Blue Jello Surprise

I am proud to say that my three year old son can read the simplified score of Haydn's Surprise transcribed for piano, rhythmic reading while singing in tune, treble and bass clef! This is a bit amazing to me because he seems young to read music, considering he doesn't read in English yet.  He knows most of the letters in the alphabet but reading music rhythms, that is good training for future reading skills too.

 

The other thing to point out is that, the most popular lesson time with him is the "after bath, after story, after all the siblings have drifted off to sleep, why are you still walking around" time of evening.  We used to waste a lot of time counting sheep telling a favorite bedtime story with superhero variations until I was falling asleep. However we recently decided we could use that time to teach him his handwriting and even piano music; how about math?  What a funny guy. I can also say that AJ has applied knowledge because I let him sit quietly through other kid's lessons. Today, he started singing along Jello-blue rhythms with the new pieces.  I count him as my student #13. He always starts his lesson with a bow, and finishes with a bow. Thank you for my lesson! he shouts when he feels the lesson is long enough.

 

MATERIALS

• MMG Blue Jello music rhythm cards (order from http://www.musicmindgames.com/)
• A rhythm bag, which contains a bag of supplies from the kitchen that could be used to represent music notes.

Blue Jello Cards from http://www.musicmindgames.com/

 

NOTE VALUES

• Whole note - formula can cover, 4 beats
• Half note - two baby food jar caps, 2 beats x2
• Quarter note - popsicle sticks, 1 beat x4; say Blue
• Eighth note pairs - pipe cleaners x4 or 8 green bottle caps; say Jello
• Sixteenth note group of 4 - blue bottle caps x 4 x4; say Huckleberry
• Rest - whisper "rest" for short or long rests accordingly.

 

Here is a photo of the setup, at the end there is an excerpt from the score; maybe next time I will try to film it. It was just so much fun and I felt that he was so clever when he could understand it.

 

 

 

I started with the whole note; to introduce each new item I just asked for a trade, beat per beat. Say the rhythm pattern with the blue jello words after each trade.  This is good for explaining what is a sixteenth note and why it is called a sixteenth note.

 

MUSIC READING
Sight sing or play the "Purple Dragon Surprise" from the Musicland books (order from http://www.yellowcatpublishing.com/) but have the children point and read, sight sing alot.  This is a useful way to introduce a new piece.


Melodic and rhythmic singing of the Treble Clef line.  Afterwards AJ also wanted to point and sing the Bass Clef notes.



Sing-along the upper line for Treble Clef notes:

Jello jello, jello blue, jello jello, jello blue.

Jello jello, jello blue. Jello jello, blue jel -rest.

... in the second page there is a "huckleberry" four note sequence (sixteenth notes).

 

REPERTOIRE
Purple Dragon Surprise is also a good piece for demonstrating chords, note reading on lines and spaces, note repeat, note stepwise motion, question answer phrases, binary form, dynamics and the 5 C's (four are found).  Most of my students know this piece from analytical study, one will play it for the upcoming recital.