Two New Books Have Joined the Animal Note Family
They have been a year in the making, but now they are finally finished and ready to help young children learn the basics of music theory and move them on to standard music notation.
At the request of several teachers and parents, I undertook putting my thoughts on teaching basic music theory to children into writing. Since early in my teaching career, I found that theory was boring, and it often totally turned my students off. They just did not seem to want to understand the basic principles. Gradually I found ways to explain these principles in such a way that the children understood, and enjoyed what they were learning. I go back to the basics of math, like how to help them understand fractions, a foundation stone of music rhythm. This book starts with the simple basics of note values and how they relate to each other. Most of the material covered is needed in the early stages of music training. It finishes with a simplified discussion of how scales are built and relate to each other. It has been received with enthusiasm from the teachers and parents that have requested it. “This is what I have been looking for, it’s great!” has been the comment of most of them. I am truly excited about having this available to anyone who wants to have a little different way of presenting basic theory elements to their young students.
The second new book to our website is “Moving On in Music.” The Animal Notes work hard to help children as young as three play music and do it right. However, the goal in teaching music is much larger than this. The Animal Notes make the first step fun and easy. They also help a child develop a love not only of music, but being able to play well. The Animal Note/standard note flash cards help the child to learn not only the Animal Notes and their word clues, but also transfer that knowledge to the corresponding standard notes. The “Moving On in Music” book goes one step further in this transition process. Each three line song is written first in the Animal Notes, then in standard music notation. Each song has at least one element of theory to be reviewed and practiced. Again it has been warmly received by the teachers I am working with and the students, who are really enjoying it. We hope your students will as well.
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