Prep Level A (24 to 36 months)

Music appreciation

We recommend starting introducing classical pieces through playing them for your preschoolers on piano/keyboard with Gentle Piano first. Parents have to learn it using Right, Left and/or Both hands with child present or participating in piece learning/singing Solfeggio/performing.

After ‘hand on’ experience the same piece should be presented as original with the help of CD, You Tube, iTunes and other listening devices. We will provide you with the sample links here, in our curriculum for your convenience, but feel free to brows different interpretations of the same piece.

Movements, dancing, ‘conducting’, loosing attention during the listening to original version is appreciated. You don’t have to push ‘just listening’ – a child has to do something happy and enjoyable while the music lasts.

The piece should be presented to a child during the entire 4 – 4,5 weeks segment of curriculum on different occasions. The structure (playing a piece 1-2 times a day) and spontaneity should be combined.

Every time before or after the piece is being played the name of it and name of composer should be announced.

If the piece is stimulating and exciting we recommend listening to it 1-2 hours before nap or night sleep. If the piece is soft and smoothing, it may be presented to a child, when he/she starts resting and about to sleep.

Every piece of this list after initial introduction during 4-4.5 week segment should be played occasionally with new pieces of the curriculum. It is important to keep all the music in mind and be able to differentiate one piece from another.

Joseph Haydn ‘Surprise Symphony’. Gentle piano: Favorite Classics Primer.

The sample of the orchestra version of the piece could be found on You Tube as Symphony # 94 (1st part) – for instance

Ear Training
Guess Key Game – playing the game for 30 seconds or 1 min and stop it by pressing F1. Always record the score! Ask your child to SING the names of the notes.

To avoid the destraction you may visually allocate the area of piano keys:

Listen to a 1st track of ‘Note Alphabet Song – Chant’. Get familiar with cards’ names from Do to Do:

Piano
Exercises: learning how to place a thumb on Middle Do with weight.

Learning ‘names’ of each finger of the Right hand as Do Re Mi Fa So

Gentle Piano Piano pieces: Introductory Songs -‘Hot Cross Buns’: S, R1 (First 4 bars – 6 notes)

Sight-reading with the Gentle Piano Favorite Classic Primer Hayden 'Surprise Symphony': play R1, L1 or P1. Sing the notes with Solfeggio.

Theory Theatre

Theory interaction

Ask your child to pick a card (Flash cards Level 1 pages 1-2 with only pictures of notes) from the pile of them as Door, Rain, and Mirror etc.
At least 2 pictures and 1-2 videos of the listed activity will be counted towards your/your child's credits for graduation DIPLOMA. Please, upload the videos on You Tube, copy the address from the BROWSER window and past it in your Progress Diary. Don't forget to mention in the description of your photo/video Soft Mozart Academy, year and activity.

Music appreciation: Tchaikovsky ‘Nutcracker’ – March (from Gentle piano).

For parents – beginners to play at least 8 bars using Right or Left hand.

Original sample -

Ear training

Place the cards as you hear the melody:

Piano

- Playing 5 fingers exercise by Right Hand from Do trying to use different fingers

Gentle Piano:
- Practice playing R hand of the ‘Hot Cross Buns’ (4 bars – 6 notes) using 3-2-1 fingers
Practice ‘Hot Cross Buns’ with Left hand (4 bars – 6 chords) using two index fingers of both hands with help of little round extra stickers

Sight-reading with the Gentle Piano *OPTIONAL*: Nutcracker ‘March’ bars 1-4 play with Right hand (R1)


Theory

THEORY THEATER: Watch 'Heartbeat of music'

Learning to place cards in order from Do to Do forward.

Original sample

Ear training
1. Singing notes from Mi to Mi.

Piano
- Playing 5 finger exercise using 2 hands in contrary motion from Middle Do

- Learning about thumb as ‘White Cat’, 3rd finger as ‘Black Cat’
- Trying to play Hot Cross Buns with both hands

Gentle piano: Starting to learn first 2 bars of ‘French Song’ with Right Hand.

Sight-reading with the Gentle Piano: Favorite Classics Primer - Liszt ‘Liebestraum’.
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1. Theory Placing music cards from Do to Do in descended order. Placing cards from Mi to Mi in ascended order.

Music Appreciation: Gentle Piano experience – Mozart for Children: ‘Spring time song’ – Right Hand 1 (R1) bars 1-5.
Original sample -

Ear training
Singing with PP scale from So to So

Video:

Piano
Piano Playing:
- Placing thumb on white keys and 3rd finger on black keys. Playing first 5 keys of ‘Chromatic Scale’

- Keep playing 5 fingers exercise
- Gentle Piano: keep practicing ‘Hot Cross Buns’ with both hands.
Playing Right hand of French Song all the way through

Playing Left hand of French Song all the way through
Try to play French Song with both hands *optional*

Sight-reading with the Gentle Piano: Mozart for Children: ‘Spring time song’ – play with Right hand 1-5 bars. (R1)

Theory Placing the scales from So to So.
Note Duration Game – learning how to press and hold space bars to get the right duration.

Music Appreciation: Piano experience – Favorite Classics Primer – Rossini ‘William Tell Overture’

Original sample -

Sight-reading: Play Favorite Classics Primer – Rossini ‘William Tell Overture’ with R1, L1 and *optional* P1
Ear training
Singing with PP scale or video from Ti to Ti
Video:

Piano

Video or photos of your child working with the assignments are welcome!

Please, put Soft Mozart: Semester 2/201* in the title of your videos (s).

Theory: Learning to say Alphabet from couple of notes. Practicing with ‘Nota Alphabet Song – Chant’ all 8 tracks of the song.