Piano for Kids

The Noteimal  Co. has teaching studios where we use the Animal Note music every teaching day.  This allows us to have a true understanding of what is working for our young students and what needs to be changed, adjusted, and/or corrected.  I also go personally to one of the schools where the music is being used in music classes every teaching day.  I feel honored to be able to do so.  I am given hands on experience that helps me know and understand what would be helpful when teaching more than one student at a time and to try the new classroom teaching tools before we add them to our website.  All this takes time, but we would far rather take that time so we know the materials you buy are going to work for you. 

We also rejoice when we hear from one of you with special requests and suggestions for material that would make the Animal Note method work better for your teaching situations.  Thank you for helping us improve this unique teaching program.

I do want to stress that one of the important key features of this program are the Animal Note/standard note Flash Card set and the associated word clues.  The Animal Notes allow a child as young as three to begin learning music.  The younger the child, the more time will be spent with the Animal Notes before the child is ready to progress to standard music, but the ultimate goal is to have the ability to read notes and understand timing, thus giving the child you are teaching an opportunity to play any instrument they choose as they learn the note placement and technique for playing that instrument.  Therefore using the Flash Card set and word clues at each lesson are a vital element in the total picture. 

This method allows the student to succeed while easily learning the notes, understand timing without having difficulty because they can read the notes, and it gives a fun and proven way to move from the Animal Notes to standard music notation.

For parents, grandparents, and music teachers,  it is a natural desire to want the very best in life for the youngsters in our lives.  At the beginning of each year we make resolutions to better our lives or make a good habit of doing something positive for others.  Why not combine these two drives.  Scientific investigations have presented a strong case that music plays an important, positive role in the mental and educational development of children.  The Noteimals method of teaching note reading and timing using Animal Notes is a successful and fun way to introduce music to the youngsters in your life, and it can be taught by any parent or grandparent who will make a resolution to give fifteen to thirty minutes a week of their time to make a big difference to the children they love.

This method of beginning music education turns the basic note shape into a head or body of animals that are familiar to us all.  The notes grouped in the middle of the Grand Staff are the Mother notes;
 the lower notes are the Father notes; and the high notes the children of the Animal Note family.  This makes note reading easy to understand and playing a piece simple and fun.  At this time, the Note Reading books are written for the piano and guitar.  Books for other instruments are in the planning or creation stage.

Each note has a story that relates the animal to their staff home.  Using the Animal Note/standard note Flash Card set, these stories can be easily learned, and when the card is turned over and the standard note appears, the story can be the “guiding” light” to identifying the Standard Note.  Regular practice with these cards will make moving to standard music much easier.

The Timing book has music arranged in the Animal Notes using Whole, Quarter, Half, Dotted Half, and Eighth Notes.  A child can concentrate on their counting and listen to the length of each note as they play the piece, because they can easily read each note.

Two books of fun and familiar songs are arranged in the Animal Notes to give the children songs they are proud to play for others.  More of these are planned.

Another book, soon to be published, is designed to smooth transition to standard music notation and will introduce some of the important basic elements of music theory.

We are aiming to produce an early music education series that will allow children to enjoy music while learning to read notes and timing, yet has a comfortable way to make a smooth transition to standard music and an enjoyable music future.  Try it; I think you will enjoy teaching the young ones in your life, and it will give them a gift that keeps on giving.

Many of you have written to ask that question.  The beautiful and most important fact about the Animal Note method for early music training, unlike some other early music training methods, is that it leads to understanding and being able to play standard music notation.  The Animal Note Flash cards and the word clues associated with each note enable the child to become comfortable with standard music with the first note learned.  How a parent or teacher progresses depends on the student’s age, dedication, and temperament.

Children ages three and four need to progress more slowly.  They love the Note Reading book, and they usually progress through it in six months to a year, loving every minute of it.  The Timing book needs to be taken more slowly.  Word clues here help the child learn how long to hold the note.  Don’t be too strict on conventional methods of counting as it can be difficult at their tender years.  If they must count a measure containing two quarter notes and a half not; one, one, one-two, let them.  They will change to standard counting as they mature, and the important lesson of ear and sight training will develop properly.  Let them play in the fun books, even if the tempo is not exact. They are encouraged because  everyone likes to play something they know, and others enjoy hearing. Remember to review the notes and word clues learned with the Flash Cards every lesson.

The 5 and 6 year old group learn more quickly than the younger children, but they need the security that the Animal Note Method gives them.  They will move relatively quickly through the Note Reading Book and their studies in the Timing Book will possibly be smoother.  They will really enjoy the Fun Song and Christmas books, taking good advantage of their knowledge of the songs to improve their timing skills.  The time you spend with them reviewing the Animal Note Flash Cards and word clues will pay big dividends.

For beginning students 7, 8 and 9, the Animal Note Method makes beginning music fun and creates a solid, firm foundation for their future music education.  Again the Animal Note Flash Cards and word clues allow them to identify the standard notes with little difficulty.  I strongly suggest you use both the Note Reading Book and the Timing Book for this group before moving on. Being able to study timing without the struggles of learning standard music notation gives the children a chance to become proficient in rhythm and beat. The Fun Song and Christmas books make learning more enjoyable and add variety to their music studies.  Early music education is a lifetime gift.

YES, it most certainly is possible, and it can be a lot of fun.  However, many teachers will not accept children under the age of 7 for lessons because they consider them too young to understand and accept the difficult task of note reading.  A child of 7 is already getting involved in a lot of schoolwork and extracurricular activities.  They will often tell their piano teacher they just do not have time to practice.   They are just being “kids”, but many times the real truth is that those dots on that page of music are just too difficult to recognize and understand.   It is simply just soooooo frustrating.

It does not have to be this way any longer.  By using associated learning, the Animal Note Method of early music education makes learning to read notes and understanding timing fun and easy.  A keyboard chart placed behind the black keys of a piano allows the student to locate the keyboard home of each animal.  Because the Animal Notes are easily recognized, the child can think about timing and hand positions.  The Flash Cards and word clues make the transition to standard music notation easy and with unnecessary frustration.  The added bonus, four year olds and many three year olds can begin music and be successful.  Yes, because of their tender years learning must be at a slower and more patient pace, but by the time they reach 7 they will be playing quite well, and they can get involved in other things as well.

So why do this?  My 40 years of teaching leads me to agree with tests showing that children who have early music education do better in school.  The stimuli brought about by the interaction of reading notes for tone and timing, individual movements of the fingers, and the use of both hands working together helps to develop several areas of the brain.  As a result, when you give the gift of music you give your child much more, a better chance in life.  For further information on these tests visit http://www.musiceducationmadness.com/important.shtml

When any individual gets a good start in learning something new, they have a much better chance of succeeding in the long run.  I have had the honor and privilege of seeing this theory work over and over again.  It was about 20 years ago that I started using the Animal Notes to teach Note Reading and Timing to young children.   Now I have the pleasure of knowing these young children as adults and enjoying the music they now create.  Yesterday I listened to one of my former students play jazz to a standing ovation.  Wow, that was really special.  Afterwards his Mom talked to me about his beginning in music and the Animal Notes. 

I have a junior in high school that has a minor level of several learning disabilities.  Piano has been an important part of his total educational plan.  It has not been easy for him, but the Animal Notes played an important role as they allowed him to learn note reading and timing without undo frustration.  He now plays weekly for the residents of a nursing home. 

The three children I started last spring with the “Note Reading for Guitar” book will each play their songs at recital next month using standard music notation.  The older two will be adding some chords to their melodies.  My seven year old is not quite ready for this yet, but he is really enjoying playing songs he knows and others recognize.

My music families all celebrate the success of their children and rejoice with me that the music is now available on the net.  I am also getting some warm and rewarding comments from those of you who have ordered books and used them as the foundation for your children’s music education. 
Thank you! 

I think every individual has memories of past events that have had lasting effects in their lives.  I certainly do–in music.  My grandmother gave me my piano.  It was a new spinet model, and it was so beautiful, and I was so proud.  My first teacher was gentle and patient with me, but I was only able to take a few lessons from her before my family moved from Northern Colorado to a very small town in Southern Colorado.  There was only one piano teacher, and she had a waiting list.  I was excited when the call came that she had had an opening.

My new teacher was not like my original one.  She was strict and proper in all matters.  I was not good at note reading. This bothered my new teacher, and me, particularly because I could not memorize the pieces, and all recital pieces had to be played from memory.

 The recital was held in the school auditorium, and a good share of the community was there.  Everyone was related to everyone else in the community. Every aunt, uncle and cousin for each student had to come, so you can imagine the crowd.  We were to go on stage, bow or curtsy, introduce ourselves, and give the name of the piece. 

It started out great, but then I forgot a part.  I simply started over as if that was part of the piece.  Because I was anxious and fearful, I again had trouble at the same spot. I left the stage in tears.  My teacher scolded me and told me how much I had embarrassed her.  I never wanted to play the piano again, but my parents always told my brother and me that if “you fall of the horse, make certain you have not broken a bone, and then get back on and ride that horse.”

 There was no way my mother was going to have my music experience end in this way.  They found a friend who had some musical training who would work with me.  She did so much to restore my love of music and taught me a lot about patience and “stick-to-itiveness.”  I took from her for several years until a new band teacher came to town who taught private lessons. I started taking lessons from him.  It did not take him long to discover that I really could not read music easily, and he found fun and interesting ways to help me overcome my problems.   How very thankful I am to these wonderful people in my life.

These early childhood experiences in music had a big effect on my life and my attitudes toward music and teaching.  I did not want any student I taught to have the problems in note reading that I had. When I was not able to help some of my young students, I had to find a way to solve this problem.  The Animal Note music teaching method is the result of that desire.

 If you were to attend one of my students’ recitals you would come to my home to a friendly, fun and warm atmosphere where each child is praised for their accomplishments and problems are discussed with love and understanding.  This is what all of us want for those we teach, and it is important to remember that learning, though an essential part of life, should be fun, interesting and associated to the knowledge base already possessed.  

The Animal Notes have an exciting future.  Yes, they are officially a business, Noteimals LLC.  You guessed it;  this  is a shortened form of Note Animals.  We are busy writing books for other instruments, so the basics of note reading and timing can be introduced to more children through more avenues.  You will note that we already have the basic book for the guitar; it is doing a great job.  All of the students started on the guitar last fall now play the melody line of songs in standard music notation.  The next book in this series will introduce chord formation based on the knowledge the children already have.  This will also give the children a foundation in chord structure which is the basis of harmony. 

We also have moved into two new schools, where the Animal Notes are busy helping young children read notes and understand timing.  One new school is in Montana and the other Brooklyn, New York.  The teachers are delighted with the material and their students‘ responses. We now have the Animal Note Flash Cards in a larger size, deluxe edition for classroom use.  The Note Flash Cards are not on the web site yet, so please contact us at glenna@piano4kids.com  if you need a set for classroom instruction. 

A new book in the series ,” Moving On,” is being developed and will be very helpful.  Each new piece will be written in the Animal Notes on one side of the page, and the same song will be in standard music notation on the back of the page.  The songs will emphasize various aspects of music theory that can be discussed as the piece is introduced and studied as the piece is practiced.  It will be available by the first of the year.

It is so exciting to see more young children begin music in a fun and encouraging way that allows a smooth transition to standard music notation, thus giving the child the gifts of music appreciation and enjoyment at an early age.  We hope you will seriously consider giving this wonderful  educational opportunity  to your young children

Each parent’s notion may differ a little, but success and pleasure in the child’s accomplishment are most likely driving forces that cause a parent to invest in musical training.
 
Learning to read notes and understanding timing are at the basis of all musical training.  I have had many adults tell me they just weren’t gifted in music and could not succeed when they took music.  If the truth was known, these individuals probably never became comfortable with reading music.  Each note must be read for two essential musical elements.  Its tone (where is the note located on the Grand Staff of music) and how long the tone is to be held (the element that creates the rhythm or beat of the music).  For some individuals, accomplishment of these elements is just too frustrating for the beginner in standard music notation, to want to continue the activity, and for young children it is just not fun!!!

The younger the child is when they start music the better chance they have to succeed and really enjoy music all of their lives.  First they have time for it, and second music has a chance to become a part of them before a lot of other activities crowd their lives.

There are many methods on the market for teaching music to young children.  The Noteimals’ method, the Animal Notes that help young children learn music, provides the essential elements that lead to success and pleasure in the learning process and to future fun and joy with music.  The Animal Notes are easy for a child to understand; each has a story that helps the child learn the note’s location on the Grand Staff.  These stories, when used with the Flash Cards, will help the child recognize the standard note that each animal represents.  The basic structure of each animal is the oval of the standard note which makes the transition easier.  After children can read Animal Notes, they can concentrate on the timing taught in the Timing Book. Fun song and Christmas song books in the Animal Notes’ library allow children to play songs they know while they learn timing.  I am working on a book to further help understand other more esoteric aspects of standard music notation and make a smooth transition to standard music notation.
The Animal Note Method is truly a win – win method for early music training and works well for children as young as 4.  Yes, any teaching takes patience, but when success accompanies your efforts it is all worthwhile.

Storms can be very scary for a young child. Having to leave one’s home because of a storm is not exactly a fun vacation, but for one young seven year old, the misfortune helped her find a hidden talent and brought joy to her and her mother. 

I teach three young girls who are home schooled.  Yesterday, I went to their home, and their mother told me about the incident.  A family of five had evacuated their home and came to their relative’s house next door to my student’s family.  The neighbor brought the little seven year old daughter over to play with my seven year old student, Calle.  As the afternoon of activities progressed the two girls found themselves at the piano.  Calle asked her new friend if she knew how to play the piano. With no answer, Calle got out her Animal Note books and started to teach her.  They worked together for about thirty minutes, thoroughly enjoying the adventure in music.  Later that afternoon when the mother came to get her daughter, Calle’s mother complimented the child on her music ability.  To her surprise, she learned the young child had never played the piano before.  The excited child pulled her mother to the piano and played “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” for her– so proud of what she had learned!

Thanks to the Animal Notes, the two young children had a great experience that day.  Calle was able to share with her new friend a skill she was learning, and talk about each note in a way the other young child could easily understand.  And the new friend received the joy of actually being able to play a piece of music on the piano.  What a truly special gift for both children.

One of the greatest feelings on earth comes over me when I have helped a child feel successful.  It lifts their self-esteem and helps them realize that they are capable of “something” if it is presented to them in a manner they can comprehend, and they put effort into achieving the goal.  The Animal Note teaching method for beginning music students, based on associative learning, has given me the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful feeling over and over again.  The oval shape of standard music notes becomes the head, or body, of an animal.  They are easily recognizable for any one beginning to learn music.  Fun stories about their activities and other clues can help an individual learn the location of each animal on the Grand Staff.  Overcoming the barriers of note reading is more than half the “battle” of learning how to play musical instruments.  Yes, the individual must learn where each tone is located on the instrument and must conquer timing, but both of these challenges, in most cases, pale when placed beside the challenge of understanding the sequential actions required when looking at an overall piece of music in standard notation.  A good understanding of note reading makes this task much less daunting.

Since creating and using animal notes, teaching music has become really fun and a great joy.  I can now concentrate on how to help the individual overcome other challenges they are facing while learning to play their new instrument.  For very young children it might be learning to identify their right hand from their left, or how to play on their finger tips.  For a little older child it might be moving their hands easily over their chosen instrument.

Switching to standard music notation when the individual is ready is not a problem.  Just use the Animal Note Flash Cards at every lesson, review old notes, and add new ones.  Emphasize the story word clues that help identify the note and its location on the Grand Staff.   With this practice, the standard note becomes as familiar as the Animal Note.

I am now working on a new book to be called “Moving On.”  It will have a piece written in the Animal Notes and then in Standard Music notes.  Each song will have different aspects of music theory to be discussed and practiced.  I have listened to other music teachers whose ideas and suggestions have been very helpful.