Dreams Come True

If a younger student can’t yet manage the second chord of Dreams Arrangement 1, is there a preference in a three-note version? Fingers 123 (shifting 3) throughout or 135 (shifting 3 and 5) with the 9th omitted for now? I think they both work and…

• Last updated 3 months ago
• adapting, adapting fingering, adapting for young students, adapting the curriculum, adapting to student's needs, alternate fingering for chords, chord, chord alterations, chords, Dreams, dreams 1, Dreams Arrangement, Dreams Come True, family chords, finger adaptations, small hands, teaching very young students, teaching young children, teaching young students, young children, young students

Sorry, it’s me again (have a few things floating around in my mind at the moment : ) A parent queried me re the diagrams this week, and I’m looking for a solid answer. The question is: why do some songs have substantial learning clues…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• brains and patterns, diagram, diagrams, Dreams, Dreams Come True, identifying patterns, Laurie Richards, learning clues, Lullaby, Night Storm, patterns, reference clues, remembering patterns, teaching Lullaby, understanding diagrams

Hi all,

Had a very bright little 7 year-old boy start lessons this summer. After learning Dreams and Dreams 2 he came back the next week with “Chinese Dreams.” He played the entire song on black keys—10 fingers over 10 notes, but all black keys, ranging…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• Chinese Dreams, Dreams, Dreams Come True, simply music song variations, variation, variations

I would love to start a conversation about how we might use the MAC soundtracks with our students. Some of the tracks might need some more background or learning to understand their use, but I think others could be used by most of our students…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• adding expression, backing tracks, beat, black notes, Cerebral Palsy, Dreams, Dreams Come True, Eliza, expression, expressive playing, getting an even rhythm, Gordon Harvey, helping students feel rhythm, improv, improv for beginners, improving rhythm skills, improvisation, improvising, internal beat, internalizing beat, MAC, MAC Program, masters of the rhythm, MORs, Music & Creativity, musical expression, natural rhythm, play along, playing along with audio, playing with audio tracks, playing with expression, reading rhythm, rhythm, rhythm fun ideas, rhythm games, rhythmically challenged, RR, self expression, soundtracks, special needs, teaching rhythm, teaching special needs, variation, variations

I can’t wait to use the MAC soundtracks in my own studio. Has anyone already tried this? What ages of children are able to hear the beat within the soundtrack, and match their own playing? What tips do you have in coaching children to be…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• backing tracks, beat, black notes, blues, Dreams, Dreams Come True, Eliza, getting an even rhythm, helping students feel rhythm, Hunter's Blues, improv, improv for beginners, improving rhythm skills, improvisation, improvising, internal beat, internalizing beat, MAC, MAC Program, Music & Creativity, natural rhythm, Night Storm, play along, playing along with audio, playing with audio tracks, rhythm, rhythm difficulty, rhythm fun ideas, rhythm games, rhythmically challenged, single thought process, single thought processes, soundtracks, STP, student lacks rhythm, teaching rhythm

Successful new idea I hit upon with a new group. These are kids on the young side, 6-7. I ended up teaching them just the Capitals & Periods from the Pause Button (Tune Toolkit Project 2) prior to teaching them the rest of that project,…

• Last updated 4 years ago
• benefits of improv, capitals, capitals & periods, capitals and periods, comp & improv, comp and improv, comp/improv, composition, DCT, Dreams, dreams 1, Dreams Come True, fingering, improv, improv at lessons, improv for beginners, improv ideas, improvisation, improvisation ideas, improvising, pause button, periods, single thought process, single thought processes, STP, toolkit, tracking Tune Toolkit projects, Tune Toolkit

I am wondering why the Foundation 1 book starts with Dreams Come True, a relatively difficult song that requires both hands moving at the same time. Why not start with Ode to Joy, the RH of which is demonstrated in the FIS? In my experience,…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• Dreams, Dreams Come True, Laurie Richards, Night Storm, Ode to Joy, song difficulty, song order

In my initial lesson with adult students, I often will introduce the Basics followed by Dreams Come True. It has become a common theme that people really don’t understand that diagram; I am considering starting with the right hand of Ode to Joy. Sadly I…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• 5 steps of sound, 5SS, basics, Dreams Come True, first lesson, five steps of sound, foundation session, Laurie Richards, learning a new way of learning, understanding diagrams

Improv duet ideas (student/teacher): 3-note improv with any blues song (G-A-Bb, G-Bb-C, C-Eb-F). Choose any of these combinations for the student to improv on while you play a blues song. 5/5, 1 on A with Night Storm Accompaniment arrangement 5/5, 1 on C with Dreams…

• Last updated 6 years ago
• blues, chester chills out, Dreams Come True, duets, duets with students, Honey Dew, improv, improv for beginners, Laurie Richards, Whisper

I started teaching the Dm variation of Dreams Come True and it ended up perfectly timed for Halloween. Many students renamed it “Spooky Dreams” or “Nightmares”. The end result was that I added the very beginning of Bach’s Toccata in Dm as an “intro”. Very…

• Last updated 7 years ago
• Dreams Come True, Dreams in Dm, Halloween, variations