Music for Little Mozarts - Music for LM?

Although teaching playing music to LM is by far not the biggest priority for me at this stage, I would hate not to give her some sort of introduction to it. Besides, it is suggested that “playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brain's sensitivity to speech sounds” and “could help normal children as well as those with developmental problems”.

So after some research and thanks to the brillkids forum (which, by the way, is indeed a brilliant forum!), I have been pointed in the direction of “Music for Little Mozarts” series by Alfred Publishing. There is a free downloadable sampler at http://www.mflm.com/ which gives a bit more detail about the programme.

This programme can be purchased as a deluxe package (containing Level 1 only), but coming at a fairly steep £45, this, unfortunately, was not an option for me. So as much as I would like the whole kit, I decided to limit myself to a Level 1 Lesson Book, Level 1 Workbook and a set of Flashcards (the plush characters could become potential Christmas gifts though!). The set arrived yesterday and I already laminated some of the flashcards (the laminating maniac I am!).

I have gone through the first few pages and will need to think how to adjust it to LM’s peculiar learning style. Quite incidentally, and again on the same forum, I also learned about a series of “How to Teach Piano to Kids” lessons by Expert Village on YouTube, which ties up nicely with the “Music for Little Mozarts” approach and which is something I will definitely be referring to. (By some reason the lessons do not appear listed in order, so in case you, like me, get lost among the videos on the playlist, here is the order I think they should have been listed: the lesson, appearing as the last one, is, in fact, Lesson 1, the first one is Lesson 2, eighth – Lesson 3, fifth – Lesson 4, seventh – Lesson 5, ninth – Lesson 6, fourth – Lesson 7, third – Lesson 8, second – Lesson 9, sixth – Lesson 10.)

Sadly, I can’t afford buying or even hiring a piano at this stage, so I am hoping to go as far as I can with a little electronic piano LM got as a present from her relatives, and see where it takes us (wish me luck!).

Anyhow, I am not going to rush it at all and will only offer it to LM every so often, as the much more imperative staff we need to go thought with her on a daily basis leaves hardly any time for anything “extracurricular”.

I do hope she takes to it and likes it just like I do!