Rock & Roll 101

June 19th, 2018

June 12th, 2018

June 5th, 2018

There was some confusion with Caitlyn's music (which I apologize for my part in!)

She was back in time anyway, and we went through what she could remember by heart.

We then went back to her new song, and worked out the right inversions, and how to play the left hand in this song. We also learned the little theme melody in the intro, and practiced it a few times.

May 29th, 2018

We reviewed the chords for Twinkle Twinkle, and then I explained the treble / g clef and bass / f clef to her (which she knew some things about).

We talked about scales, and fingering, and "magic fingers" so you don't run out of them when you need them.

I showed her my shorthand for writing out melodies, and wrote out he melody for this song. We then played through it twice.

I spoke about "robot playing," encouraging her to get softer and louder in the melody to make it sound musical.

We then added a song called "idontwannabeyouanymore"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnUR3be5Ebk

I explained sevenths (major and minor) and sharp / flats for this song which is in the key of G.

She should work on both songs for next week.

May 22nd, 2018

Caitlyn came in place of her brother today, and wants to learn piano.

We did a crash course in note-names, triads, major and minor and diminished chords, inversions, a quick scale, and learned "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Her homework was to play this song with the proper inversions, and if she gets it, we'll work on a song that she is wanting to learn.

June 25th, 2013

Today Caitlyn and I mixed down the song we've been recording, called Determinate.

It's been a fun year Caitlyn!! Have a good summer, and keep working on using your real voice, even when you're talking! :)

June 18th, 2013

Caitlyn wasn't able to come this week at the new scheduled slot.

June 11th, 2013

Caitlyn and I sang a few tracks of her song, and then did some scales afterward.

June 4th, 2013

Caitlyn and I listened to some of the Determinate recording, and then decided to work on another song.

Girl I used To Know:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iD5hPjUSX10

Try to learn all the lyrics so we can continue to work on the melody.

May 28th, 2013

May 23rd, 2013

May 14th, 2013

Caitlyn and I worked on the chorus of Determinate, focusing on pitch and timing. We skipped the vocal warm ups this week, instead just working on getting that melody right.

The back of her throat is more open but she should keep thinking about it and singing with it open so she can get used to it. If she can even practice talking with her throat open it will help her.

May 7th, 2013

Today Caitlyn and I did exercises again, listened to last week's recording, and then she wanted to add Determinate by Lemonade Mouth:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OtatoYRMGc

We raised the key one half step to make it easier to sing. I think this is a better song choice for her range.

She should continue to practice breathing breathing breathing, as she does not have enough air. :)

April 30th, 2013

Caitlyn and I worked on vowels for a little longer this week, and I did the consonant with the vowels (bay bee baheee boh boo etc).

Then we recorded her singing her song by Carrie Underwood. We recorded two tracks of it.

April 23rd, 2013

Caitlyn and I worked through the scales (with Rosie again), and we kept trying to work on the sounds of her vowels. Her range is being affected by not being able to sing the vowels properly so if you have any ideas of how I can help her understand this, please let me know.

After our warm ups we went to her new song, by Carrie Underwood. Some of the notes were a little low so I tried raising it two half steps, but this made notes to high as well. We might need to change the melody on this song to help her reach the notes.

We recorded her singing it and listened back. This exercise helps a student hear how the sound to other people.

April 16th, 2013

Tonight we worked on scales as usual and then added a new song, by Carrie Underwood, See You Again.

Caitlyn should keep singing, and think about making her mouth shaped like an "O" while she sings.

April 11th, 2013

April 2nd, 2013

We had a good lesson this week, we worked on exercises to improve range and pronunciation, and then went over A Place in this World a few times.

Remember 1 2 (BREATHE) and it's all I've known...

I want to hear you breathe in so I know you're getting enough air.

Next week we'll record.

March 26th, 2013

Keep singing, sing along with A Place in This World...

I want you to try taking that big breath right before the high part... you can get that note when you breathe deeply.

March 19th, 2013

We've added a new song for Caitlyn to add:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiWQMyP7WXo

March 12th, 2013

March 5th, 2013

Caitlyn and I went over some scales, and continued to work on getting her to open her mouth when she sings... getting the OH to be a real oh, for example. We went to the mirror, and I got her to look at her mouth when she sings. She should try to open it all the way so the OH is nice and round.

We went through the song a few times, and worked on parts of the song where she was singing it with her little 'scratchy' voice.

She then tried Red, by Taylor Swift.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lFSClNvnRM

February 26th, 2013

Caitlyn and I worked on the melody of Ke$ha's Die Young:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmV2zPXMzdI

Maybe she can get this from Star Maker.

Also, take a look at Do Re Me, a program for the Ipad/Iphone.

Work on singing this melody and be sure you're getting high enough on the melodies.

February 19th, 2013

Today we did warm ups, and then sang along with Stronger.

We decided to add a new song, and she chose Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson.
Lyrics: http://www.metrolyrics.com/already-gone-lyrics-kelly-clarkson.html
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFG8OAHn65c

Sing along with the video, or star maker, and practice singing the melody away from the tune, to see if you can hold it.

Maybe find a song that is a bit lower for you.

February 12th, 2013

February 5th, 2013

Practice not making your voice scratchy.

Learn the lyrics.

Open your throat.

January 29th, 2013

Practice singing the "Oh" in a slide up and down, and memorize the words to Stronger. :)

January 22nd, 2013

Caitlyn and I did warm ups and sang "fifths," to help her with her ear. She did really well on this, though sometimes felt like it was too hard.

After 10 to 15 minutes of warm ups we sang through Kelly Clarson's Stronger (acoustic):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX8TaR9IcV0

We did it with me on the guitar, and also along with the video.

After a few times through we tried recording it to give her a sense of how she sounds.

She should practice singing the song this week, and try to memorize the words. Especially concentrate on keeping her voice relaxed on the high notes.

January 15th, 2013

January 8th, 2013

Today Caitlyn and I did some guitar and some vocals-- I also showed her two chords on the Ukulele since she has a bit of a challenge playing the guitar.

December 18th, 2012

December 11th, 2012

Tonight we went over the Tear Drops song, and she is doing well, her hand tends to slide up too high... so watch that you're in the right fret.

Practice toughening up your fingers.

Good job!

December 4th, 2012

Caitlyn and I did a bit of guitar, then decided to switch to vocals in preparation for the Christmas concert.

We talked about breathing and not lifting her shoulders to take a big breath.

We worked on individual intervals of 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5.

We did some 1-2-3-4-5 scales as well.

November 27th, 2012

Today Caitlyn and I added the C chord to her list of chords, and I wrote out the chords for the song "Tear Drops On My Guitar."

She can play through all the chords, and knows how to sing and play it (I put keywords with the chords to help her).

Give me a call if you have any questions or she's confused for practicing.

Good job!

November 20th, 2012

Caitlyn misplaced her sheet of paper with the new chords, so wasn't able to practice those chords this week.

Consequently, we needed to spend the time in tonight's lesson going over those chords again. We learned G, E minor, and D to her list of known chords, and worked through them for the duration of her lesson.

She should go through them from first chord through to last chord, decreasing the time it takes to switch her hand position each time.

November 13th, 2012

Catilyn is doing very well with E and Am!! YAY!

So now she is going to learn G and Em, and next week we'll learn C and D.

Then she can play Tear drops On my Guitar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfRLmk7Q_q4

November 6th, 2012

Today Caitlyn and I learned E and Am. She should practice switching between them as smoothly and quickly as she can.