piano/ballet lesson this week!

Sarah has been so sick this winter. She's had a fever 5 times since Thanksgiving along with a stomach bug once, a bad reaction to some meds etc... her latest is strep throat, which she came down with last Thursday. Once the antibiotics set in, she was right at her piano with her kitty. Every time, without fail, Lacey-cat will jump up on the bench when she hears the piano playing. She loves Sarah (and the music too I guess!)

This week in piano Sarah is learning: A Major scale. Her songs are "A shephard's song" using both hands (with Alberti Bass), "A Si Mon Moi" and "hop old squirrel" (a fun one!!!) These are played by ear and they are songs they sing in school (her piano teacher is also her music teacher at school. ) so Sarah knows the songs and her teacher asks her to just figure them out. For instance: She'll play these songs differently each week, like, one week she was asked to figure it out in the key of F, then it was G, etc.. then adding chords and the alberti style for her left hand. She's learning this way to train her ear (not the way I learned!) but it really is amazing how it works.. it's like learning to walk before you learn to run or dance etc. Her teacher is just starting note reading and she's doing great with that too. (whew.. this is where we stopped when I was trying to teach her.. it just didn't work at that point for Mom to show her!) For note reading she's practicing "Suo-Gan" and this week she has to figure out how to add her left hand to the noted right hand. It's interesting to listen to! I'm so glad she has the interest!

2007

Here is an older picture of my ballet teacher and I. There will be new pictures taken really soon. Right now in ballet we are dancing to Emily's Reel". If you would like to listen to it, here is the link: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?saId=13690371