Hello Everyone,

We at Musikgarten hope that you are staying safe and healthy. The COVID-19 situation has presented plenty of challenges, but this “new normal” has also brought some very positive outcomes. On a personal level, slowing down some, spending more time with my family and being very involved with my children’s learning process in every aspect has been one of those positives. First I want to share a story from this week and then some updated news:

A Personal Story:
My oldest daughter, Elizabeth, who is 8 years old, had just started Book 4 in Music Makers: at the Keyboard in a partner class when everything started shutting down. During this “down time”, I have been helping her review songs from the other books and continue working on the items in Book 4 that they had already covered, which has been great. But, like most children do, she asks, “Can we learn something new?” I ask myself, “OK – so how do I do this?” I am sure some of your parents have asked themselves this same question.

I decided to follow the path that the teacher has been presenting, to the best of my ability, and knowing that it would not be perfect. I also had to remember and be open to the fact that my daughter could lead me through this process – I did not need to reinvent things, the ground work has already been set. So here is what we did:

New song: John’s Idea in Book 4 (based on John Kanaka)
Process we followed ( Note: This may not be the exact Song Process outlined in the Teacher’s Guide, but I do think Lorna, Jill, or Mary Louise will be too upset at me.):
1) Find “Do” so we know the key
2) Analyze the chords.
3) It had new rhythms, so we pulled out the notation games and had some fun.
4) Melody – what is the range? Do-Sol. Let’s try to sing it. Guess what? We did!
5) Now let’s go to the piano and apply all this information. Within no time she was playing the song, with both hands!

I have to say we were both very proud of all this work. Or was it really fun? Yes, fun! The amazing thing is all this was completed in around 25 minutes. Amazing!

Remember to encourage your parents that they can do this and if they are open to it; their child can help them in the process.

Jeff Spickard, President, Musikgarten

The News:
  • The Governor of North Carolina has extended the Stay at Home order to May 8, 2020 and then there is a plan to ease restrictions over time. The State has also closed all public schools for the remainder of the school year. Musikgarten will continue to keep our modified work schedule to serve you and will notify you immediately if we make adjustments. 

  • Remember to keep marketing for your classes! Take time to stay connected with you current families and reconnect with families that have left your studio. Check out this blog post for ideas and take advantage of our Summer Materials Sale. Log in to your account and go to the Summer Materials section in the Shop for pricing.


As this time of uncertainty becomes more of a “new normal” situation, Musikgarten will continue to help you through this time. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Jeff and the Musikgarten staff