November 11, 2025: Tuesday Upbeat
Teachers: Happy Tuesday!
Clap & Sing!
Every teacher should work with their students on rhythm by clapping and singing. Whether it’s playing games or learning the actual songs and pieces they are playing, and whether it is beginner or advanced levels, clapping and singing are valuable tools for building musicianship and learning/reading music notation, from the simple to the complex.
For piano and guitar teachers, when using our Presto! curriculum, each song in the book involves clapping, counting, and singing. When teaching and learning new songs, do not skip the clapping and singing steps! These steps have immediate rewards, because they help the student learn how the song goes! And they have long term rewards, because they are teaching students how rhythm works, and this will help them learn note values and time signatures later.
Don’t teach the song until the student knows how it goes! This is an important part of their music education. And for very young students, you are also helping them with language skills (e.g., the nursery rhymes). For all students, you are teaching them passed-down folk songs from their culture and other cultures.
Clapping, counting, and singing the songs, including singing on Moveable Do solfege, are part of our music studio teaching strategies, philosophy, and curriculum – they should not be considered optional, but mandatory steps in the teaching and learning process.
Remember, every page of the books should be read and/or taught and completed. This includes the clapping and singing pages and activities!
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Have a magical Tuesday, a musical week, and enjoy happy, healthy and tension-free teaching and learning with your students.
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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