Clefi’s Music Notebook 4

Clefi's Music Notebooks 1 - 4 are full-color music books created for elementary and middle school students, music schools, private music studios, and individual learners. The core Notebooks are part of the series created by the esteemed Czech music educator and celebrated bassist Dr. Eva Sasinkova. The workbooks are beautifully illustrated by Czech artist Kateřina Kovářová, M.A., and Dr. Roman Placzek, a respected Czech-American cellist, educator, composer, and publisher, who skillfully translated and adapted the content for English-speaking audiences.

In this final volume of the New Music Education School series, Clefi's Music Notebook 4, we review and practice everything learned so far. Students will also explore the world of accomplished musicians and music professionals. All that on one great global adventure. We will start with the basics of conducting. The Leaning Tower of Pisa will remind us how to manipulate tones and use enharmonic exchanges. Then, the Statue of Liberty will guide us through musical intervals. As we travel the world, we will examine various scales across different cultures and historical periods. For the first time, we will study the old church scales that helped form the modern major and minor scales. We will also discover scales consisting only of whole or half steps and learn how some Asian countries use the Pentatonic scale.

At the pyramids, we will learn about chord structures and symbols. Once we understand how to create seventh and ninth chords, we will climb the Eiffel Tower. From the top, we will see that the basics we learned may seem simple, but they are essential for building larger musical structures. After this climb, we will have a clear way to explore chord symbols.

The next stage of our journey will involve a cruise on a large ocean liner to the Harmony Archipelago, where a musical path awaits us. However, that's not all; after our visit, we will need to find our way home. We will be guided by signs featuring musical terminology, articulation, and dynamic markings that lead us to the station, where an express train is waiting. This train will be driven by someone who ensures the correct tempo is maintained. Do you know his name? If not, you'll have to wait to find out!