May is MUSIC JEOPARDY MONTH Piano Performance Party and Competitions: Piano Performance Party (Preschool through 2nd Grade) is Sat. May 2nd at 11:00 AM at Jacobs Music Hall, Willow Grove Junior Division Competition (Grades 3-4-5) is Sat. May 2nd at 1 PM at Jacobs Music Hall Senior Division Competition (Grades 6 thru 12) is Sat. May 9th at 1:00 PM. at Jacobs Music Hall, Willow Grove Be sure to join us and share this exciting day of beautiful music. Competition is a “dress-up” occasion. Shirts with collars for the young gentlemen (ties preferred); conservative dresses for the young ladies. (NO jeans or sneakers, please) Thank you for your cooperation. Each performer will need three copies of their songs with the measures numbered. Bring the copies to Competition. You give one copy to each judge. There is a $8.00 fee per song that helps to pay our judges. Please include with May tuition.Come early to warm up on the big piano and avoid the last second rush. Our Competitions are well attended but there will be seating for many visitors. So invite all your friends, neighbors, relatives—there will be lots of room and refreshments! We have maps with directions-ask Judy. IMPORTANT! No Group theory in June, July or August. It is difficult to schedule groups over the summer because of vacations, camps, etc. Group is an important component of your child’s music education and will resume in September. Plan now to put it into your schedule. Memorial Day We will be CLOSED on Sat May 23rd and Memorial Day, Monday, May 25th to observe the holiday. Vacations: An important word about vacations: Please let us know when you will be away. The Studio is open all summer. Our tuition fee does not change, even if you are away for more than one week since we do not charge for extra lessons taught during the year on 5-lesson months. Our Saturday students will be scheduled during the week as soon as school is out. The Studio is not open on Saturdays in the summer. We will work with you to find convenient times for you to come to lessons. Fall Competitions Our Fall Competitions will be in November so selections of music should be taking place now. Be sure to participate in this exciting preparation process so your young person will be aware of your interest and encouragement of their efforts. Don’t miss out on the fun and excitement--be practicing diligently over the summer! Summer Piano practice! Summer is a great time to advance in Piano since homework and sports won’t be making demands on the student’s time. Morning practice is good, leaving the rest of the day for the pool, etc. Important things get done if they are scheduled. When you are at home, maintain a regular practice schedule. When you are away, take along a portable keyboard, flashcards and extra note-speller books. You can have fun and make a game out of using these things. Ask Judy for flashcards and speller books-- we have lots of them and we have books with Music games in them that we can copy. Show interest, be positive and enthusiastic. Offer to take your young person to the Music store (Young’s Allentown, Jacobs, Sam Ash, etc.) and let them shop for Classical or Sacred music pieces, CD’s, or sheet music. It’s inexpensive and your young person will be thrilled. Also, take them to an outdoor band or orchestra concert over the summer. Music is such a wholesome and comforting interest for anyone. Take advantage of the lazy days of summer to experience some of these outings with your children! Thank You for your help and support in all of these matters. Music is exciting and fulfilling. Our goal is to enrich and beautify our student’s lives with the joy of music. We love teaching your children! Judy and The Grand Staff! MAY 2015 KinderKeys NEWS www.grandstaffpiano.com We have been very busy this past semester. We’ve learned a new composer every week, listened to his music as we colored his picture and learned interesting facts about him. We’ve seen great progress in key recognition, dynamic term memorization, ear-training and symbol learning. Everyone has been so eager to learn that we have accomplished a lot this term. Our little students are also enthusiastically learning many musical concepts on many various instruments and in many different ways We had lots of fun with our “cat” metronome, clapping fast when vivace and presto were the tempos—then clapping slower when the tempos were andante and moderato—and clapping very slowly when the tempos were grave, largo, and lento. We pronounced the Italian words for the tempos, dynamic levels and marched to them with our Rhythm Band. We trained our ears with the MerryMusicMaker Harp and Omnichord—and we practiced the names of the lines and spaces of the Bass and Treble clef on our floor staff. “Big Foot” is always a great favorite for learning the names of the keys. At every KinderKeys class, each student receives a piano lesson and a violin lesson. We read stories, listen to tapes, and watch videos that encourage our interest in music and musical instruments, terminology and technology. At snack-time we learn our flashcards and do our finger exercises. Please note: Our KinderKeys Program semester will conclude on Thursday May 7st. Discounts for early Fall registration will be through Monday June 1st. We do not offer a summer term because of vacations, etc. but our Fall Semester will begin Thursday, September 10th. Please mark your calendars. Important: Our enrollment is limited, so early registration is a must. We are enclosing a registration brochure for everyone. As always, if you pay for the semester in advance by June 1st you save the registration & materials fee. The $195 semester fee is required to register for Fall. Thanks. We hope to see you back in the Fall. KinderKeys is one the most productive, beneficial programs anywhere for pre-piano study. Our best endorsement is “word-of-mouth”. Thank you for your confidence in us. Keyboard Adventures is our exciting introductory piano program for 5-6-7 year-olds featuring the Yamaha digital pianos. If you are interested for your child, please ask Judy for more info asap. We love teaching your children. Thank you for letting us take part in your child’s music education. Judith Kay Clark, Director, MTNA, PMTA MAY 2015 Keyboard Adventures NEWS This has been such a productive semester for all our little Keyboard Adventure students. We’ve seen great progress in key recognition, dynamic term memorization, ear-training and symbol learning. Everyone has been so eager to learn that we have accomplished a lot this term. • Last Day It makes us sad to see the 12 week semester coming to a close. The last day for Keyboard Adventure Class on Thursday is May 7th. • Important: Those wanting to enroll for regular piano lessons, please see Judy ASAP for openings. It is important to begin lessons before acquired skills and concepts that were recently learned are forgotten. • Lessons are $75 per month plus cost of books. Keyboard Adventures is unique-fun-and is one the most productive, beneficial programs anywhere for pre-piano study. Our best endorsement is “word-of-mouth”. Thank you for your confidence in us. Thank you again for trusting us with part of your child’s education. We love teaching them! Sincerely, Judith Kay Clark, Director, MTNA, PMTA 215-536-5147 Grandstaffpiano.com