Thanksgiving Music Traditions - Mozart’s Monthly Memo - Volume 15
November 10, 2021
Photo by Alena Darmel from Pexels
New Crescendo Kids Session Begins Tuesday, November 16. New students are welcome!
This Memo includes
Feature Article: Thanksgiving Music Traditions
Student Achievements - recognizing the hard work and accomplishments from our students in the last month.
Upcoming MOM events includes Holiday Recital
Parents Ask Pam - How do the students view their videos each week in the Crescendo Kids Online program?
Feature Article - Thanksgiving Music Traditions
Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday. It was the one time of the year that my dad’s side of the family got together. One year, my uncles decided that Thanksgiving would be a great time to jam together. One brought some old song sheets and they started playing their guitars together. Before long the whole family was singing along and harmonizing and a new tradition was born. As children grew up and started playing instruments, they were encouraged to join in. We passed around maracas, egg shakers, tambourines, and any other rhythmic instrument you can think of. Whether you played an instrument, sang, or just enjoyed listening, this was definitely a favorite time for everyone.
As a child, my great-grandma gave our family an old, run-down, upright piano and told my parents we needed to learn the piano. I don’t remember my grandmother ever playing the piano, but somehow she knew how important music was to our family. Every musician in our family from several generations traces their beginnings to grandma’s encouragement and facilitation of music lessons.
At Thanksgiving, we had our favorite songs. For the little ones, “Down by the Bay,” “Kookaburra,” and of course the “Alphabet Song.” Grandpa always wanted to sing the hymn, “I’ll Fly Away," and “Blessed Assurance,” in memory of Great-Grandma, since that was her favorite hymn. People would request different hymns, remembering the old days singing in church. Another favorite was Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” and Mac Davis’ “Oh Lord, It’s So Hard to be Humble.” Then we would sing folk songs popular in the 60’s and 70’s. One year my cousin brought his hand-made steel guitar. Another year, a different cousin played the viola while her father played his cello. Some years we had up to 5 guitars. Other years one guitar would just get passed around from player to player.
Other traditions evolved out of these Thanksgivings as well. After dinner walks turned into hikes, and then back to neighborhood walks as people aged. The older “kids” getting away for a beer turned into everyone going out for pizza once the “kids” got older and had little ones of their own. Wi-fi was always poor and TV was either absent or just not connected, so we had lots of conversations, played board games and caught up with each other’s lives from the previous year.
Over the years, some family members moved farther away, making it difficult to attend for the short holiday. My grandparents, whom we all traveled to visit, passed away. Our Thanksgiving has changed but music continues to bond us. Thanks to great-grandma and my uncles, our musical sharing has become an important part of how we connect as a family!
Student Showcase
Each week we try to showcase a different student from our classes. Thanks to Katsu and Aadit for sharing their music with us! Like us on Facebook to see the new student each week.
Katsu, a student of Ms Sachie, performing Let’s Get Silly and Merrily We’re Off To School.
Aadit, a student of Ms Sachie, performing Wild Rider by Robert Schumann.
Student Achievements
Our students are making great progress! These students have accomplished new goals this last month.
100 Days - play the piano for at least 5 minutes, 100 days in a row - Lillian R and Nathan H.
5X5 - play the piano for 5 minutes, 5 days in a week, for 5 weeks in a row - Iris H, Jacob S, Joses C, Lillian R, Lisielle S, Nathan H, Timothy E and Vivian C.
Completed their current lesson book - Joses C and Kevin J.
Played their song at least 50 times in the first week - Clive L
Advanced to the next music level - Mia W. and Prajna S.
Upcoming MOM Events
Want to see all upcoming events? Check out our calendar. It includes when the next Crescendo Kids class begins, school closure dates, piano parties, and recital dates.
Online Holiday Recital - December 6 - 10. Contact Miss Pam if you are interested in observing.
Parent Information Meetings - Have questions about our online piano class program? Want a tour of our practicing app? Click the link to schedule your meeting with Miss Pam. Parent Info Meeting
Crescendo Kids Classes - Tentatively scheduled to start at North Kirkland Community Center in March 2022.
FREE Online Piano Party! Students share their own music as well as participate in musical games, creating music and learning some music history. Each party is a little different with a theme and a special guest instrument. Come, meet our piano teachers, play some music, and have fun! All ages and musical levels are welcome. Parties are available to non-students, former students as well as current students. Click the link to sign up. Piano Party Sign Up
Saturday, January 8, at 11:00 am. RSVP required.
30 - Minute Private Online Piano Lessons - Did you know that many of our teachers also teach privately? Now you can continue your child’s musical education, or your own, with Move Over Mozart. Click here for more information. Private Lessons
New Crescendo Kids Online begins Tuesday, November 16. Ready to start? Our piano classes are fun and easy to do! Now is a great time to join. Students are put into one of 4 classes depending on their age and musical ability.
Crescendo Kids Online Sign Up
Pre-Reading - Ages 3 - 5 years, or students not yet reading,
We use a color-coded method for the students to match their five fingers to five keys on the piano. New songs using only those 5 notes are given each week.
Primary - Ages 5 -7 years or older and brand new to music,
This group is for the very basics of piano playing. Students learn to play simple rhythms, correct hand position, and the names of the white keys on the piano.
Beginning Elementary - Ages 7-12 years or younger and reading notes,
This is for students just starting to read notes on the staff. Students are taught how the staff relates to the piano and how to translate the notes to making music. Also, having the students memorize a few key notes on the staff will help greatly with their ability to read music.
Advanced Elementary - Ages 7 - 12 years with previous piano lessons
This group already reads notes on the staff and can immediately identify many of the notes by name. They will learn more advanced technique and music theory beyond the initial basics of learning to play.
Parents Ask Pam
Have a question for Miss Pam? You can email, text message, or message on Facebook your questions. She will respond immediately to you, and your question might be featured in future newsletters.
Q: How do the students view their videos each week in the Crescendo Kids Online program?
A: We have a great practicing app, Tonara. All assignments, those from your private teacher as well as the video assignments, are organized in this app. Your private teacher may give a song from your lesson book as an assignment, and then include a recording of what the piece should sound like. The video assignments sometimes have worksheets to reinforce the concept taught in the video. It is all easily accessible in the Tonara app. You are welcome to view the video any time and as often as needed or desired. Tonara also keeps track of practicing and awards points for the practice time. These points can then be used to “purchase” in app stickers, frames or other fun things to customize your own app.
Your Comments And Questions
We want to hear from you! What are some ways that you have included music education in your children’s lives these last couple of years? Please leave your questions and comments below.