Foundation Songs

HI everybody – any tips for growing skills to line up fingers accurately to play fast passages like the beginning and end of Ballade? Of course – play slowly and gradually increase speed. That alone doesn’t seem adequate. I feel like all the things I…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• audio, audio materials, audio recording, Audio recordings, audio SHMs, Ballade, control the events, controlling the events, CTE, drills, exercises, external speaker, external speakers, fast playing, finger exercises, getting student to slow down, importance of playlist, keeping playlist alive, keeping playlists, keeping the playlist alive, learning slowly, Neil Moore, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), playing along with audio, playing fast vs slow, playing slowly, playing speed, playing with audio tracks, Playlist, practicing slowly, single thought process, single thought processes, slow practice, slow-steady-musical-even, slowing down, speaking instructions out loud, SSME, STP

I have an elderly student who can’t bend fingers 3 and 4 in his RH. We are adjusting songs accordingly. For Alma Mater Blues 3rd Section CAGE chord I, what would you suggest? C G E – fingers 5, 2, 1 – 100% C A…

• Last updated 4 months ago
• adapting, adapting fingering, adapting to student's needs, Alma Mater Blues, Alma Mater Blues 3rd Section, alternate fingering for chords, bending fingers, CAGE chords, changing finger, chord alterations, chord fingering, elderly students, finger adaptations, finger change, finger substitution, finger substitutions, finger switch, fingering, fingering chords, fingers, injured fingers, older student, older students, stiff fingers, switching finger, weak fingers

I have a student in her 70’s who is working on Walk at Eleven. We have been over all the clues many times (C to A to D to G, focusing on the notes a half step above or a half step below, etc.); despite…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• adult, adult lessons, adult student, adult students, adults, adults with memory problems, blues, blues songs, coaching adults, FL9, Foundation 9, foundation level 9, half steps, improvisation, improvising, it takes as long as it takes, Level 9, older student, older students, remember, remembering, remembering patterns, Robin Keehn, target notes, teaching adults, teaching half steps, Walk at 11, Walk at Eleven, walking bass

I just remembered a Jackson Blues variation I like to teach around Halloween that makes it sound a little creepy: RH – for each chord, move finger 3 down a 1/2 step (makes them minor chords – they don’t need to know that if they…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• blues variation, Dog, Halloween, Halloween Dog?, Jackson Blues, Laurie Richards, major vs. minor, minor chords, minor keys, Minuet in G, new variation, Nightmares, sleeping, Spooky Jackson, Spooky Minuet, variation, variations

(Over time, different teachers have faced situations in which a student finds it challenging to process the Alma Mater Blues rhythm. Here are Neil’s thoughts on how to handle such situations, video posted September 28, 2022. Below his video tip are two representative posts/questions within…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• Alma Mater Blues, BH, complex rhythm, control the events, controlling the events, coordinating LH and RH, coordination, counting, counting as lyric, counting rhythms, CTE, difficult rhythm, dosage, dose, doses, humpty, humpty dumpty, information processing, isolating rhythm, microdose, multiple thought processes, Neil Moore, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), physicality, processing, processing issues, processing rhythm, processing rhythms, rhythm diagram, rhythm diagrams, single thought process, single thought processes, small doses, smaller dose, smaller doses, STP, swing rhythm, swing rhythms

At the request of a family, I pulled together this playlist featuring all the Classical pieces students are introduced to throughout the program. Feel free to share if it is useful to you! Check it out! Have you ever wondered what Classical music pieces are…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• classical, classical music, Classical Pieces, curriculum, YouTube

I’m generally very rigorous about following Neil’s instructions, since time and again I’ve come to understand why he does things the way he does. I’ve recently had a situation where I felt I had a good reason to do something a little differently from what…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• changing chapter order, context, control the events, controlling the events, CP, cross pollination, cross-pollinate, CTE, dosage, dose, doses, down-level, fragmenting, Fragmenting-Layering, fragments, Fur Elise, Fur Elise A Section, Fur Elise complexity, Fur Elise left hand, Fur Elise LH, Fur Elise order, hybrid, Laurie Richards, microdose, Neil Moore, out of context, re-teaching pieces, re-teaching songs, re-working pieces, re-working songs, single thought process, single thought processes, small doses, smaller dose, smaller doses, STP, technique for Fur Elise, up-level

Question: I have just signed on a Special Needs student. She is 9 years old. Her favorite song is Happy Birthday. Mum said they play that every day! I know we normally teach this at the end of Foundation Level 1 but I would like…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• accompaniment, accompaniment pieces, accompaniment resources, Amazing Grace, Amazing Grace LH position, Amazing Grace position, basics, changes, changing teaching order, claiming territory, finger positions, hand position, hand positioning, hand positions, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday Supplement, high functioning, Honey Dew, Honey Dew LH position, Honey Dew position, introducing accompaniment, Jackson Blues, order, parents of special needs, position, position change, positioning, positions, song order, special circumstances, special needs, teaching order, teaching special needs

I’m still having difficulty with the variation of Light Blue. Watching Neil over and over with the rhythm in the hands hasn’t helped me. Either it needs to be slowed down or written out for me so that I can SEE it. Could someone maybe…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• complex rhythm, counting rhythms, differences in materials, different materials, difficult rhythm, FABE chord, Foundation sheet music, isolating rhythm, light blue, light blue rhythm, Light Blue Variation, managing variations, music books, notation, notation changes, processing rhythm, rhythm diagram, rhythm diagrams, score, sheet music, simply music song variations, using music book, using music books, using score, variation, variations, video and book different

What key is Dark Blue in? Look at the music book for FL4. 3 flats. Also, the first and last bass note is C hinting at the tonal center. Ian Yes. And yes. And yet: it doesn’t really ever sound like C is a definitive…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• changing keys, chord inversions, chord voicings, chromatic, chromaticism, Dark Blue, harmony, inversions, jazz, jazz chords, Joe Gilman, key, key change, key of the moment, key signature, minor keys, modal, modes, modulation, Neil Moore, relative key, split chords, tonality, tonic, tonicization, tonicize, tonicizing, voicing, voicing chords, voicing jazz chords