High Class Music

Unlimited Learning

2012-02-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

With My Musical Mind,
You are not limited to one key signature.
You are not even limited to one instrument.
Because of the music reading materials which I teach, you can learn more music reading and learn it faster, and learn to apply it to more instruments.
If you want to really learn it faster, you have to repeat it so your muscles can catch up with your eyes and mind.

© 2012 Kathryn Hardage
www.MyMusicalMind.com

Next Step in C Major

2012-01-15T11:14:00.001-08:00

My very young students are quite comfortable learning to identity and compare two note combinations.

They like to draw the notes in the musical pattern books and they like to compose and play their own patterns.

I tried jumping them to two sets of two-note combinations, but they are just not ready.

Developmentally, it is not something they desire to do, even though intellectually, they have been introduced to the material.

So I created a separate book to ease that step.

C Major C-D Musical Pattern Book is ready.

I will see what happens with it.

© 2012 Kathryn Hardage
www.MyMusicalMind.com

Home Sweet Home

2011-12-31T16:55:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-27T08:22:00.000-08:00

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

2011-12-12T08:07:00.001-08:00

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

Music Stories to Play

2011-11-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a bridge between playing the Music Reading Readiness notation in Musical Pattern Books and sharing a story.

To do that, I have just written my first Music Story. It is called "Many Birds, One Bird." To play it, a parent reads the story and the young child follows the notation that is written on the each page of the story.

There is a version for piano, violin, guitar, and percussion.

It is so much fun to read stories together. This will provide an easy bridge for practicing every time the parent and child read and play the story.

New Ezine

2011-11-08T07:20:00.001-08:00

I am working on an ezine template to sell my publications. So far, there is an ezine for parents and teachers of pre-schoolers with a Theme. Each theme consists of a chant, a finger-play, and a song. The themes are about Self-Awareness and Family, Care for the Earth, and Celebrations.

There is also an ezine for Music Reading Readiness Kits. Instruments featured are Percussion, Violin, Guitar, Piano.

These are appropriate for people who want to introduce the idea of music reading to very young children in a way that is consistent with their curiosity and desire for exploration, rather than routine.

Musical Scales

2011-08-31T05:59:00.000-07:00

All that practicing lays down the foundation patterns for playing any music in any key.

The part I loved were the etudes that took me through every permutation of a fingering pattern in every key. They were delightful and challenging puzzles that fully engaged the mind and fingers.

Since the early ’80’s I have been envisioning a transparent sphere big enough for a person to step inside with colored lines of light that connect all the keys and harmonic progressions together. They light up as they occur in the music.

I was the only one of my “group” who truly loved music theory. Now, I am preparing materials that will allow anyone, absolutely anyone, from the very most basic beginner onward, to lay down that foundation to enjoy how music all fits together.