- Level: Mid Elementary
- Pages: 4 pages, 2 pages of music, cover included!
- Style: Elegant
- Series: Amazon Adventure, Rote and Reading®
- Bonuses: Mp3 performance track
- Format: PDF instant download
Did you know that there are river dolphins? The Amazon River is the home of the pink river dolphin or Boto which only lives in freshwater! This piece sounds like a dolphin gliding through the water, with a mature flavor that even teen and adult students will enjoy playing. The whole tone scale in the B section and damper pedal throughout add to the mature sound, while the careful fingering ensures easier and more efficient teaching and learning.
This piece is part of the Rote and Reading® series which features music that can be taught by rote or reading or a combination of both. These patterns make this piece easy to learn for most mid-elementary students.
What Level is River Dolphins?
River Dolphins is mid-elementary level. The piece is in D Major, but has the accidentals written in so there is no key signature. The piece focuses on using 5ths and two different whole tone scales. The damper pedal can be held throughout the piece, with two optional lift points for those students who desire it. The smallest note value is an eighth note but students don’t need any prior introduction to eighths to learn this piece since it can be taught by rote as well.
Bonus Mp3 Included
Your purchase of River Dolphins includes a bonus mp3 performance track that you can send to students to introduce or help them learn the piece.
Part of the Amazon Adventure Series
River Dolphins is one of three pieces in the Amazon Adventure Series featuring piano solos about South America. This is a fantastic value as the bundle is discounted and these things are included in the bundle:
- Monkeying Around
- Jaguar Jungle
- River Dolphins
- Mp3s for each piece
- Amazon Adventure Bundle Bonus Cover
You can purchase the Amazon Adventure Series at a discount here.
The Power of Rote and Reading® Teaching
Piano students are much more excited about their progress when you combine rote teaching with reading. And when you do this, students stay motivated longer. This is because kids know that they can play music that is much more difficult than they can read.
Think of the way kids learn to read. They first learn to “do” the language (i.e. speak it) before they ever learn to read it. In the same way, students best learn when we show them how to “do” the piano before they learn to read the notes. For more thoughts on the value of rote teaching and how long it really takes a child to learn to read music, read: How Long Does It Take to Learn to Read Music?
Gabrielle Tee –
River Dolphins is as versatile as it is beautiful. I taught it to both a 9-year-old and 16-year-old today. The 9-year-old loved that it was about her favorite animal, and the 16-year-old appreciated the soothing harmonies and challenge of navigating the position shifts. Another win, Wendy! : )
Carolyn –
Thank you for Snakin’ Through the Bayou, River Dolphins, and Seaside Retreat. One of my students got a 5 out of 5 star rating for playing these three pieces for a state test. My other students loved those pieces as well and others I’ve purchased from you!
Richard –
This is the perfect piece for a young special-needs student of mine. She struggles with reading but learns well by rote. I knew she would love River Dolphins. Since it is easy to learn by rote, she learned it quickly. As she plays these beautiful passages, her challenges seem to disappear.
Kelly Jenkins –
This piece sounds so big and grand and is so simple to play! One of my fifth grade boys needed a recital piece that sounded great, but didn’t require too much from his limited reading and his dexterity challenges. When we learned the first few patterns, he response was: “this feels to comfortable to play”!
Pam Mitcham –
“River Dolphins” was just the piece my teen student needed. She is smart and talented, very busy with school and activities, and does not practice. I wanted a piece she could learn quickly without sounding childish. When she saw the music for “River Dolphins” she wasn’t interested – “looks too hard.” When she heard me play it, she wasn’t interested – “sounds too hard.” We worked on it in the lesson anyway and she took it home. The next week she played it in her lesson. I was amazed. It was beautiful and she was so happy and proud.
Brooke –
The crossovers and mature sound made my 9-year old student just delight in the music she was making! The parents were so excited that she was playing “for real” music after only a year of lessons! =)
I’ve used this piece for several students. Mostly for rote, but I have several older students that I’m super excited to bring this piece to (post Christmas season) to reiterate the 5-finger scales and the power and simplicity 5th’s can bring! (as well as recognizing line/line and space/space patterns!
Thank your for such a beautiful piece!! I will continue to use it in my studio for many of my future students!!
Jessica Giuffrida –
This is one of my favorites, and I have given it to both older and elementary age beginners. The patterns make it fun for them to play, and it sounds lovely.