Dogs and Birds Book 1 is a first piano tutor for very young children that is fun yet systematic. The Dogs and Birds approach, allows very young children to learn the piano, even before they know the alphabet. The music is suitable for children between the ages of 3 and 7. The method uses animal symbols to represent the musical notes, for example Cat is C and Dog is D. The animal names are monosyllabic and children are encouraged to sing the names as they play the tunes on the piano or keyboard. This helps children develop musicality and their inner ear. As well the musical pieces, rhythm exercises are dispersed throughout the book - important for establishing a good sense of pulse and rhythm. In this animal notes edition of the book, animal symbols are printed in the notes, which aid the children in remembering the musical notation. This animal notes edition of the book is recommended for ages 3 to 6. A blank notes edition is also available, for ages 6 to 7, which is the same as this book, but without the animal symbols. The book contains full colour illustrations throughout, which are an important stimulus for the child. Discussing the illustrations is an essential part of the learning process. A few words describe each picture and the book includes various suggestions of questions to ask the child to stimulate discussion. There is an appropriate musical game or exercise to carry out with each piece and a description of the elements of the Dogs and Birds approach is included. The method is designed such that parents can teach these pieces to their children. However the parents do not need to have a musical background. All musical notation necessary to play these pieces is contained in the Notes for Parents and Teachers available separately, which also contains a set of lesson plans including many musical games. Working through the material in Dogs and Birds Book 1 can provide a good parent child bonding opportunity.

 

This is book 1 in Dogs And Birds .

There are 50 pages in this book. This book was published 2013 by Dogs and Birds .

Elza Lusher was born in Hungary and obtained a degree in Piano Teaching from the Liszt Academy. She taught piano for five years in Hungary before moving to England in 1991. Elza has always incorporated Kodaly principles into her piano teaching, in particular the use of singing and listening to develop musicality. As piano tutor on the Kodaly Institute of Britain's Teachers' Course run by Prof. Cecilia Vajda she helped many piano teachers to use this approach. She developed the Dogs and Birds method, together with her husband Chris, a senior lecturer in physics at Royal Holloway University of London. The Dogs and Birds approach enables very young children (ages 3 to 7) to learn to play the piano, and includes a strong emphasis on singing. Mark Chambers is an illustrator and author of children's books. He has been shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize, and is the winner of the Sheffield Children's Picture Book Prize.

This book has the following chapters: Golden Rules; The Keyboard; Rhythm Exercises 1; Playground; By the Lake; Rhythm Exercises 2; Sparklers; Wait until it is Dark; In the Bush; Cotton Flower; Promise to Behave; Rhythm Exercises 3; Tightrope; Far-off Hills; Egg Rock; When the Moon is Full; The Secret Garden; Rhythm Exercises 4; Golden Rings; Rug from Morocco; The Forest Comes Alive; Desert; A Safe Path; Open Gate; Rhythm Exercises 5; Watch the Milky Way; Great Smoky Mountain; Stop Your Wondering; Trick on You; Picnic Basket; Somersault; Rhythm Exercises 6; Take Your Partner; Sunday Afternoon; Rhythm Exercises 7; Skipping Stones; Wheelbarrow; Tea Time; Forbidden City; Chinese Pagoda; Night after Night; Rhythm Exercises 8; Hands Together; Traffic Jam; Welcome to My Home; Dreamy Head; Winter Palace; Crush the Corn; Jack and His Men; Rhythm Exercises 9; Stick and Hat Stomp; Hop on My Back; Rhythm Exercises 10; Floating By; Old MacDonald; Rhythm Exercises 11; Aquarium; Transposition; Wishing Well Jingle Bells; All Over the Universe; Certificate; The Basic Elements of the Dogs and Birds Approach; Notes for Parents; Questions About the Illustrations.