Tiny Seeds - Week Six (Second Semester)

Level 1A

It was our last class of the semester and it was a great one! Since it was our last class I filled out some assessment forms to let you know how your children did. I hope you found them in their mailboxes.

Emily, again, did a lot of work and made it look easy doing Lesson Six and Lesson Seven. With those lessons she got a new composer - Mr. Bach. Mr. Bach taught her about holding notes for two counts, three counts and four counts. Emily caught onto the lesson quick and within the first ten minutes of the class she was already doing practice and probably about fifteen minutes in she was finished so she did another lesson. Emily really looks like she's having fun playing the piano and I hope she continues to play! Good luck in school Emily!

Ava finished up the semester with Lesson Fifteen and did terrific! It was the same lesson as the one she did the previous week but with some more skill level involved. Ava stepped up to the task and did it and I'm very proud of her! Ava did really well with these classes and I hope she continues to play! Great work Ava!

Aliyah did Lesson Ten today and did awesome. It was a review of going higher and higher and lower and lower. Aliyah did terrific on this and I think I marked on her assessment form an N/A for higher and higher and lower and lower but I'd give her a five now! Aliyah really had some fun during these piano lessons and I hope she continues to play! Good luck Aliyah!!

Cameron worked on Lesson Sixteen today which was using the fourth finger (ring finger) to play the F note. Not the easiest finger to press down but Cameron worked at it and was doing it really well. She also got a new composer to teach her - Miss Fanny Mendelssohn, a very interesting woman composer from the 1800s. She was composing before women were accepted as being musically talented. Cameron did so well at piano lessons and I'm very proud of her because she was so shy when she started. She really broke out of her shell and I hope she continues at piano and has a great time in school! Good luck Cammy!

I had a great time teaching your kids over these past few months and I'll miss them all as most of them are going back to school. Good luck to all my kids starting out in school and the ones going back! I'll miss you!

Tiny Seeds - Week Five (Second Semester)

Level 1A

Full class again this week!

Emily worked on two lessons today - Lesson Four and Lesson Five. Lesson Four was about learning circle notes and Lesson Five was learning short and long rhythms. Both are not easy lessons and I was only thinking she would do Lesson Four today but since she blew through that quickly she opted to do another. Emily also destroyed Bongo Boy in their face off and even beat him in front of the whole class. Emily is a performer in the making.

Ava, as usual, did EXCELLENT with Lesson Fourteen with Mr. Joplin. The lesson was learning more notes near Middle C which included using Fingers 1, 2 and 3 in both hands. This is so tough for someone Ava's age but she was able to do it and I am very proud of her. Ava really enjoys herself at piano lessons and has a terrific time every time. Keep going Ava!!

Aliyah did awesome with her lesson which was Lesson Nine - learning to identify notes going higher and higher and notes going lower and lower. She played them on the keyboard and did excellent and then the games did some ear training where she heard the notes and had to decide whether they were going higher and higher or lower and lower. Awesome job Aliyah! You're doing terrific!

Bella worked again with Mr. Bach and did really well with him. She's doing great and is really mastering some skills that maybe she wasn't too strong on before. I'm happy Bella has continued to stick with piano and I think she's doing a great job.

Cameron worked on Lesson Fifteen with Mr. Joplin which was pretty much a review of last week's lesson but with a lot more work involved. It was a really long lesson but Cameron stuck with it and the practice session and did her games afterwards. Same result as last week happened - everyone wanted to get involved on her games afterwards.

This class has been so much fun and it's a shame next week is our last class. I wish it could have gone on longer but that's also how I feel about the summer. Most of my kids won't be back in September because they'll be going on to bigger and better things in school. I'll talk more on that next week! I hope everyone is there!!

Tiny Seeds - Week Four (Second Semester)

Level 1A

After everyone but Ava and Bella were absent last week we had a full class this week! It's much better with a lot of kids!

Emily returned to do Lesson Three with Mr. Beethoven and the lesson was one of the tougher ones that she'll learn this semester - Rhythm. I find this lesson hard but apparently Emily didn't as she quickly blew through the lesson and the practice session with Miss Melody. She then went on to do the games and did the two from the previous weeks and the new game: Bongo Boy! Emily didn't beat him the first time but she eventually got to it. It's a tough game! Great job Emily!! Keep it up!!

Ava worked on Lesson Thirteen with Mr. Joplin and he taught her the notes that are close to Middle C. She played with Fingers 1 and 2 and did excellent. That's a really tough lesson but Ava got through it. Ava is really doing well with her lessons!

Aliyah worked on Lesson Eight with Mr. Bach and the lesson today was learning to play Double Notes - two notes at once. Aliyah did awesome at this lesson and really blew through it. Aliyah seems to be really enjoying her piano lessons and is a great helper during class. Keep going Aliyah!

Bella worked with Mr. Bach today to go back over some fundamentals and really did much better. She was comfortable and happy and completed her lesson and played some of her favorite games, like the Train Game and the Coconut Game.

Cameron worked on Lesson Fourteen today which was learning more notes near Middle C which included using Fingers 1, 2 and 3 in both hands. Not an easy lesson but Cameron got through it. The Musical Alphabet was also incorporated into the lesson and it was part of a new game that was introduced to Cameron.

After everyone finished their lessons everyone came over to watch Cameron play the game and then they played as well. The Musical Alphabet is so important to know so I was happy that everyone took an interest and wanted to learn it. The Musical Alphabet for the parents wondering is the notes on the keyboard. They go from A to G and then repeat again up the keyboard A to G.

Great class this week!!

Tiny Seeds - Week Three (Second Semester)

Level 1A

Just Ava and me today with an appearance by Bella! Everyone else was absent!

Ava worked on Lesson Twelve with Mr. Joplin. He taught her some new skills, involving going higher in the left hand and lower with the right hand. He also taught her to use all the fingers in her left hand. It was a really tough lesson but Ava did it!! She even did that games too!! Great job today Ava!

Bella came in today and watched Ava and then played a couple of fun games. She played the game where she helps Jungle Boy go across the vines to go home by identifying notes going higher and higher and notes going lower and lower. She also played the Train Game (holding notes) and helping the little boy cross the water by playing notes with her thumb, index finger and middle finger! Great job Bella! I knew you could do it!

I hope to see a bigger class next week! See you all soon!

Tiny Seeds - Week Two (Second Semester)

Level 1A

We had a full class today.

Emily, our newest addition, dove right into her music lessons but doing two lessons - identifying Hi Bird Notes and Lo Whale Notes and Middle C and she did them all with Mr. Beethoven. Emily blew through Lesson One before I knew it (lesson and games too!) so I gave her the option of doing another lesson and she said yes so we did Lesson Two and she blew through that as well! Emily catches on quickly like her sister does and she's going to do great this summer!

Cameron worked on Lesson Thirteen and that was another tough lesson with Mr. Joplin teaching her notes that are close together. When I saw what she was doing on her computer screen even I thought it looked really difficult. That was really skillful stuff she was doing by Cammy did it and she did great with it! Great work!

Ava worked on Lesson Eleven with Mr. Joplin who gave a review of the higher and higher and lower and lower notes and then taught her to use all five fingers in her right hand and taught her that they have a number assigned to it. It was a tough lesson for Ava but she got through it! Ava is doing awesome!

Bella had a little trouble today but we're going to keep working at it and get her confidence up. We'll probably end up going over some lessons that were a little easier for her and just pick her spirits up a bit. We'll make it Bella don't worry!

Aliyah worked on Lesson Seven with Mr. Bach and did a great job with more holding notes. Aliyah now has that skill mastered and did great with the games that accompanied it. Great job Aliyah!

I'll see you all next week!

Tiny Seeds - Week One (Second Semester)

Level 1A

We're back for our summer semester. For some of the kids in the class this will be their last semester with us so let's make it a good one!

Our newest addition to the class Emily was absent today!

Cameron is back and picked up right where she left off with Lesson Twelve which is working with Mr. Joplin who taught her to use all the fingers in her left hand. I know for me that the left hand is difficult because it's not my primary hand so it was extra tough (still is!) but Cameron was able to do it and do it well. Great job!

Ava returned and worked on Lesson Ten with Mr. Bach which was just doing more notes going higher and higher and going lower and lower. It's a really tough lesson for someone as young as Ava is but she did a great job and got the job done. Great work!

Aliyah was back and did Lesson Six with Mr. Bach, a new composer for her, and she worked on holding notes. She held them for two counts, three counts and four counts! I didn't even need to help her. She got it right off the bat. Aliyah is also doing really well with her rhythm training. That stuff is even a little tough for me but she's getting it. It's a good skill to develop early. Keep going Aliyah!

Bella worked with us on Lesson Ten which is the same lesson Ava was doing which was just more notes going higher and higher and so on and so on. It was a tough lesson and I tried giving Bella some help but she was having a tough time. We got through it but it was a tough lesson. That's ok though! We'll keep trying. Not every lesson is going to be easy!

All in all it was a good first class and I'm looking forward to more over the summer.

Tiny Seeds - Week Ten

Level 1A

We were missing Bella this week! We missed you Bella!

Aliyah worked on Lesson Four with Mr. Beethoven today which was learning circle notes. It's not an easy lesson to do at all but Aliyah really excelled at it and did terrific! I was also watching her do her rhythm exercises and I have to admit I was really impressed! She was actually saying the word rhythms out loud while playing them. It was great and she got them all! Good job Aliyah!!

Ava worked on Lesson Nine this week with Mr. Bach which was identifying what notes are going higher and higher and what notes are going lower and lower. It was a tough lesson but Ava got through it and seemed to enjoy it! She even got a new game out of it which got her really excited! All in all Ava did a great job this week.

Jonathan worked on Lesson Ten this week with Mr. Bach which was doing more notes going higher and higher and lower and lower. The machine really punched through the whole lesson and practice session and he did terrific at his games. Jonathan really had a great semester with MusIQ Club and has talent!

Cameron worked on Lesson Eleven this week with a new composer - Scott Joplin, who just happens to my favorite ragtime composer. Check out Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer. Great stuff! Anyway, Cammy worked on hand positioning and was getting used to using all her fingers to play piano and she learned that all the fingers have a number assigned to them in piano. It's a tough lesson, especially trying to play with your ring finger and pinky finger. Those are the tough fingers when you're starting out - they were for me! Great job Cameron!!

Well, today was our last day of the semester and I have to tell you that I had a great time teaching your children piano. They were all terrific - their attitudes were unbelievable and so was their talent! I handed them out their assessment forms and put them in their mailboxes. I hope you all got them!

I hope to see them for the summer classes we're starting on July 9th! If you would like to sign your child up again please go to MusIQclub.com and sign them up! Same place, same time at Tiny Seeds.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to teach your children piano! See you over the summer!

Tiny Seeds - Week Nine

Level 1A

Another full class today and we had a great one at that!

Aliyah worked on Lesson Three today with Mr. Beethoven which is one of the lessons I feel is the toughest one - rhythm. I wasn't sure how she'd take the lesson but she did excellent! She remembered where her Middle C was and she did great with her rhythms! She even got a new game - Bongo Boy. She didn't beat Bongo Boy this week but eventually everyone beats him. Aliyah did excellent in one of the toughest lessons to learn!

Jonathan and Bella worked on Lesson Nine today with Mr. Bach. The lesson this week was identifying what notes seem to be going higher and higher and what notes are going lower and lower. They even got a new game - helping Jungle Boy get across the vines that the dastardly monkeys of the jungle poured grease all over. I'm serious. Anyway, Jonathan, who I call the machine because he just blows through all his lessons, finished his lesson and understood the whole thing and finished all of his games.

Bella had a little trouble getting out of the gate but she got through her lesson though she didn't quite finish the practice session. That's OK, though. She seemed to understand what she was doing when she got through the lesson.

Ava did terrific this week! She worked on Lesson Eight with Mr. Bach and learned "Double Notes". Learning double notes is not an easy lesson but Ava got it right away! She did great this week! Keep going Ava!!

Cameron worked on Lesson Ten this week with Mr. Bach which was just working on more higher and higher and lower and lower exercises. Like last week, Cameron did terrific and blew through her lesson. Cameron and Jonathan have become my little helpers in the class too. If anyone has trouble finding Middle C they're quick to chime in! Thanks guys!

Next week is our last week of the term. After that we take a week off and we start up our summer classes on July 9th! So because next week is our last week of the semester I'll be handing out report cards to let you know how your children have fared! Here's a hint: They all did GREAT!

P.S.: Mr. Mike, the fish, rules:

Tiny Seeds - Week Eight

Level 1A

We had a full class today! Everyone was in their swim suits ready to go swimming after lessons but they were still excited for piano.

Ava was back this week and picked up right where she left off by doing Lesson Seven. She worked on doing more holding notes and she did terrific! Ava is really showing some great know how on the piano. She's got her Middle Cs, her high and low notes and her holding notes down pat! Good job Ava!!

Aliyah worked on Lesson Two which was learning Middle C. Finding where Middle C is at is no easy task but Aliyah was quick to learn and finish her lesson. Aliyah shows a great natural ability at the piano. Well done!

Jonathan and Bella worked on Lesson Eight which was learning to play double notes - two notes at once! Jonathan naturally blew through his lesson and his games and was outside in fifteen minutes swimming! Great job! Bella did well on her lesson too! She was a little confused at first but we got through it and she was outside swimming too! Bella did great!

Cameron worked on Lesson Nine with Mr. Bach and the lesson this week was figuring out which notes are going up and going down. It wasn't too tough of a lesson for her. The new game got her a little confused but after some help she mastered it and was outside!

Everyone did terrific this week! Good job everyone! I can't wait to see you all next week - and meet the fish named after me!

Tiny Seeds - Week Seven

Level 1A

Ava was absent today. We missed you Ava!

Today we welcomed a new student to our MusIQ Club classes - Aliyah. Aliyah was really excited to be starting lessons and she plowed through Lesson One with Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven. She learned her Hi Bird notes on the right side of the keyboard and the Lo Whale notes on the left side of the keyboard. She did it easily and I look forward to teaching her next week when she learns Middle C.

Jonathan, Bella and Cameron had a great lesson today working with Mr. Bach. They all worked on Lesson Seven which was titled "More Holding Notes". They learned more about holding notes and they played the games that followed. Jonathan again plowed through his lesson and the games that followed and even did a little improv. Jonathan is really doing well with his improv. He also shows a great natural ability at the piano. Bella took a little while to get out of the gate but she finished her lesson and did some games (she loves the ear training game!). Cameron did her lesson and I give everyone the opportunity to do another lesson and she opted to go for it and she did Lesson Eight which I didn't realize at the time was Double Notes - playing two notes at the same time. It's not an easy lesson but she plowed through it in fifteen minutes and even did the games! Everyone did tremendous today and I look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Tiny Seeds - Week Six

Level 1A

We had a full class again this week! Jonathan, Bella and Ava got introduced to a new composer this week in Lesson Six - Mr. Johann Sebastian Bach! Mr. Bach was a master at the harpsichord, an earlier version of the piano, and he had thirteen children! In today's world his house would definitely be foreclosed on! Who could afford that? Anyway...

Mr. Bach taught them a tough lesson today - holding notes. We held notes for 2 counts, 3 counts and 4 counts. It's not easy stuff but everyone got through it! Jonathan brought his usual mastery of the piano this week - he blew through this lesson and the games and even did a little improv. Bella had Alliyah sitting in with her this week and they worked together to complete the lesson! Bella then did more ear training and worked on a new game! Ava did a fantastic job this week! She was full of energy, she got through her lesson and did great!!

Cameron worked on Lesson Five with Mr. Beethoven. He taught her about short and long rhythms. Afterwards, Cameron destroyed Bongo Boy. I then gave her the option of doing Lesson Six to play catch up and she opted to go for it. Cameron blew through the lesson with ease and skill and even completed the two games afterwards! She did terrific!

All in all it was a great lesson this week! Keep it up guys! I'm so proud of you all!!

Tiny Seeds - Week Five

Level 1A

Hey everyone! Sorry I missed on Wednesday!

We had a full class this week! Jonathan, Ava and Bella worked on Lesson Five with Mr. Beethoven, their last lesson with him, and they learned about short and long rhythms, did more work with circle notes and learned even MORE rhythms! Jonathan sailed through his lesson and practice session and finally beat that annoying Bongo Boy! Bella got through her lesson and did a little ear training. Ava had a little trouble with the lesson but she'll catch on. It was a good lesson.

Cameron was back this week from vacation so she worked on Lesson Four with Mr. Beethoven and learned about circle notes and more rhythms! You wouldn't have known that Cameron had been absent the week before because she blasted through her lesson and did so well!

Next week we'll be working with a new composer! Who will it be??

Tiny Seeds - Week Four

Level 1A

Today, Cameron was away on vacation! We missed you Cameron!

This week we worked on Lesson Four which was learning circle notes. We replaced the bird, whale and "Middle Sea" pictures with actual notes on a staff! Not easy stuff but everyone did well during this lesson. Jonathan and Bella really excelled in this one and Ava struggled at first but managed to catch on. Well done!

We also continued work on rhythms. We're still a long way from being perfect but we're making some headway. We're going to keep working on it - sorry guys!

I'll see you all next week!

Tiny Seeds - Week Three

Level 1A

We had a full class on Wednesday and we were working with Mr. Beethoven again on Lesson Three. We ventured into one of our toughest lessons yet - Rhythm. Rhythm is not an easy thing to master but taking that first step to understand and attempt at keeping it at a young age is a great gift.

Because it's a tough thing to really master I felt a sort of discouragement from some students. I'd like to encourage everyone to not be discouraged - I think I worded that correctly! Rhythm is by no means easy and it's something that every pianist struggles with, including me! We'll continue going over Rhythm next week, along with the musical alphabet.

I look forward to seeing everyone next week and I hope you all bring the tremendous attitudes you brought with you for the first three lessons!

Tiny Seeds - Week Two

Level 1A

Ava was absent today. We missed you Ava!

Today Jonathan, Isabella (Bella) and Cameron worked on Lesson Two with Mr. Beethoven. We reviewed all that we learned last week going over high bird notes and low whale notes (Hi/Lo) and then I turned them over to Mr. Beethoven who taught them about Middle C, which is, in my opinion, the most important note to know when beginning your piano lessons because it helps you to know where you are - if you're going to play a high bird note it's any note to the right of the Middle C and if you want to play a low whale note it's any note to the left of Middle C.

Everyone was able to catch on and catch on. The games got more difficult this week as we had to decide if the notes being played for us were high, low or Middle C. It was a difficult task but everyone was able to do it!

Jonathan and Isabella finished their lessons and their games early - and even did a little improv! I'm very proud of you both!

Cameron was having a little trouble at first but did an excellent job when it was just me and her. She was motivated, having fun and playing piano! I'm very proud of you, Cameron!

Things to Remember: Middle C is in the middle of the keyboard, right before the group of two black keys. Remember, "group of two, down to C". Also, the Musical Alphabet goes from A to G and then starts over again and goes all the up the keyboard! We'll keep at that!

All in all, it was a great lesson this week and I look forward to working with your children again next week!

Tiny Seeds - Week One

Level 1A

Today Jonathan, Isabella, Cameron and Ava had their first MusIQ Club class and completed Lesson One. They worked with our first composer in our lessons, Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven. Mr. Beethoven was a composer who lived over 200 years ago! We talked a bit about Mr. Beethoven's life and music and then I turned them over to him for the lesson. Mr. Beethoven taught them about high bird notes and low whale notes. Everyone was able to understand and catch on. We also briefly talked about the musical alphabet - we'll talk about that more next week. We played some games in which everyone had great fun and we even did a little improvisation.

Things to Remember: High bird notes are played with your right pointer finger and low whale notes are played with your left pointer finger. Also, a composer is a person who writes music for people to listen to and play for a living.

Great job this week everyone and I look forward to seeing you all next week at Tiny Seeds!

Hey Everyone at Tiny Seeds Learning Center!

Hello.

My name is Mike Tedesco and I'm going to be your teacher for MusIQ Club!

I'm looking forward to meeting each and every one of you at Tiny Seeds Learning Center! We're going to have a great time playing and making music!

See ya soon!

Welcome to MusIQ Club at Tiny Seeds Learning Center

Enjoy your music classes!