Sigma Alpha Iota

children's music can be added. My great-granddaughter gave me more ideas. One spark came from her sudden desire to do more than 5 notes in the C position. Her innocent question was, "Is there an H note after the G note?" Thus, I devised a way to still keep the 5-finger position intact by having the left 2nd finger leap over the right hand to play the A (or her H note). Because she loved to climb the tall rock at Playland, another idea for a song was born! Getting her thumb under to add more fingers to play the C scale, depicting climbing up to the top, was so much fun that she had to show off by giving us her first concert. Because publishers have so many method courses already on their rosters, they were not willing to accept my new method, but they wished me luck. I had to think of another way to get my course used. Through learning to use the Finale program with a 4-octave keyboard connected to the computer, my output increased. I no longer had to pay typographers $50 per page and worry about an extra fee if I made a change. A hand exercise from Mary Jane's Children's Piano Course. I applied for my license to be a publisher/ music company in the year 2000. There considered a hit! would be no limit to what I could publish! By learning another set of 5 notes, F or G I believe in 3 ingredients for success: Nice position and sprinkling in C position among the melodies, beautiful sound and feeling new songs, the children begin to think changing comfortable/technique. The published music positions is as fun as "musical chairs." A favorite should be clear, concise and have a consistent is to shift up to F position with one hand and thread for positive learning. The children's move down with the other to repeat the F chord attention has to be immediately directed to the 4 times to sound like native drumbeats. By beautiful cascading sounds created by the routinely practicing the I, IV, V7 chords, their "waterfall" movement, so that they can always left hand functions in "automatic mode" to continue to recreate this sound while playing: As accompany the melodies. With their hands I press down the pedal, they place their elbow on growing larger, my students can now handle the the black keys and gently move their arm down larger sounds and sonorities of broken octaves and up many times. Next I point out where and 10ths. middle C is and introduce them to their 5 friends One of their aspirations is to play something named Cat, Do-nut, Elephant, Fish and G (Gee, I they hear on YouTube or TV. Sadly, the know 5 keys). These are played with their right arrangements of the music that are available to hand as they see them in bold letters written high buy are so awkward that the songs are no longer in a box. With the left thumb they play only one as attractive as they originally sounded. In order key, G below middle C written lower. to sell books, arrangers have to cater to the "Timing" is explained through "physical average level of playing which results in reducing motions" which are walk/squat/touch the bench a nice original score to poor quality just so it can to enact the quarter/half/whole notes which be played. Understanding this, I compiled a eliminate the dreaded "counting." The transition book choosing only the Broadway show tunes, to "note reading" becomes easy when I sing a Classics, Folk and Christmas songs that I could song with the alphabet letters becoming "notes" arrange more "pianistically." Now my students with words explaining where they are on a big can play some of their favorites with fluidity and "staff." Their fingers continue playing in C expression. Hearing nice comments from their position but they read notes instead of alphabet friends and parents, they really feel the power of letters. Soon they want you to sing the lyrics as music and the promise of good things to come. they play. If they sing with you, the song is My original goal was to become a concert pianist and composer. I never thought to publish a children's course, but I realize now that if I had not been experienced in both capacities, I could not have succeeded in taking on a responsibility of such magnitude. Because it took 21 years to finally complete this Children's Piano Course, the icing on the cake was my nephew testing the entire course for the first time. He sailed through it in 3 years, always wanting to surprise me with another piece he proudly practiced on his own. What a nice feeling it was that these songs had the kind of impact to motivate him. Recently I reluctantly accepted two teenagers only because they promised they would start from the beginning just as the children do. They surprised me with their progress and exclaimed how, compared to other methods, this presentation was logical and clear, as well as enjoyable to play. As the students continue with the course, they discover that developing a discipline in one craft helps them to excel in other areas. The talented ones, given a constant stream of new music to read, avoid the trappings of playing "by ear." Good sight reading becomes a wonderful by-product. More confident, they can unlock the greatness inside them to touch the audience through their performance. Suddenly I realized that by my taking care of the difficult demanding ones, everyone benefitted, including the talented few. Much energy, thought, and love were put into these songs but most importantly, I had my students' input. I can now extend this Children's Piano Course to teachers and promise them that they will have a success rate of 100%. Composers are welcome to join me to expand the "idea" behind this method, thus keeping music alive. Those interested in seeing SAI Composer Bureau member Mary Jane Tashiro's Children's Piano Course, levels 1 to 6 in pdf format, may e-mail her at: mjtmusic1@verizon.net. CLICK FOR MORE Five books which include 'Crossroad' can be seen and ordered at visit cafepress.com/mjtmusic sai-national.org SPRING 2012 PAN PIPES 29

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