Perfect Pitch vs. Relative Pitch, the Complete Musical Picture

I read an article last fall about the difference between perfect pitch and relative pitch and how they work together to give you the complete musical picture.  In Let's Play Music we work on singing on pitch from the very beginning, because research shows that young children can be taught to mimic pitch and with repetition, they become aware of the sound their own voice makes.
Perfect Pitch

"The hills are alive, with the sound of music!"  Let's Play Music t-shirt contest winners:  Traveling T-shirts have come home.

Traveling T-shirts Have Come Home

Traveling T-shirts Have Come Home

Why Let's Play Music is different than piano lessons

There are so many reasons why Let's Play Music is different than just starting in private piano lessons. Of course we always have so much fun in class and the fun continues at home with our original songs using music to teach music. We also are able to train children to be complete musicians, they learn to use their voices, tone bells, autoharp, and later piano to sing and play music. We also require parents to attend class with their child every other week the first year and once a month during years two and three. There is an awesome post on why we encourage parents to do music with their child and the the Making Musicians blog this week, check it out!

If you are interested in checking out a Sound Beginnings Class, the amazing pre-cursor to Let's Play Music and Kindergarten prep program for 2-4 year olds, come see Ms. Kim and Ms. Robin at the Loveland Public Library on Sept. 9 and 12 at 10am.  Bring your friends!

Here is a video showing a peek into Sound Beginnings:  Sound Beginnings Demo video

Why it is important to start music young

So excited to see all my Let's Play Music families again tonight at orientation.  I can't wait to share some of the awesome things your child will be learning this year.
Check this new research out, and see you tonight!
New Research

Music makes you smarter

Did you know...?  

Music stimulates the mind, encourages creativity and helps to lay a foundation for learning that leads to higher intelligence and aptitude.
Preschoolers who studied piano performed 34% better in spatial and temporal reasoning ability than preschoolers who spent the same amount of time learning to use computers (Rauscher & Shaw. As reported in Neurological Research, February 1997).
Preschoolers who took singing and keyboard lessons scored 80% higher on object-assembly tests than students at the same preschool who did not have the music lessons (Rauscher & Shaw. As reported in Symphony, Sept.-Oct. 1996).
Listening to Mozart’s Piano Sonata K448 was found to significantly increase spatial scores of college students on IQ tests
(Rauscher & Shaw. University of California as reported in Nature).
In a study of medical school applicants, 66% of the music majors who applied to medical school were admitted, the highest percentage of any group. Only 44% of the biochemistry majors were admitted (Lewis Thomas, as reported in the Phi Delta Kappan, February 1994).
The very best engineers and technical designers in the Silicon Valley industry are, nearly without exception, practicing musicians (Grant Venerable, The Center for the Arts in the Basic Curriculum, New York, 1989).
For the unborn child, classical music, played at a rhythm of 60 beats per minute, equivalent to that of a resting human heart, provides an environment conducive to creative and intellectual development (Dr. Thomas Veert, The Secret Life of the Unborn Child).
In 1994, it was reported by the college entrance examination board that students with coursework in music performance taking the university entrance exam (SAT) scored 49 points higher on the verbal portion of the test and 36 points higher on the math portion than students with no course work or experience in the arts.
It has been shown that high school music students have higher grade point averages than non-music students do in the same school (from Time Magazine June 11, 1999).
"It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the rest of musical perception." - Albert Einstein on his Theory of Relativity.
Plato once said "...music is a more potent instrument than any other for education..." Now scientists know why. Music, they believe, trains the brain for higher forms of thinking. After eight months of musical training, 3 year olds were expert puzzle masters, scoring 80% higher than their playmates did in spatial intelligence – the ability to visualize the world accurately. This skill later translates into mathematical/conceptual and engineering skills.  
Music Lessons Make You Smarter! 

Click the registration link above to see which classes still have space for fall.  Sign up today!  

What music really teaches us

It has been a busy summer around Ms. Robin's Let's Play Music studio. I have taught oodles of classes, planned and prepped lots of lessons for fall, and learned so many new songs. I was blessed to attend 2 trainings in Utah and Arizona with lots of other Let's Play Music teachers from around the United States. I am so excited to share some of what I learned with all of you.
 I found this article fascinating about what music can help us learn, check it out!  Life Lessons: what music really teaches us.  

Ms. Robin was in Salt Lake City for training on a cloudy day in May.

In Mesa, AZ for Let's Play Music teacher's convention in June with some of our CO team!

Come try Let's Play Music and Sound Beginnings tomorrow!

Friday, June 21st at 9am and 10am there will be a Let's Play Music (4-6 years old to start) and Sound Beginnings (2-4 years to start, younger siblings can attend) sample class at my studio!
Come and check out these amazing programs taught by 2 Windsor teachers.
Let us know if you are coming and if you want to stay for both, we will have a snack in between.  Both classes will last approximately 30 minutes total with time for questions/registration afterwards.
Hope to see you there!
Ms. Robin and Ms. Kim

Check out the demo videos
www.letsplaymusicsite.com