Be a Star!, Book 1.* Be a Star!, Book 1, by Kevin Costley, edited by Helen Marlais. The FJH FJH Franz Joseph Haydn (classical composer) FJH Friendswood Junior High (Friendswood, Texas) Music Co., Inc. (Westport Business Park, 2525 Davie Rd., Ste. 360, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33317), 2005. 24 pp. $5.50. Early-Elementary/Elementary. Be a Star! Book 1, provides little fingers the opportunity to explore the full range of the keyboard with comfortable patterns for small hands. This collection also fits the bill for teachers seeking a supplementary series that provides extra reinforcement of intervallic learning and picturesque solo repertoire for recitals. The series offered by the FJH Music Company comes in three levels--early-elementary/elementary, late-elementary and early- to mid-intermediate. Book 1 contains 13 pieces suitable for students within their first year of piano who are eager to venture beyond the five-finger zones of method books. A quick glance through the book will entice teachers who are seeking attractive pieces that can be easily taught to youngsters through a combined approach of rote learning rote learning n. Learning or memorization by repetition, often without an understanding of the reasoning or relationships involved in the material that is learned. , interval reading reinforcement and blocked patterning. Each piece is based on several simple patterns that may combine seconds/thirds, fourths/fifths and so on, and are sequenced by step, skip or octave placements. Each piece presents a practice suggestion in the upper-left corner that can trigger interval and pattern analysis of the piece. I was impressed that the book left this analysis to the student and teacher working through the piece, rather than cramming the page with too much extra teaching information. Composer Kevin Costley's appealing pieces are student friendly, colored with extended pedal, echo effects, arpeggiated hand cross-overs and far-reaching final notes for that dramatic finish. Titles include "Waking Flowers," "Bubbles," "Dewdrops," "Dreamland dream·land n. 1. An ideal or imaginary land. 2. A state of sleep. Noun 1. dreamland - a pleasing country existing only in dreams or imagination dreamworld, never-never land " and a pentatonic pen·ta·ton·ic adj. Music Of or using only five tones, usually the first, second, third, fifth, and sixth tones of a diatonic scale. Adj. 1. pentatonic - relating to a pentatonic scale "Whispering Butterflies." "Cowboy Rodeo rodeo (rō`dēō, rōdā`ō), public exhibition of the skill of cowboys in various activities. Events include riding broncos, riding steers, "bulldogging" steers, roping and tying steers and calves, the use of the lasso, and " offers more challenging syncopated syn·co·pate tr.v. syn·co·pat·ed, syn·co·pat·ing, syn·co·pates 1. Grammar To shorten (a word) by syncope. 2. Music To modify (rhythm) by syncopation. fifths in a rousing gallop tempo. Editor Helen Marlais describes the pieces that develop technique through repetition of patterns and intervals, as "impressive-sounding without being too difficult." The series is designed to attract youngsters to read more, while reinforcing interval concepts through repetition of patterns across the keyboard. If teachers find this book useful for solo recital repertoire as well, this is a winner worth trying in your studio. Reviewed by Joanne Haroutounian, NCTM NCTM National Council of Teachers of Mathematics NCTM Nationally Certified Teacher of Music NCTM North Carolina Transportation Museum NCTM National Capital Trolley Museum NCTM Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage , Arlington, Virginia. * The items marked with this symbol can be ordered via the MTNA MTNA Music Teachers National Association MTNA Middle Tennessee Nursery Association (McMinnville, Tennessee) Website through our affiliation with Amazon.com. Go to www.mtna.org, click On "Resources and Services" and scroll down to the Amazon.com section. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion