Piano for Little Kids: there's an app for that!

By Jill Simeone -

Andrew Ingkavet, the most sought-after music teacher in Brooklyn (and, I'm proud to add, the Cozy Owl Music Contributor), has just released a fabulous educational music app for young kids: Play Piano for Kids, Volume I.

The app, available in the iBookstore for $.99 and for use on the iPad, is really great because it targets very young and pre-literate kids and teaches them to play simple songs on the piano.  Andrew uses a color coding system that makes reading music really simple and intuitive for the early learner.

Play Piano for Kids includes videos of young children playing the songs (so your little one can see how it's done), as well as really helpful teaching notes for parents (so you can fake your way through the lesson if you --like me-- lost your flute in the 4th grade and haven't touched an instrument since). 

As a parent who has sat through many of my daughters' piano lessons, I am incredibly impressed with how well this app captures the warm, fun  and encouraging feel of lessons with Andrew...in a digital medium.

If you are wondering about the benefits of music instruction for little kids, there's a ton of research out there showing that early exposure to music has a wide range of developmental benefits, including:  development of abstract reasoning skills, later success in science and complex math, and spatial-temporal intelligence.

So go check out the app, forward it to your friends, and if you love it like I do, be sure to leave a glowing review.  That's how good apps float to the top of the list at the Apple Store.  Plus...I want to make sure we get to see Volume II. 

Happy playing!

A Kid-Friendly Playlist of Adult Music (Or: What to listen to on a family road trip without going crazy!)

 

By Andrew Ingkavet (www.parkslopemusiclessons.com) -

So  you’re all packed for a family road trip.  The kids are in the back and you’re finally settling in for a nice peaceful drive.  All of sudden they’re asking for that CD of nursery rhymes.  “Oh no, not the hokey-pokey again!”  Let’s listen to Daddy’s music for a little while. 

Sound familiar?  Well here’s a list of 17 of our favorite tunes that every child should hear anyway, as an introduction to a lifetime of music appreciation.

I selected these to focus on the areas of pop, rock, jazz, blues and bluegrass.  (For classical and folk selections, see my previous posts.  You're on your own for Guns & Roses!)  I do believe that listening is a pre-requisite to playing an instrument...but also part of having a joyous life.  Of course this list is very subjective and includes what I think is a small sliver of repertoire that every conscious person should be aware of.  That said, you may not agree, but it’s all great music and lyrically non-objectionable for the kids.  (Yes I know the purists will say: "but what about the double entendre of Shake Rattle & Roll?")  And that’s what’s so great about music.  You don’t even have to know the lyrics to get into the groove.  And these tracks are all pretty upbeat and kid/parent approved.

Here it is - Andrew's Roadtrip Playlist!

Upload them now (MP3 links are below), plug the ipod into your speakers...and get rolling:

• The Brooklyn Bridge - Frank Sinatra - a fabulous swing track where the Chairman of the Board really swings and shines the light on our hometown bridge. 
• 'S Wonderful - Sarah Vaughan - so sweet and lovely.
• Banjo Pickin' Girl - Abigail Washburn - such fun music and such a wonderfully eclectic artist.  She also does Chinese folk songs with her wonderful acoustic group.
• Not Fade Away  - Buddy Holly - one of the first rockers!
• My Generation  - The Who - I’ve had some four year old students coming in and asking to strum guitar like Pete Townshend - as in the windmill move!
• Under The Boardwalk  - The Drifters - My son absolutely loved this song for years and when we finally went to the Coney Island Boardwalk, he was disappointed to see that you could no longer sit under the boardwalk.  
• Shake, Rattle And Roll  - Bill Haley and the Comets - This is just so funand a great beat.  The early days, when blues was turning into rock and jazz.
• Penny Lane - The Beatles - one of the great masterworks by Paul McCartney with an amazing storyline, imagery and such wonderful voice-leading in the bass line.  (The link here is to the Beatles CD "1" -all of their #1 hits- sold on Amazon.  It's fabulous. To download the single, Apple has exclusive digital rights to all Beatles music, so go to i-tunes.) 
• Lean On Me - Bill Withers - one of my favorite songwriters of all time.  I feel Bill hasn’t received the recognition he deserves.  A late bloomer (like me!) he was working on a production line in his 40s when he self-produced his debut album and gems like this.
• Banana Pancakes  - Jack Johnson - Jack makes everything sound so smooth and easy, as if he were just hanging on the beach in Hawaii. 
• Dance To The Music - Sly & The Family Stone - my son Alejandro dances to this all the time.  What a great introduction to the instruments of the band!
• Watermelon Man - Herbie Hancock - the great and ageless Herbie Hancock has morphed through the years more than Madonna.  He is perennially classic, cool and in style. 
• Funky Kingston - Toots & the Maytals - Funky reggae.  Who doesn’t love reggae?  When I was backpacking around the world, it seems every backpacker listened to reggae, mostly Bob Marley, but this is a great introduction to the Jamaican beat.
• At Last - Etta James - romantic, swooning, gorgeous and such a sentiment!  Our good friends Bob and Debbie got married to this song. 
• Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours) - Stevie Wonder - the boy wonder, Little Stevie Wonder burst onto the scene first singing and playing harmonica and then came in with this massive hit. 
  
• Save Me- Aretha Franklin - the queen of soul is not always remembered for this grooving, rocking, soulful song.
• Happy Thoughts - Alejandro and Andrew Ingkavet - when my son Alejandro was 5, he and I wrote this piece for a children’s television show, kickstarting our collaborations.  (Stay tuned for more songs from Alejandro soon!)

Andrew is a composer, producer and music teacher at ParkSlopeMusicLessons.com and a Park Slope Dad.



Early Childhood Music Education: After the Lullaby

By Andrew Ingkavet (parkslopemusiclessons.com) -

Aside from bedtime songs, what more can a parent do to introduce a child to music?  Young children have no prejudice for or against particular types of music.   That develops over time.  I approach music education as I would language education, and recommend an early immersion program. 

Seriously, start off playing recordings of early classical music – for example Gregorian chants, baroque and your favorite classical pieces– basically anything before the year 1830, (the start of the Romantic era).  These earlier forms of music have a simplicity of structure, melody and harmony and don’t include the more dissonant harmonies or complex rhythms that characterize later music.   

Understanding history enables one to understand where we came from and where we are going.  The same can be said for music, and I believe (without being rigid) in trying to introduce music to children in a progressive order, to give context and meaning to the present and future.  As you listen together, you are exposing him to a wealth of music structure and harmony.  Just think of it has a rapid aural literacy project where you are giving your child a thousand years of music history in daily or nightly listening doses. 

As you progress through music history, your child’s listening skills will continue to evolve.  By the time you get to jazz and rock, she’ll already have a solid base in early music.  (We, with our modern ears, forget how revolutionary it was for the first people to hear the blues or modern classical music.)  It is exciting to watch a child discover a new type of music and have a foundation of earlier music to compare it to.   Also, by curating your child’s music exposure (as you would when you select his books or toys), you are in effect “programming” your child to be open to a wide range of musical experiences, instead of letting him get hard-wired by T.V. shows and advertising jingles.

So, where to start…?

The record label Naxos specializes in producing affordable but good quality recordings of classical music and I would highly recommend their samplers. 

                      

An excellent resource for early classical music on solo piano is the Suzuki Piano Method, and they sell books and CDs. These introduce the simple songs that your child will hear later if she starts to play piano; making them familiar from an early age is a huge advantage in developing a musical ear. For folk music, Mike and Peggy Seeger put out a CD of American Folk Songs that is quite comprehensive.  Also Jose Luis Orozco ’s great music and books compile wonderful Spanish folk music. 

                          

Here in Park Slope, Brooklyn, I’ve had great experiences with the local Music Together program, which offers classes and books with CDs, all with fun and age-appropriate folk songs.  I’d suggest looking for local sing-alongs or music and movement classes in your neighborhood, to enjoy with your child. 

If you are looking for musical toys, there’s one that my son enjoyed as a toddler called the Mozart Magic Cube.   This child-friendly cube plays sample recordings of 8 famous Mozart melodies when pressed on one of its sides.  You can hear an instrument solo, or combinations of instruments.  Captivating for hours (tired parents will enjoy it too)!

                        

To get them in to mood to make music, you can introduce a musical instrument set or toy piano.   (Note: this piano is not for learning to play piano, just for learning to love pretending to make music.  For selecting real beginners instruments for children, see my web site.)

I’m also continuing to compile a list of music and recordings for early childhood music education on my site.  Please check it out….and let me know what you and your little music-makers enjoy.

Early Childhood Music Education: Where To Begin

By Andrew Ingkavet (ParksSlopeMusicLessons.com)

Many studies have shown the benefits of music on young minds.  Most parents would agree that some kind of early childhood music education is desirable.  But, not every parent is a trained musician.  Here’s a few thoughts on where to begin your child’s musical education very simply.

When a child is born, they come out with their hearing turned on.  Actually, hearing starts during a fetus' first trimester!  When a baby is born, the sound they are most comfortable with is the very one they’ve been hearing for months in the womb... their mother’s voice...followed by their father’s.  So the best and most natural way to introduce music to your child is to sing.  But what to sing?

Folk songs are a great starting point.  They not only introduce children to music of their own and other cultures, but also impart some history, myths and fables.  Folk music is a staple of virtually all music curriculums from Kodaly to Orff to Dalcroze to Suzukim etc., and it’s no wonder –it’s easy to remember and fun to sing!

Folk music is aptly named as it is music of the folks, usually passed down from generation to generation so that no one even remembers who composed these tunes and wrote the lyrics. These songs are easy to sing within a limited note range so that anyone can sing them.  They are memorable with catchy melodies and rhymes so they have lasted the test of time.  Most folk music is structured around a 5 note scale, also known as the pentatonic scale.  If you have a piano, you can play the black notes and immediately hear this scale which is also the basis of Chinese folk music.

My wife and I sing to our now 8 year old son. She usually sings the Colombian folk songs she grew up with and I sing songs my mother sang to me: Korean folk song “Arirang”, “Summertime” from Gershwin’s opera Porgy and Bess and “Kookaburra” among others. 

As I actively began teaching young children music, I expanded beyond folk songs.  Here’s a few of my favorite bedtime songs:

●     Hush Little Baby

●     Swing Low Sweet Chariot

●     Kum Ba Ya

●     Dinah

●    Kookaburra (usually thought to be an Australian folk song, it was written by a camp counselor in 1932)

●     Michael Row The Boat Ashore

●     Greensleeves

●     Lightly Row

●     HoneyBee

●     Cuckoo

●     French Children’s Song (Petit Papa)

●     Oh How Lovely Is The Evening

●     Summertime (Gershwin)

●     Silent Night

●     You Send Me (Sam Cooke)

●     Zippity Doo Dah (By The Sherman Brothers for Disney)

●     The 59th Street Bridge Song (Simon & Garfunkel)

●     Under The Boardwalk (The Drifters)

●     This Little Light of Mine

You can find the sheet music and/or lyrics for most of these online.  A book I received as a gift that we love is called The Great Family Songbook, which features many of these songs.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions on what your favorite bedtime songs are.

Sing, sing a (silly) song...

By Jill Simeone... Well, it finally happened…my first reply from the blogosphere (aside from my Mom)! Anita Casey, a follower and educator, likes Cozy Owl and wrote in with these comments. As a former preschool and kindergarten teacher I have found that so much can be taught through song.

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