Rock & Roll 101

April 14th, 2025

Mary Kate came in early to Evelyn's lesson and we played through it twice together, before time ran out for Ev.

Then we worked on the bridge and the endings today, focusing especially on the Gsus which was always throwing MK for a bit of a loop.

We did that for the whole lesson.

April 7th, 2025

We worked on Great Things again today, focusing especially on a couple of places where MK was having struggles, like getting to the Gsus in time.

March 31st, 2025

We continued working through Great Things today, first with me on the drums for a good part of the lesson, and then helping her work through some areas in which she was having trouble.

March 24th, 2025

Mary-Kate played through Great Things with me on bass today. She had a few points of confusion, like why the slash chords have the left hand note on the right side of the chord. I tried to explain it to her, but she wasn't grasping it today.

March 17th, 2025

Mary-Kate was chatty today!
Once we got going, we went through the intro, verse and chorus with both hands. She remembered mostly what she needed to play, but we did stop to work on a few things, like the D minor being played on the right beat (beat 4). How to switch between the chords and melody, and where to put the chord hand was a little confusing for her, but she got it by the end.
See you next week!

March 10th, 2025

We went through the whole song today, and then focused on the bridge, which has a few things that were unexpected by Mary Kate, like an F chord with an A in the right hand F/A. Also, the A minor (Am) surprised her.

We went through it a few times, then at the end of the lesson worked for a bit on the intro for the other worship song, Reckless Love.

March 3rd, 2025

We spent most of the lesson working on the intro part of Great Things, and I showed her a few things she can do with the left hand, like playing quarters. Also when playing the chords, it's good if she can switch hands so the right hand plays the chords and the left hand plays a low note.

February 24th, 2025

We started out writing the next part of Getaway Car, but it's kind of fast and harder, and I suggested we change gears. We've been talking about Mary-Kate and Landon playing at church in a kids band, so I suggested we find a Christian song to learn. We settled on Great Things.

Maybe we can get Landon to learn it on drums too.

February 10th, 2025

We reviewed Austin by Dasha, and then added Getaway Car by Taylor Swift. We got through the first 8 bars.

February 3rd, 2025

Mary-Kate wrote a song and played it through for me. Very nice! She then said she wanted to learn Austin by Dasha again, because she'd forgotten it, so we went over it some more.

It took her a while to remember, but once she got going it was good. :) It's always useful to review songs every week to not forget concepts learned earlier.

January 27th, 2025

We continued working on the first verse of Dance Monkey. The syncopation in the second bar is throwing MK off a bit, so we decided together let her just play it wrong, so that she can get through the song. :)

January 20th, 2025

Mary Kate continued with Dance Monkey. We clapped the left hand rhythm for a while, then tried adding it the the right hand. She's getting closer, but we focused mostly on the first bar, because it's one of the hardest places (the third F#m).

January 13th, 2025

Mary-Kate played through last Christmas for me- very good! She got the syncopation down well, and that's not easy!

After that we added a new song, one which Landon is learning, called "Dance Monkey." This also has some challenging syncopation between the hands, so it will be a perfect challenge for her!

January 6th, 2025

Today we worked on the second half of the verse of Last Christmas, (synchronizing the left hand on quarter notes). It's so close, just a few little mistakes, especially when the chorus is repeated (so, the second time).

December 30th, 2024

Mary Kate continued working on Last Christmas today. We added the quarter note rhythm to the left hand, and worked out where the beat lies so she can play it with the melody.

I also showed her how to play the intro like the verse, in that it's the same octave.

December 23rd, 2024

Mary-Kate came with grandpa today! We continued working through Last Christmas, and focused on getting the timing and chord changes correct for just the first line.

I showed her inversions, and how changing one finger sometimes makes it easier to switch between chords

December 16th, 2024

Today Mary-Kate wanted to add a Christmas song, something that Evelyn might be learning, so we added "Last Christmas," the Taylor Swift version.

We went through that a few times, and talked about what the next stage will be.

December 9th, 2024

December 2nd, 2024

We added the next section to If I Was a Cowboy today, and worked through it together

November 25th, 2024

We started with me playing drums along with Mary Kate on If I Was a Cowboy, to help isolate the spots where she doesn't quite have the timing down. They I can and sat with her, and we worked through a few of those places, writing out numbers to count for rests etc., before coming in.

November 18th, 2024

Mary Kate did very well this week with practising. She played it through for me a few times up to the spot we'd learned, and then we added the next section, which is the chorus, I guess. We then worked through that a number of times for the rest of the lessons.

November 4th, 2024

We worked through If I Was a Cowboy, not adding any new parts, but just rehearsing the middle section which she'd been avoiding a bit. We still avoided the last line for now, because she wanted to perfect the middle line. We just touched on it near the end of the lesson.

She came in feeling kind of down, because she'd missed her stop coming home on the bus, but once she started playing she cheered up.

October 28th, 2024

We continued workng on If I Was a Cowboy. MK had been practising the intro a bit wrong, so we worked through that, and then put the right timing and left hand in on the first section of the verse.

October 21st, 2024

Mary-Kate played through Austin for me - it sounds terrific! Good job!

We then added a song that Evelyn and Sadie Lou are learning, If I Was A Cowboy by Miranda Lambert.

October 7th, 2024

We played through the verse and chorus in order, and worked on the repeat of the chorus. The count-in of where to start the phrases isn't intuitive, so I tried to help MK with that. I think she gets it? We then played along with the recording a couple of times at 85% of the original recorded speed.

September 30th, 2024

Mary-Kate has done so well on the verse these last two weeks! Today we added the next section of the song, which I guess is the chorus. Mary-Kate played it through with separate hands and with hands together. I suggested we do it like the verses, in that we don't make the left hand too complicated until she's got things learned.

September 23rd, 2024

It looks like Mary-Kate is sick or forgot to come today.

September 16th, 2024

Mary-Kate has got the intro and the first line of the verse down really well, so we spent the lesson learning the second line of the verse. There's more syncopation on that part, and she's just rushing it a bit, but I didn't make a big deal out of it because she's really close.

She should practise not playing everything at super-sonic speed.... but rather keeping everything a constant tempo. It's better for learning if the speed is consistent throughout the song.

September 9th, 2024

We continued working on Austin by Dasha, and focused on how to play the left hand chords on the beat while playing the right hand melody in time. When she gets this done we'll add the chorus to the song.

September 4th, 2024

Mary-Kate came in Landon's spot, and she played through Here Comes the Sun for me first. She then decided she wanted to learn Austin by Dasha, so I wrote out the intro and verses.

We talked about inversions today, which she hadn't started yet. She seemed to take to it pretty quickly, although I'm not absolutely sure she understood.

We'll continue with the chorus next week.

June 24th, 2024

During Mary-Kate's lesson today we reviewed many of the songs she's learned since the beginning. She's forgotten many of the songs we've learned, so I suggest she go over them regularly this summer to remind herself of what's she's learned.

June 17th, 2024

I cancelled today.

June 10th, 2024

Today we added the next part, the chorus! to You Belong With Me. Good job today, Mary Kate! It's sounding great!

June 3rd, 2024

I can tell summer is getting close, MK was a little distracted tonight, but we managed to work through the song, and add a few more bars to it.

I think she wants to learn a new song, so maybe you want to talk to her about whether she should finish this one first.

May 27th, 2024

We continued working on You Belong With Me, and added the next section. I had Mary-Kate play the new part over and over, trying to help her memorize it.

May 13th, 2024

I guess Mary-Kate isn't coming in today.

May 6th, 2024

We reviewed Here Comes the Sun - it was pretty good! I could tell she practised this week. The last part of the song wasn't quite up to speed, but it was close! We decided to move on.

She wanted to add Taylor Swift, You Belong With Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xgf9XDT846M

April 29th, 2024

Mary Kate is doing well on Here Comes the Sun.

We focused on the ending bars, just trying to get them smooth, without her stopping on every 'd' in the right hand, but playing them as even eighth notes.

April 22nd, 2024

We worked through the ending part of the "Here Comes the Sun" song, doing each phrase 10 times until she was able to play it without stopping between the phrases.

It's almost there!

I recommend she work on the whole song that way, bit by bit until she doesn't hesitate in the song.

April 15th, 2024

Mary Kate was tired of Love Story, and heard "Here Comes the Sun" at the Eclipse party, so we added that.

I wrote it in an easier key to play in (C, instead of A), and went through it a few times with both hands.

April 8th, 2024

March 25th, 2024

Mary-Kate had a birthday last week, so we started out playing Happy Birthday, which she learned a long time ago.

We then went through Love Story up to where she has learned so far, and then added the chorus of the song and went through it as well.

March 18th, 2024

Mary-Kate was feeling a little overwhelmed by the song from last week, but I told her I'd like her to go over it anyway, and by the end of the lesson, I think she was finding it more manageable.

I wrote out the next part before the chorus for her to work on if she has the energy.

March 11th, 2024

I screwed up the rebooking time for Mary Kate (sorry!) So set the cost to this lesson to zero. My apologies!

March 4th, 2024

Mary Kate played through her song for me while I played the drums. I was able to help her not speed up in a couple parts by singing along and keeping the beat on the drums. If you notice when she's practicing that she's playing some parts faster than others, it might be helpful to just remind her to keep the song a constant speed just like the singer sings it.

We then added a new song, Love Story by Taylor swift, what she says is her favorite right now..

February 12th, 2024

I missed seeing Mary-Kate today. :)

February 5th, 2024

Mary Kate has the first part of the song down really well, although she is racing through it instead of playing it the way it's sung. I encouraged her to play it like Taylor Swift sings it.

We focused this week mostly on the chorus section, which was new last week. It's coming along!

January 29th, 2024

Mary-Kate continued her work on Blank Space today. We reviewed the past section, and also added a new section to the bottom. She's so fun!

January 22nd, 2024

Mary-Kate is away today.

January 15th, 2024

Mary-Kate is sick today.

January 8th, 2024

Mary Kate came wanted to learn either Taylor Swift, Blank Space, or Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire.

We chose the former, because it's a bit easier and less syncopated.

We just wrote out and went through the verses, but not the whole song yet. Katie videoed Mary Kate playing it in case there were issues remembering it while practising this week.

December 18th, 2023

Mary Kate brought me a nice present of Girl Guide Cookies! Yum! Thank you.

We went over Rudolph some more, and tried to flesh out the rest of the song. She had just been practising the bridge this week, so remind her to practise the whole song over the next three weeks.

See you in 2024!

December 11th, 2023

Mary Kate played through Rudolph for me, and we focused on the parts she was struggling with, (Then one foggy Christmas Eve). We went over that bridge section two bars at a time, repeating and adding parts to it bit by bit until she could play the whole thing.

December 4th, 2023

Mary Kate has pink eye and won't be coming in today.

November 27th, 2023

Mary Kate wanted to learn Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer today, so I wrote it out in her book and we went over it "hands-separately" and then twice with hands together.

Great job! See you next week.

November 20th, 2023

Mary Kate played Roar for me, and then I wrote out Green Green Grass again for her, but on a fresh page, and with the verse before the chorus.

November 13th, 2023

Mary Kate is doing well on her lessons! We worked on playing the notes for the proper length and observing the rests properly. I also encouraged her to not stop and start over when she makes a mistake, but try to pick up where she left off.

It's hard, but she's doing well!

November 6th, 2023

We added the next three lines to Roar. We introduced a slide, using the middle finger from a black to a white note.

Sounds good so far!

October 30th, 2023

Mary Kate decided to add a new song today, by Katy Perry, called Roar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po7aOsASWsM

I showed her how to play the chords (the left hand) which are basically the same for the whole song. I also showed her how to play the melody of the verse. We didn't get to the prechorus or chorus yet.

October 23rd, 2023

October 16th, 2023

Mary-Late was still frustrated with playing the chords and melody at the same time, and I think this might be a bit too challenging for her at this time.

After going through it a few times, I asked her if she'd like to take a break from this song, and work on something she was more enthusiastic about. She wanted to work on a song she'd written.

I went over some basics of song-writing, and how to make melodies that are variations on a theme (a pattern). She did it a little bit, but I don't think she was really concentrating (or I was confusing! lol).

We ended the lesson with her showing me the scales which she's been working on. It sounds great!

October 2nd, 2023

Mary Kate continued working through Cheerleader for me... she had not been working on the chords (kids are always intimidated by this for the first few weeks), so we focused on that and I wrote out a bit more of the song for her.

September 25th, 2023

We continued working on Wheels on the Bus today, and trying to get it a little smoother, without stopping between sections.

We didn't get back to Cheerleader yet, but let's try that for next week.

September 18th, 2023

We went over Green Grass together, and then Wheels on the Bus.
She complained about her hands getting sore, but I reminded her that's just because she needs to build her muscles more from practising.

See you next week?

September 11th, 2023

Mary Kate did well today! We started at the front of the book, and moved our way through to the third page.

She's doing well, and remembered quite a bit. I asked her to continue to work on these first pages up until the Green Grass song.

If she can continue past that, all the better!

June 26th, 2023

We worked through the chords of Cheerleader, timing Mary-Kate to switch between the chords. The B was giving her trouble, especially so we focused a lot on that.
Good job! We'll see you in September!

June 19th, 2023

From Katie: Hi Jason - MK has had some health issues lately that they are investigating. They just booked her for a test on Monday at 3:15 so we won't be able to make it for her 4pm lesson. She was disappointed when I told her she'd miss the lesson. So if another spot opens up and we are available, she'd love to come.

May 29th, 2023

We worked through the Green Green Grass song, and wrapped it up. We've added a new one today, OMI, Cheerleader:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXF9ziZ3AU4

May 15th, 2023

Mary Kate is doing well with Green Green Grass. Today we added the prechorus, right before the chorus.

This included chords with melody.

May 8th, 2023

Mary-Kate wrote a song, but was timid to play it for me.

Instead we worked on Green Grass, going over it with two hands, bit by bit, trying to add a few notes at a time, until she could play it without problems.

She's very close, just needs practise.

May 1st, 2023

We focused today on Green Grass, just going over and over it until she was getting the right beat. I let her leave the left hand out of it completely to help in getting the right tempo.

She can play the chords, but putting both hands together slows her down right now, so she can slowly work on that this week, to see if she can get it up to speed.

April 24th, 2023

Mary Kate did well in the lesson. She has bee practising!

Keep it up, and don't forget to go over the older songs from time to time so you don't forget them. Happy Birthday could be smoother.

We added Green Green Grass by George Ezra today (the chorus only)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBsttFDJB2o

April 17th, 2023

Mary Kate had forgotten a lot and so we started at the first song again, and worked through until the second last one, adding both hands for all the songs.

She should try to keep practising this week and to review all the music we've been learning.

See you!

April 3rd, 2023

Katie left Mary Kate, and we took the opportunity to just memorize section by section for The Wheels on The Bus. We didn't finish it, but I asked her to do the rest on the memorization on her own at home with both hands.

March 27th, 2023

Mary Kate didn't practice as much this week, so we started again a bit, going over the songs in her book.

We added Wheels on the Bus, and the chords to Mary Had a Little Lamb.

Good job, see you next week!

March 8th, 2023

Going away for a funeral this week.

March 1st, 2023

Mary Kate played through her most recent song, Twinkle. She hadn't been practising Down By the Bay, so I asked her to be sure to always work on the last few songs so she isn't forgetting things from week to week.

We then reviewed Happy Birthday, which she was wanting to perfect before her own birthday!

We then added There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, but didn't have enough time to complete it.

See you at church, or next week!

February 22nd, 2023

Mary-Kate came early in Claira's spot this week (thanks!)

She was sick all week so said she hadn't practised much. We used the lesson to work on chords more, trying to help her play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star without getting behind in the timing.

I recommended she stop playing the chords a bit before it's time to switch to give her time to play it on the right beat. This is hard to do if you're playing the melody too, though, so the best thing is just more time practising.

February 15th, 2023

Mary Kate had avoided practising the chords this week, so we went over them all again today, and I tried to encourage her to play through them... I hope she practises, because that will help her in the future.

I think we also added a new song, but I cannot remember now what it was! :)

February 8th, 2023

Mary-Kate didn't practise as much as she would have liked, but we talked about ways she could do more. (I'm easy-going about it, but find it's best to keep the expectation high so they feel some urgency at home).

We then went through her songs and the first few chords of Down by the Bay. She played through her other music for me, and then we added a new song, Twinkle Twinkle.

Good job!

February 1st, 2023

Mary Kate did very well on her practice this week. Her scale was nicely done, and she played through both songs for me.

We added "Down By the Bay," and introduced chords today. Chords are note combination.

The C chord has c, e, and g.
The F chord has f, a, and c.
The G chord has g, b, and d.

Have Mary Kate practice the scales with both hands independently and together, going opposite directions. (start with the thumbs both on the same C note).

See you next week!

January 25th, 2023

Mary-Kate felt intimidated by playing both hands together, so we took the lesson time to break it down into little sections, gradually making our way through the entire song.

She was able to play through the whole thing.

She then played Mary...Lamb for me.

(I can't recall now whether we added another song- I should have taken notes last night).

January 18th, 2023

Mary-Kate came in with her dad Jason today. She played through Mary Had a Little Lamb for me, and did quite well. I asked her to keep working on it, especially the places where she stops for a moment to find her notes.

We then added a new song, Happy Birthday, and learned about "flats." This is also a two-hand song, in which she plays a single note with the left hand and the melody with the right hand.

January 11th, 2023

This was Mary-Kate's first lesson. My, what a sweetie!!!

We started with the names of the piano keys, the keyboard, and a simple first song, "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

We did two hand playing as well, starting with a single note held in the left hand while the right hand plays the melody.

To help you help her, the two black notes are the "dog house," in which the D lives.

I've received your payment of $90, thank you, but haven't entered it into my system yet.