Good Night Daisy

It's always sad to say 'Goodbye" so instead, we always say "Goodnight' like in this song. Daisy wanted to say Goodnight especially to Singapore, so she wrote the words that say, "mm my beautiful Singapore, mmm I'll miss you from a distant shore....'  Goodnight Daisy, and all the best to you in your musical endeavor back in England!

Belated Christmas Greetings!

Here are some belated Christmas greetings....well guess it's not too late since it's the 6th day of christmas! Enjoy the footage!

1. Frosty The Snow Man

2. Jesse - Angels We Have Heard On High

3. Tracy - Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer

4. Milly and Joseph - Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Playing together is never easy, especially for the little ones. Here's a good start for Milly and Joseph and we'll work on something more challenging next year!

5. Milly - Good King Wencelas

6. Astrid - Jingle Bells
Here's Astrid, my youngest student joining us here with Jingle Bells!

Post-Christmas Greetings from Jadyn and Janna!

Jadyn announces the Good News that 'Jesus is born' with these 2 songs: Good News and Go Tell It On The Mountain'

And here's a lullaby for Jesus - Away in a manger

And Here's Jadyn telling Jesus How she loves Him.

And now for some Christmas Jingles: Jingle Bells and Deck The Hall.

Christmas Don't Be Late!

I love the chipmunks and I love this song, be it the waltz or the rock version, it's all what the children want to say, right?

1. Daisy and Jade did the song in C Major. Some parts are a little high and I wish we had more time to work on it but still, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

2. Jesse did the sweet version of this song and then he rock it using the electric guitar. Obviously he enjoyed the rock version more! 

Christmas Greetings from Tracy!

Tracy is one of my most diligent student. She has worked hard each week and I'm sure you will enjoy her Christmas carols as much as I do!

1. Jingle Bells

2. Away in a manger

3. O Come All Ye Faithful

4. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

Well done Ethan, keep it up!

Ethan has been building up his 'stamina' and is now able to play longer songs (like Jungle wedding and Jingle Bells). Keep working on Jingle bells and let your music ring this festive season! Have a blessed Christmas!

1. Jungle Wedding

2. Riding on the Escalator

3. Jingle Bells

4. Cuckoo Clock 

Alex - the boy who fills the studio with laughter!

Alex is one boy that brings laughter to the studio. Here is a clip of him doing some theory (keyboard names) on my iPad. It's amusing watching him!

2. Jungle Wedding

3. Racoon Lullaby

Like most of the young students, Alex is not ready to play the song 2 times (as stated in the book). It takes time to build stamina in young students. So that's what we will continue to work on next year. In the meantime, enjoy the holiday and have a blessed Christmas!

You have done well Mila, keep it up!

Here's Mila, she completed Piano Adventure Book A this year and has started on Book B. Here's the last post this year....we didn't have enough time to work on our Christmas songs since we ended our lessons in November, but I'm sure she can play it much better by now. Here's the last few footage for 2011, enjoy them and have a blessed Christmas!

1. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

2. Jingle Bells

3. Ode to Joy (Duet)

4. Pumpkin Party

Best Progress Award 2011 Goes To Mia

Mia, I am proud of you. You have worked hard and made good progress this year! Remember to keep playing through the songs that we have done with the accompaniment CD, also to relax your arms when you play. Have a blessed Christmas!

1. Best Friends

2. Honking Cars

3. Jingle Bells

1.

MIlly and Eliane are now in Level One!

Here's Eliane and Milly who has completed Piano Adventure Primmer and presenting their first song in Level One -- FireFly. Enjoy!

Here's Milly playing 1. Firefly 2. Ba Luo Bo (a mandarin song) and 3. Heart and Soul

Sisters

Jadyn and Janna are sisters (2 years apart). And like any other siblings, Janna likes to do what her big sister does. Here's Jadyn playing Little River flowing followed by Janna doing the same song, learnt by herself!

And here's Janna doing Jingle Bells followed by Jadyn doing the same song (at a higher level) and playing with rhythm accompaniment.

Andrew Barsky - The Inner Solar System

This set of 6 songs were composed by Andrew. He was inspired by Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons. So he decided to compose something similar. The theme he has chosen is The Inner Solar System.

He used the different scales and other musical elements he has learnt to compose this series. For instance he used the blue scale for the moon (which is my favourite), he used the tonic and dominant chords of the C Major scale for the Sun (since it's the power source of the inner solar system) and he used the whole tone scale for the aliens in Mars.

Enjoy the footage!

1. The Sun (using Tonic and Dominant of C Major)

2. Mercury - using the E minor Scale

3. Venus -Andrew chose to compose his melody from the higher range on the piano (higher pitch) to the lower range, depicting the volcano eruption and the flowing down of the lava.

4. Earth - This melody started with a sweet melody depicting the beautiful earth but it was "destroyed" by pollution and other inconsiderate things that man has done to the earth (depicted by the harsh minor chords).

5. Moon - This is my favourite, using the blue scale. Thanks Andrew!

6. Mars - using whole tone scales to depict the 2 aliens from Mars.

Graduation from Piano Adventure Book A

Here are my 2 girls, Mila and Janna who graduated from the Piano Adventure Book A. Hip Hip Hurray!

1. Mila - Graduation Song and Bed on the Sea

Thankyou Mila for the beautiful card, I  love it!

2. Janna - Graduation Song and Ode To Joy from Book B

Thankyou Janna for the lovely card, I love the colors!

Tracy You're A Star!

I know Halloween is over, but you must hear Tracy's Zoom Zoom Witches's Boom as it's one of my favourite this halloween. I also enjoyed my lesson yesterday accompanying her in Big Dog Boogie and Russian Dance. Well done Tracy, keep it up!

1. Zoom Zoom Witches' Broom

2. Pterodactyls, Really Neat

3. Big Dog Boogie

4. Russian Dance

Halloween Greetings from Avondale!

1. Elaine - Once A Year On Halloween and Spooky Spider

2. Ben - Once A Year On Halloween and Monster Everywhere

v

3. Ethan - Halloween Halloween

4. Lola - Happy Halloween

5. Alex- What Will I Say on Halloween

Alex was absent last Friday so we have to make do with the recording from the previous week. I'm sure he could have done it better (with the correct fingering) if he e could do a recording last Friday. Anyway, enjoy this footage!

More Halloween Greetings!

1. Jesse - Toccata and Fugue in D minor by J.S. Bach

2. Noah's Composition "Spooky Halloween"

3. Milly - Freaky "Fright day"

Halloween Greetings from the Little Ones

1. Matthew, The Count Beethoven

2. Astrid - What Will I say on Halloween (Astrid's Version)

3. Joseph - What WIll I say on Halloween

4. Tracy - Halloween is Almost Here and Pumpkin Party

Introducing Tracy !

Here's Tracy my new student. She's six and is all ready to embark on this learning journey with me. Here's the first song we worked on together and she's enjoying it. Welcome on board Tracy!

Mom and Daughter Duet

We had fun this week with Lia since it's her school holiday. We started on a simple duet Hot Cross Buns and Bea also worked on using chords to accompany Lia's regular piano piece. Enjoy the footage!

1. Hot Cross Buns

2. Numbers

Joseph's Online Recital

Here's Joseph, he just joined me after the Recital on September 2011. He asked me, "When are we playing a real song" after the first lesson of doing rainbows (moving up and down the keyboard on the black keys) and the monster bus driver. So here him  playing his first real song, "Hot Cross Buns" and many more coming soon!

1. Hot Cross Buns

2. Monster Bus Driver

3. Doggie Song

4. Cuckoo Clock

Recital @ Yamaha Thomson, 17th September 2011 (Special Items)

Here's the final post of the recital featuring the duets with dads, the singers and the Cool iPad Band. Enjoy!

And a big special THANK-YOU to Dennis and Jeff for participating. I'm sure Matthew and Eliane enjoyed it alot more with you! Hope it encourages other families to join in the next time!


1. Matthew playing My Pet Dragon, Hot Chocolate Whipped Cream Day and Octave Blue Duet with Dad.

2. Eliane playing Once There Was A Princess and A Knight Came Riding Through The Enchanted Forest and Heart & Soul with Dad.

3. Daisy and Jade singing Top Of The World

4. Cool iPad Band - Baby baby

Recital @ Yamaha Thomson, 17th September 2011 (Boys)

Here's the 3rd post with the 2 Barsky boys and Jesse. (Matthew will be featured in the next post under Special Items as he did a lovely duet with Dad.)

1. Noah Barsky - Spiderman

2. Jesse Sabin - Snake Charmer

3. Andrew Barsky

Recital @ Yamaha Thomson, 17th September 2011 (Under 7)

Here's the 2nd post featuring boys and girls under 7.

I'm featuring Alex here who was unable to attend the concert on that day, here's what we missed!

1. Alex - Rain Rain and Monsieur Mouse

2. Lola's Debut - Mary Had A Little Lamb

This is Lola's very first piano recital !

3. Janna - Eensey Weensey Spider and I Love Snack Time

4. Mila - Wish I Were A Fish and Birthday Train

5. Ethan - Little Lost Kitty and Bingo

6. Jadyn - Circle Dance and Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow

Recital @ Yamaha Thomson, 17th September 2011 (Girls)

Dear all,

Thankyou once again for your participation in the recital. I really enjoyed the concert and it's such a joy to see improvements in the different students since the recital in February. Keep working and enjoy the footage!

This is the first post featuring all the girls except Eliane (she will be featured in the final post as she did a special item with Dad.)

1. Daisy - Aura Lee

2. Jade - Gypsy Festival

3. Mia - Ode To Joy

4. Milly - Rainy Day and Dancing with Frankenstein

5. Bea - On Top of Old Smoky and Dixie Jam

Goodnight Gemma

Very often, I have to bid my students goodbye. Some of whom I have taught for a term, some for a year and some for more. Still....it is often inevitable to say goodbye as most of my students are not Singaporeans. So we have decided that we shall say "Goodnight" instead of goodbye. I learnt this campfire song when I was very young and I still love it alot, adding my little verse for my student each time I sing it for them. Here's Gemma, singing for me and with me just before she left. Goodnight Gemma, I really miss you!

Emily's Little online Recital

Emily started off as my voice student and this term, we only had 4 weeks of lesson before the family moved to Hong Kong. She requested to have piano lessons instead and we did so much in just 4 lessons. Well done Emily, hope you continue to enjoy singing and playing the piano!

1. The Doggie Song

2. Kitty Song

3. Monster Bus Driver

4. Rainbow Song

2 Shinning Stars this week - Mila and Eliane!

These 2 girls did lots of practice and I am so glad to make them the stars of the week!

1. Mila - Old Pig Donald and Jungle Wedding

2. Eliane - There Once Was A Princess and Bugle Boys

Back To School Surprises

We only started our instrumental lesson in Avondale last Friday and I have musical surprises frm some of my students. Thanks guys, you made my week!

Please be reminded of the upcoming recital on 17th September 2011, 3-5 p.m. at Thomson Plaza, Yamaha Auditorium!!!

Surprise no. 1 Mila - Raccoon Lullaby

Surprise no 2. Ben - Men from Mars 

Surprise no. 3 Eliane - her composition "Prickly bird"and her music "Pussy Willow"

Surprise no. 4 Ethan's Composition - Mystery

Happy Birthday Singapore!

Today is Singapore's 46th's birthday. I had great fun last night creating this little present for my nation on my Ipad Garage Band. Enjoy it!

Welcome on board Astrid!

This is Astrid, she just turned 4! We started piano lessons this month and she is keen to show off her favourite song, The Monster Bus Driver.

1. The Monster Bus Driver

2. This is the very first song we learnt, it's called "Will You Play"

3. The first note Astrid learnt on the keyboard is "D" and she is able to find all the "D"s on the keyboard and play this song.

Janna, You are a Star!

I enjoyed myself very much listening to Janna in last week's lesson. There's just so much confidence from the hands of the little 4-year-old girl. You made my day Janna, and my week too!

Enjoy this mini recital of Janna Yeo!

1. Old Pig Donald

2. Here Comes The Bride

3. Going Up The Escalator

This song is often challenging, especially for young children. Most students can easily master it with one hand (playing FGAB), but to co-ordinate both hands can be challenging. On top  of that, she has to make the escalator escalate (moving up the octaves!) Well done Janna!

4. Happy Birthday

Janna learnt this song by rote. Initially she was playing the whole song with her index finger. With a little encouragement, she tried to use all her fingers to play the song (it is a very big deal for small little hands to do that!)

Eliane, You are a Star!

Here's Eliane, she has been working hard on her note-reading and playing with the accompaniment track (that means playing in time). Well done Elaine, you have worked hard!

And thankyou for the lovely note you wrote for me, also the pictures you drawn!

1. My Invention

2. The Dance Band

3. Pussy Willow

4. A love note from Eliane - Thanks!

Recital @ Thomson Plaza, 17th September, 3-5 p.m.

Dear all,

I managed to show some of you the footage of the auditorium at Yamaha, Thomson Plaza. I hope it will spur you to work hard after your summer break. The hall sits 100 people, it has a baby grand which all of you will be using on that day.

So mark your dairy, it's on 17th September 2011, 3-5 p.m. at Yamaha, Thomson Plaza.

Bea, You are my most diligent star!

Thanks Bea for tea and the lovely flowers. Thankyou too for working hard throughout the term. Enjoy the footage with your loved ones back home in Austria!

1. Spring

2. I love these 2 pieces, they are great fun songs for children - Monkey Business and Quarrel.

3. These 2 are pentascales duets and they make scales fun to play!

Thankyou for the lovely flowers! 

Happy Father's Day Papa!

Here's another Father's Day Rap from the Sabin Family!

Everything is done entirely on the Ipad using Garage Band.

Happy Father's Day

Hi Dads,

Here's a little song from your girls. Sorry we didn't have too much time to practice, but the words are from their hearts. So enjoy the footage and have a blessed Father's Day!

1. Brooklyn

2. Emily

3. Daisy

4. Gemma

Family Concert - Boys

1. Alex - Hot Cross Buns (debut)

2. Ethan - Old MacDonald Had A Farm

3. Ben - Mickey Mouse Club

Family Concert - Voice students

Gemma and Emily - I Don't Want to Live On The Moon

I have attached the footage from the rehearsal 2 weeks ago. I really enjoyed watching the 2 girls freely expressing themselves during the lesson. I'm sure you will enjoy it too!

Family Concert June 2011 - Girls on Piano

Congratulations to all the performers at the Family Concert last night. I am so proud of you!

1. Eliane - Halloween

2. Daisy - It's A Small World

3. Mila - Eensie Weensie Spider

Matthew, You are a star!

Here's Matthew playing one of the all-time-piano-students'-favourites - The Flea Waltz.

Here's Matthew learning about transposition. He tries to play Hot Cross Buns in all the white keys within a minute (that's why he was rushing at the end). Well done Matthew, you need real good ears to be abl;e to accomplish this!

Here's another song that Matthew has been working on, The Bells of Scotland. He explores the use of the pedal in this piece.

Milly, You Are A Star!

Milly, you are a star! You have progressed well in reading notes on the staff. You are also doing very well playing with the accompaniment! Well done and press on !

1. The Dance Band

2. Let's Play Ball

3. Petite Minuet

Super Progress Award Recipient Goes To Mila

Congratulations Mila, here's a Super Progress Award for you! Till date, we only had 12 lessons and you made such tremendous progress. I am so proud of you!

Enjoy your progress in the footage attached!

1. Tigers At The Door (using on Right Hand)

2. Cuckoo Clock (Working on both hands)

3. Dinosaur Music Night

4. Little Lost Kitty (Progressing from black-key-finger-number songs to white-key-letter-name songs .)

Meet Emily, my new voice student : )

Noah, You are a Star!

Here's Noah, playing the all time favourites of any piano students!

Heart and Soul

The Flea Waltz

Happy Mother's Day !

Here's a song I composed, using the words from Proverbs 31 about the virtuous woman. The children composed part of the verse, expressing their appreciation for their moms. So enjoy!

It's not the best singing cos' we just learnt it on Friday, but I'm sure you'll enjoy this little gift from your children! Enjoy!

1. Gemma (voice student)

2. Daisy & Brooklyn (Voice students)

3. Jadyn (Piano student)

4. Jesse (Piano student)

"I can play like my big sister!"

It's important to help children learn and play the songs they like. Although Janna is not ready to learn "It's a Small World" on staff, I taught her the song by rote. This helps her in her listening and also encourages her since she can now play a song that she likes, just like her sister Jadyn!

Here's Janna with a song at her level, "The Cuckoo Clock"

Matthew - Original Version of Picnic with Friends.

Here's Matthew with the original version of Picnic With Friends. He played it very confidently now, after he has worked on changing it to minor. Well done Matthew!

Matthew, you are a star!

Matthew loves exploring different sound on the keyboard. He just learnt the "minor" (sad) sound and he has decided to make the song "Picnic with friends" (From Piano Adventure Book B) into a sad song. Here are the words he wrote:

I'm sad the sky is painted black, black, black.

(Originally the color was blue and he changed all the "glad" to "sad")

I'm sad the earth is painted grey, grey, grey.

(Originally the color was green)

I'm sad there such a lot of cigarette!

(Originally it was "I'm glad there's such a lot of nice fresh air")

I'm sad I'm sandwiched in between.

Maybe some anti-smoking campaigner might be interested in his variation of the song!

The 1st video is Matthew playing the song.

The 2nd video is Matthew singing to his recording. (We recorded what he played earlier on his keyboard).

Jadyn , You Are A Star!

Jadyn has not been well but she did lots of practice and I'm proud to present her playing "Bingo" and "Sunlight through the Breeze".

I like the way she sings the melody (even though this song has no words) when she plays 'Sunlight Through The Breeze". That's really great because she is involving more of her senses as she plays (her ears, eyes, hands, voice. . .etc).

And you mustn't miss the 3rd footage where she taught her pet Super star how to play the lullaby she composed : )

Bea, You are a star!

Here are 2 clips from Bea. The first is Casey Jones where she has to swing the 8th notes (That means to make the 1st 8th note longer and the 2nd 8th note shorter). The second clip is "Take Me To The Ball Game" from Marry Poppins. Enjoy the footage!

Thankyou for the piano !

Thanks Matthew, I like this little piano you gave to me !

Matthew, you are a star!

Here's Matthew the airplane pilot!

And Matthew playing the Doggie's poop song.

Family Concert at Avondale, 16th March 2011

Congratulations to all the children who performed at the Family Concert. All of you were amazing! I am so proud of all of you, especially since we only had 5 lessons together. Good job and keep it up!

Sorry that I didn't manage to capture the first part of every song as I was busy helping you with the scores : ( Still I managed to capture most of it, so enjoy the footage!

1. Ben - Old MacDonald Had A Farm

2. Eliane - Dance of the Dwarfs

3. Mia S - The Old Clock

4. Mila - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

5. Ethan - Mary Had A Little Lamb

6. Daisy - Beethoven 5th Symphony

7. Daisy, Gemma & Brooklyn - Castle on a Cloud

Mila, You are a Star!

Here's Mila, we just had our 5th lesson and she's simply amazing. She has a great sense of rhythm and I really enjoy watching her play and sing. I'm sure you will too. Enjoy the footage!

1. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2. The Kitty Song

3. The Doggie Song

Noah, You are a star!

This is Noah doing "Boogie on Broadway". I just want to take this opportunity to explain the 3 steps (progression) in the weekly practice:

1. Practise the piece by itself. Making sure you are familiar with the notes and hand position(s).

2. Use the practice track to help you keep in time. The practice track also helps you in expressions (dynamics - loud and soft).

3. Move on to the performance track when you are ready. The performance track is usually faster in tempo and with less melody so that your playing stands out.

Noah on the practice track

Noah with the performance track

Jesse, you are a star!

If you have a keyboard with different tones, it can be fun for the children to try using different tones for different songs. We use "space pad" for the theme from "Star Wars". Enjoy!

Thankyou very much!

A big thankyou to Monica, Dennis, Andrew, Noah and Matthew for hosting the recital. Thankyou to all the parents for your participation and the food you brought to share. Most of all, a big congratulation to all the children who put in hours of practice and shared your music with us.

I'm starting to plan for the next recital...it should be in September and it's gonna be a different experience as it will be in an auditorium and you will get a chance to perform on a baby grand piano. So start working hard again and enjoy the process!

Recital @ Merryn Road Part II

1. Bea - When The Saints Go Marching In and Waltz time

2. Amelia - Star Quest and Stomping

3. Jesse - William Tell Overture and Russian Sailor Dance

4. Daisy - Au Clair de la lune and Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah

5. Tallula - Song of the Ocra and Runaway Rabbit

6. Andrew - Waltzing Matilda and Aloha Oe

7. Noah - Party Song and Mary had a little lamb and then she lost her lamb.

Recital@ Merryn Road (Part 1 - New students and young students)

Dear all,

Thankyou for much for your support and presence this afternoon. Thankyou to the Barsky for hosting the event with the wide variety of drinks. Thanks to all of you who brought food to share.

And I really love the flowers, the musical notes cake and especially the music from all our performers.

In this post, the footage are from my new students (Janna and Milly that started in mid January 2011, and Ethan and Eliane just had their 3rd lesson on Friday). Also featuring in this post are my younger students (Jadyn and Matthew, who are turning 7 this year). Enjoy the footage!

1. Ethan - Hot Cross Buns

2. Janna - The Queen's Cat & Monster Bus Driver

3. Matthew - Wolfgang's theme and Chinese Food

4. Milly - Old Macdonald Had A Song and Ode To Joy

5. Jadyn - Rejoice in the Lord Always and Please No Bees

5. Eliane - The Doggie Song and Merrily We Row Along

My youngest student, Janna

This is my youngest student Janna, she turned 4 three months ago. But she has a great sense of rhythm, concentration and co-ordination.

Here's Janna showing off her rings on the different fingers. (That was an exercise to help the children know their Right and Left hand and the different finger numbers.)

Here's her doing the monster bus driver and the rainbow song on the black keys.

My New student Milly

Hi everyone,

This is my new student Milly. She is in Year 3. This footage is taken from her 3rd lesson! She is doing very well with the music accompaniment. Keep it up!

Star of the Week - Amelia

That was a tough piece, especially to play it with the accompaniment. Well done little latin lady!

The First New Year Star - Tallula

Well done Tallula. It's such a joy for me to see you moving to the beat and enjoying the song you are playing. Keep it up!