For new beginners, even adults, they are just happy to play something that is recognizably music. And more than that, it is foundational for skill-building Of all my piano music for beginning students, Mary Had a Little Lamb is the most necessary and the most versatile. Yes, it is just a nursery rhyme, but there is so much you can do with it. Sometimes you just have to give them what's good for them Though you would think children might turn up their noses at a nursery-rhyme song, only the occasional teenager looks mortified. Why is it loaded with finger numbers??!. Above, you see an arrangement with all the finger numbers shades of John Thompson. It's good ear training too. Now here is a version even easier to read, if possible, using made-easy notes, known as Alpha-Notes: There is so much you can do with this song. As piano music for kids, it is unbeatable for showing them how to use chords. Now I'm going to show you the many ways I use Mary Had a Little Lamb, again and again, up to two or three years after the piano student has learned it the first time. Yes, even though the melody could use a G chord as well. I don't draw notes for them, but show them how to make the chord. Identifying the chord I point out many times,generally that chords start with the pinky, or bottom finger, on the name of the chord. No big deal---they'll get it eventually. Especially if they have been doing mirror scales, they will find that an easy mistake to make. I give it another couple of weekswhile other concepts and pieces are being learned, then come back to Mary Had a Little Lamb they are still playing it and turn it into scary, sad piano music. That is, I have them lower the third finger of the melody, E, to Eb. That changes th e key from major to minor, and gives the song a sad or melancholy feeling, or even a hint of danger. Some kids are electrified by this tiny change, and the power it gives them to create a mood. This is very popular with most kids. It is just a 2-note inversion of the G7 chord. This doesn't happen mary had a little lamb piano students are very solid with the I chord, C. Changing chords is much harder than playing just one chord, so it will take a little more time to polish. I'll take over the melody during the lesson at first, so they can focus on the new chord change. This arrangement adds the chord symbols: Now it's time to enlist this song in a new cause - transposing. From the keys of C major and C minor, we move it up to D major and D minor. This is rote, with the ear helping out. First D major -- I mary had a little lamb piano it for them, with the necessary fand ask mary had a little lamb piano they notice anything different. I try to be patient, because if they can see what's going on without me just telling them, they'll remember it better. And their ear will tell them when it is wrong, almost all of the time. Go as far as you can; mary had a little lamb piano can always come back again later We'll stay with C, Cm, D, and Dm for a while, then gradually, as the student is able, start moving to all the rest of the keys or positions. Sometimes they'll forget how to do it at home. The pentascale of B is the biggie. Getting to the key of B is a big dea l, and we have a Transposing Chart that a star goes onto when they have finished with the white note tonic keys. This helps me keep track, as well as giving them a sense of accomplishment. But, if they are burned out on this song, we may very well switch to something else and start over again at the key of C. Gb may be the best key to start with, as Mary Had a Little Lamb doesn't require the 4 finger, and so there will be only black notes, no white notes mixed in. The keys of Ab and Db will feel similar to each other, but Bb and Eb will be a bit of a challenge. Bb is black on the bottom, white on the top. The B's are different than all the others. However, I often wait for the second or third transposed song before I have them try transposing into the black-note keys, especially if there was a struggle learning it. Even older transfer students who read into Level 3 music have been known to have difficulties. But transposing is so good for learning the finger patterns of the different keys, and for sharpening the ear. More songs for transposing When they're through with Mary Had a Little Lamb, I always have them help me pick the next piece to transpose. Ode to Joy, Jingle Bells, and any piece that stays in a 5-finger pattern is usually a good bet. It is a stepping stone to greater things. Of course, this is for kids whose hands are large enough to make the octave stretch. First they learn the chord pattern: a C open chord C and G notes plus another C on top. The 2 finger goes where the 1 has always gone, on G. Use it like an anchor or a hinge, I tell them -- the 2 finger is a pivot. Just the C chord, not the G chord. That's for later, when they've become pretty solid with the technique. This is always fun to do, and illustrates for them that this requires a new kind of hand coordination. Physical skills like this are fun to learn. And to treat it just as when they learned to ride a bike. Some kids will get it right away. Others will struggle a bit. But they will all enjoy it, especially when you ask them to put the pedal down and play it up high. The Adventures of Tonsta highlight the travels of a very young boy with a good heart, who goes about helping folk in trouble. With a red cap on his head and a sack of tools slung over his shoulder, Tonsta seems to meet people in distress wherever he goes. Lots of trolls in this book. Comments Do you have a funny story about this music, or does it remind you of something you'd like to share with other readers. Do you have a question. I'd love to hear it. Please note that all comments are moderated, and will not appear until I have approved them. That's pretty much any music written in the last 75 years. Enter Your Title Entering your story is easy to do. Your story will appear on a Web page exactly the way you enter it here. You can wrap a word in square brackets to make it appear bold. Your Name first or full name Your Location e. You can preview and edit on the next page.
