Little Bear's First Christmas Recital

Holiday Surprise - New!

Little Bear's First Christmas Recital

8X10 Color Print Edition Item # 3406070

This delightful storybook is full of Christmas joy and excitement as Little Bear learns to play holiday songs on the piano, and prepares to play in his First Christmas Recital.
(Perfect for Ages 6 - 10)

Includes Elementary Piano Solos & Duets

Plus, Fun Activity Pages!

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Printed Book
$11.97

DVD
$18.97

Preview VIDEO!

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Little Bear's Halloween Party Storybook & Sheet Music

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$11.97














Little Bear's Halloween Piano Party!
From Piano Bears Musical Storybooks

PLUS Sheet Music Halloween Treat medley
Listen!

This delightful story is full of clever tricks and treats that will have you and your students laughing and playing the piano! Little Bear's Halloween Party Storybook Includes Grandma Melody's Ghost Story PLUS Piano Sheet Music - Halloween Treat Medley. The Medley includes: Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead from the Wizard of OZ Movie, Casper the Friendly Ghost TV Movie Theme Song, Scooby Doo Theme Song, Tocatta in D Minor by Bach, and Ghost Busters Movie Theme Song!

Veeery Scaaary Halloween Music for Pre-Readers! Plus a Fun Piano Game!

Piano Bears Musical Storybook -
Little Bear's Halloween Piano Party!
This delightful story is full of clever tricks and treats that will have kids laughing and playing the piano! Little Bear's Halloween Party Storybook Includes Grandma Melody's Ghost Story PLUS Piano Sheet Music - Halloween Treat Medley, and a lesson in playing scarying sounds on the piano with chromatic scales.

The Medley includes: Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead from the Wizard of OZ Movie, Casper the Friendly Ghost TV Movie Theme Song, Scooby Doo Theme Song, Tocatta in D Minor by Bach, and Ghost Busters Movie Theme Song!

Also below is a fun pre-piano game parents can enjoy with one or more children at home. It's called 'Cover the Keys' by Susan Parandis. Below are links to two of my previous articles explaining how students in piano benefit from having more "Knowledge at their Fingertips!" This game is a great start to this. After playing the game, students can enjoy playing LITTLE BEAR ON HALLOWEEN, my free Pre-Reading Sheet Music featuring the Piano Bear Musical Storybook Character, Little Bear. This printable sheet music also includes audio so students can hear the song played. Its veeery scaaary!


Download Little Bear on Halloween Free Sheet Music

Piano Articles:
Pre Piano Games are a Great Home Activity for Kids

Piano Students Rock with Knowledge at their Fingertips

GAME BOARD

Download Game Board from SusanParandis.com


MUSIC ALPHABET CARDS FOR GAME from SusanParandis.com

Download Alphabet cards


GAME DIRECTIONS:
To play the game, cut out the alphabet cards and put them in a small bowl. Print out one game board for each student. Students take turns drawing the alphabet cards and then covering the correct key on the game board. In an individual lesson the parent/teacher plays along with the student. There is an element of luck involved, and students will be tickled to actually beat their teacher (Mom/Dad!)

Best Wishes,
Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

Piano Bears Music Camp Video

Below is a video on YouTube that two of my students, Erin and Kennedy helped me create as a momento of their fun Piano Bears Music Camp experience. In addition to piano games and activities, it includes Kennedy and Erin playing the "Piano Chord Tunes" they learned to create and improvise with. Watch the relaxed, fluid playing technique the girls perfected, and see how fun and easy piano can be for kids!



Best Wishes,
Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

Helping Kids in Piano Connect to their Inner Artist - 5 Tips for Recital Time

Piano students spend a lot of time preparing their music, especially at recital time. Here are 5 tips to help piano students maximize their creative energy and get the most out of their practice time.

1. Ask Questions Along the Way - Feel free to stop and investigate any areas of the music you're unsure of or have questions about with thoughtful review. Just playing the piece over and over without changes limits the possibilities for improvement.

2.Make sure the objective is creative work at the piano, not just 'time at work' - Practice with a specific goal in mind that adds a creative purpose to your playing. Such as counting out the rhythms, checking for accuracy of the notes, or improving your playing technique.

3. Target your best attention to challenging areas - At the beginning of practice our minds are fresh and our attention is best. So begin practive on areas in the music that are most challenging. Then stop for a few minutes and start again fresh in another area. Look for areas of the music that need work and focus attention on these. Then play through the piece many times. Start the next practice session with another area of the music that is more challenging.

4. Don't gloss over the notes - To let the music speak clearly, become familiar with the melody. Your ear needs to hear the music clearly to play clearly. Also, don't rely only on your own creative ideas, listen to how others have interpreted the music as well.

5. Add the human element - Creative ideas come to individuals. To connect to your inner artist, make it personal. Imagine each note is an important word in a personal conversation you're sharing with your very best friend. This will bring your own, magical personality into the musical conversation, so that each note resonates as part of a coherent, musical idea that's important to you and honors your audience.

For more information on how piano lessons benefit children, read my earlier post How Piano Lessons Benefit Young Children.

Best wishes for a great piano recital,
Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

Easter Sheet Music - Level One

I had several requests for a level one version of my Easter Composition, The Easter Egg Hunt. So here it .... Level One

IT'S HERE! my new Easter piano composition for Level 2 piano students, The Easter Egg Hunt. Click here to Download Easter Sheet Music The file includes the audio so students can hear it played. It also includes a special Sing-Along recording so students can hear the lyrics!


Level 2 Piano Solo
By Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

Click the heart below to hear the lyrics!


Here is the direct link so you can share it with your friends. It will make a great Easter Gift!
http://www.pianobears.com/docs/The_Easter_Egg_Hunt.pdf

Easter Sheet Music for Children!

Listen to my new Easter piano composition for Level 2 piano students, The Easter Egg Hunt. The lyrics are wonderful, I can't wait to share it with you. So stay tuned for the free sheet music - Coming Soon!


Level 2 Piano Solo


By Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

St. Patrick's Day Sheet Music & Audio

St. Patrick's Day Sheet Music


Please enjoy my new piano composition for Level 2 piano students written in the style of an Irish Dance -
To Musical Acres I Go!
Click Here for Free Download
Students will love this music and cute lyrics. So students can hear it played, the audio is embedded in the PDF file (see link below). Share this link with your friends in an email. It will make a great St. Patrick's Day Gift!

Direct Share Link for email to friends
http://www.pianobears.com/docs/To_Musical_Acres_I_Go.pdf

Enjoy!

Whoop-de-do! I have Lyrics!

I received an email from a mom who shared this story with me regarding one of my blog posts.

"Miss Vanlandingham,

I just did a Google search on "Whoop-de-do" and
your blog came up. We enjoyed listening to your duet with your student and we would love to use your lyrics to help wth tempo, etc. My son loves to sing and usually sings at his piano recitals even when no one else does. He will be playing Whoop-de-do! by Kim Williams at a music competition on March 7th.

Thank you for your help!

Susan Amalong"

My pleasure, Susan, I'd love to share the lyrics! Below are the audio recordings of this duet and my lyrics for it.

LISTEN TO THE PIANO DUET


LISTEN TO WHOOP-DE-DO LYRICS


This is the sweet level-one piano duet by Kim Williams that Susan was refering to. In the audio above I'm playing it with one of my young beginning students. The song doesn't have any words, so I wrote my own lyrics for it. The idea was to create a fun story that would capture my student's attention throughout this piece, and lift his spirits with music. He loved singing along as we played together at his lesson, and was able to keep the rhythm and tempo throughout the piece. Remember, parents and teachers, you don't have to be an opera singer to do this!

Here are the written lyrics so you can sing along too!

Here we go it's time to watch my favorite show
again it's called Whoop-de-do! It's a fun way just to
while away the afternoon with Boo!

But my homework is almost due, and my piano calls
me too, and then I need to clean my room - then I'll
watch my favorite show.

Gonna do my math, and spelling too. Then play my
tunes so I'll have time to watch my favorite show.

Here we go again it's time to watch my favorite show,
it's called Whoop-de-do! It's a fun show just for kids
like me on P-B-S. It's the best! Starting right now
with Boo!

My Piano Bears Musical Storybooks are also a fun way to share piano joy with children. They create a wonderful musical adventure I know your piano students will benefit from.

BTW, at http://www.pianobears.com/ you can download free my newest piano arrangement for intermediate students, American Liberty Jazz, published on January 20th, 2009.

Best Regards,

Cynthia Marie VanLandingham

On Valentines Day - Put a Little Tune in Your Heart!

Recently one of my young students suggested a unique URL to my studio's Kids Piano Page would more convenient. I thought, "Gosh, she's right - why didn't I think of that!" So here it is - MyPianoClub.com My students can visit this special page to hear their beautiful piano music we recorded at their lessons in the month of January. We Love Sharing Our Music - Enjoy!

Also, here's a link to my Valentines Sheet Music, Put a Little Tune in Your Heart! This is an easy arrangement for level 2 students. The Audio is included - click the speaker to hear the music. I'm sure you'll recognize this fun tune. To make this a gift that will keep on giving, you can share it with your friends, by sending the link in your own email on Valentines Day! For more of my Piano Bears Musical Storybook Sheet Music visit KidsPianoSheetMusic.com

Happy Valentines Day!

Cynthia Marie VanLandingham