) had such fun writing "Daily Do" on seven staff slates which turned out to be, "the longest song we've ever written."  They even ran out of carpet before getting to the end. They have been regularly singing the "Daily Do" at the beginning of group class since September and just recently got to the end. All I did was start the first few notes, and AWAY THEY WENT! With very little parent or teacher help, they were able to sing and write the entire song in small sections.

Patty Ladpli teaches Suzuki piano, cello and theory in her home studio in Madison, Wisconsin and took Unit 1 in 2006 and Unit 2 in 2007. (Note: This photo was taken before I got the idea to use magic notes in do re mi rainbow colors when writing on staff slates.)