Home Sweet Home

This is the introduction to my music for HOME SWEET HOME, a book by Jean Marzollo, published by Harper Collins, 1997.
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Please order this wonderful book, HOME SWEET HOME by Jean Marzollo. The publisher information is on the title page of my music.

I wrote this music when I was teaching at a private school. My students were ages 18 months through twelve years old.

I wanted to compose a simple accompaniment that very young children could play on the piano. Taking into consideration the structure and strength of a five year old’s hand, I settled on the shape of the interval of a fifth on the piano. Placing the two hands close to each other was another consideration.

The melody is in the top note of the left hand. The fifths are played by alternating from left to right hand repeating the chords four times or sometimes only two times in a flowing motion without stopping.

The music is written with Letter Names for the notes, so anyone can play it. You do not have to know how to read music yet.

A notated version is available if you would like to see how the notes look.

You will see why I was charmed by the spirit and message of this book and its illustrations.


© 2011 Kathryn Hardage
www.MyMusicalMind.com

Script for Video Lesson #2

I looked up Video Lesson #1 and wrote a new Theme “What Is All Around Me” and my first movement song, “All My Wiggles” for a transition to the instrument, Triangle, with its Music Reading Readiness Kit.

The Open is the Theme song, “My Musical Mind” and the Close is a review contained in “I Wave My Hand Good-Bye”. Now I have the script for Video Lesson #2.

© 2011 Kathryn Hardage

Guitar Two-String Letter Name Books

I am finding my contribution through the many materials which I can develop to make it easy for young children, along with their parents, to find entry into the world of music reading.

Yesterday, I completed Guitar Two-String Letter Name Books, a series of three books. There are companion Music Writing Books for the child to learn the notes later, once the distances between strings are very familiar.

Each book combines two of the open strings to help young children locate the distances between those strings while integrating visual tracking as they follow and play the musical patterns.

The High E’-String/Low E-String Book helps children feel the location of the outer two guitar strings.

The A-String/B-String Book helps children feel for the string next to the highest and lowest guitar strings.

The D-String/G-String Book helps children find the two innermost strings.

There are Composing Cards for each book so the child can create original musical patterns and play them for parents.

This feedback and companionship of parents is the best support for a young child who is learning this multi-layered skill of reading and playing music.


© 2011 Kathryn Hardage