Maestro

Hope and I have been attending Music Together class for a year now. That's a lot of "Helloooo Everybodeeeee..." But just recently Hope made the connection between printed sheet music and the music Mommy plays on the piano (or sings, etc.). So now we've begun to "read" the illustrated music book that comes with class, just like any other storybook. Hope has even memorized which book contains some of her favorite songs (each book is a different color), and switches between them as she thinks of a different song she wants to hear.

This has all led to Hope wanting to "play" the piano on a daily basis. At first, I was nervous about her climbing up on the bench and sitting at the keyboard by herself, but she's proven she can do so safely, and really seems to love it. She knows how to turn the keyboard on and off, seems to understand at least some of the buttons (sadly, the metronome chief among them) and volume control, and experiments freely with making music. I'm glad she's showing interest on her own, and plan to teach her more formally as she gets older, but for now it's just fun to watch and listen as she explores the keyboard.

Here's a rather extended clip of the maestro at work. Listen for her interactions with the book and pictures. You'll hear her saying "bye bye" to the picture of the family with suitcases getting into a taxicab, and naming animals in the Australian tune "Down Under" (the crocodile is a " 'nosaur" at the moment). Apologies for the extended section with metronome, but it's a trademark of Maestro Hope, so I couldn't bear to cut it out. :)