G'DAE Complete Lesson Set
includes music book, games and accessories to make learning to play the
violin FUN!
"I AM IN LOVE WITH THESE
MATERIALS! I'm recommending them to all my
fellow violin teachers. I've been trying to
teach my own 3 yr. old daughter, and it was
turning into a power struggle until I introduced
the
G'DAE stuff. You guys have really created a
fabulous tool here for teaching little ones. "The
Bow-Nut Donuts are unreal. I can't believe
how effective they are." ~ L.P., Utah
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Introducing... A New Resource for Teaching the Violin to
Preschool-Age Students --
G'DAE
Primary Book for Violin™
with
G'DAE
Teaching Tools™:
An innovative approach that provides
A
Colorful
Beginning!
To Read or Not To Read (Music, that is)? The preschool and early school years are an ideal time
to begin musical training. But for pre-readers, learning an instrument
also requires developing a new cognitive skill: reading music. Some early
childhood instrumental programs overcome this hurdle by teaching
students to play by ear. Eventually music reading skills become
necessary, and many students taught this way become so good at playing
by ear that they find it difficult to learn to read music later.
Begin with Color... Over the past 25 years, an alternative early-childhood
program for music-reading readiness has become popular in Europe. The
core idea is to use a
visual color-coding method to relate the notes of familiar songs to
their location on the stringed instrument and to symbols on the printed
page. The specific teaching materials and technical teacher-training
courses are not available in the U.S., and the music and European flavor
of the lesson materials do not take full advantage of the
music and language style familiar to American preschoolers.
A Bridge to Music Reading... To adapt this proven teaching method for
American preschool and early-elementary violin students, G’DAE!™
beginners’ lesson materials for the violin create
a bridge to music reading for pre-readers. G’DAE!™
materials associate colors, names and characters with each string on the
violin. Simple and familiar tunes are printed with colored notes and finger numbers
taking the place of the musical staff. The rhythmic meaning of note shapes
is learned from the start via colorful flashcards, games and exercises.
Gradually, the notes are moved onto the staff, which is also
color-coded at
first, and finger numbers are removed. As the student starts to understand
how to identify notes by their position on the staff, they are ready to
“graduate” to an elementary-level violin method book. G’DAE!™materials thus serve as a launching pad for pre-readers into
early-graded lesson materials, not a self-contained continuous method
with its own unique teaching philosophy. The goal is to transition to
standard materials, not maintain a separate and exclusive learning
track.
