Questions and Answers about Doctor Mozart Level 1
Is the Doctor Mozart series keyboard-oriented?Yes. Nonetheless, these workbooks should serve as an excellent foundation for all music students, no matter what their instrument.
Even students of non-keyboard instruments, or voice,
should become familiar with the layout of a keyboard because it is the best
way to visualize how sharps and flats work. For example, A sharp
and B flat are the same note, but B sharp and C flat are not the same note,
because they have no black key between. Familiarity with the layout of a keyboard
can help students grasp these concepts. Doctor Mozart Level 1 introduces the keyboard step by step
from the very beginning, so that all students can familiarize themselves with the keyboard with ease. Is there more text in Doctor Mozart than in some other theory workbooks?Yes. Level 1 explores music theory in greater depth than most theory workbooks.
There is no way to explain the concepts in greater depth without the use of more words.
However, the sentences are short, and the vocabulary is easy, and suitable for children as young as 6.
Children younger than 6 can normally use Level 1 with the close supervision and encouragement of a parent or teacher.
While Level 1 has somewhat more text than is found in some lighter theory workbooks, this is more than compensated for by the
greater understanding students will attain, and by the appealing color graphics on every page.
To see for yourself,
view some sample pages.
Is there more content on each page than in other theory workbooks?Level 1 has more content on each page than some lighter theory workbooks do, but that only adds to the fun,
and helps students achieve a deeper understanding of the material.
Teachers have reported that their young students are thrilled by the exciting appearance of the workbook,
and by the entertaining color illustrations.
Are some questions confusing for very young students?The challenges found in Level 1 are typical of the challenges that primary school students normally
encounter in their regular schoolwork.
Level 1 is mostly used by students ranging in age from 6 through 12, though some adults have reported using it too.
In addition, we have heard from several teachers who are using Level 1 for closely supervised 4 and 5 year olds.
These youngsters seem to enjoy the questions, and they like the little surprises they encounter.
Why are the staff, notes, and keyboard diagrams colored, especially in the first part of Level 1?This is a particularly valuable feature of the workbook. The coordinated colors help students match staff notes with the keyboard.
The colors help accommodate students' various learning styles.
And they reinforce the learning of all students.
The color coding is gradually eliminated, as students progress through the workbook,
allowing them to transition smoothly to normal black-and-white music notation. How are the staff, clefs, and Middle C introduced?A playful ladder analogy relates the abstract concept of the staff to something tangible - a ladder - that all children are familiar with.
Next, the clefs are introduced, with emphasis on their function as markers for F and G.
This gives special meaning to each clef, and helps students remember some important landmark notes.
This lesson is reinforced in various ways on subsequent pages.
Later, Middle C's neighbors, B and D, are compared to a bubble and a drip.
This analogy has been praised for its effectiveness in helping students remember Middle C's neighbors.
The charming illustrations add to the memorable impact of this lesson. Are all topics studied in-depth in Level 1?The emphasis of this workbook is on deep understanding, not on mere memorization.
That requires focusing on priority concepts in-depth, while touching briefly on others to achieve basic familiarity, where necessary.
For example, the two pages that are devoted to the C major chord are there only to afford students some familiarity with chords, in case they need that knowledge for their early piano lessons.
Triads are studied in great detail in Level 2, more so than in many other theory workbooks.
However, the priority in Level 1 is not to study chords, but instead to learn how to read the staff, to learn basic rhythm notation,
to learn basic musical terms, and to learn about semitones, sharps, flats and naturals. Some students find theory dull. How does Doctor Mozart keep them interested and involved?Throughout the workbook, students are drawn into the lessons in various ways, including entertaining illustrations, and analogies that young people can relate to. All children are familiar with, and fond of, chocolate bars. Level 1 uses a chocolate bar analogy to teach time values, bringing life to a topic that they might otherwise find dull and too abstract in the context of a theory workbook. The chocolate bar analogy is well suited to explaining the division of musical time. To explain measures and how they contain beats, the workbook employs the metaphor of bars as boxes of beats. The alliteration is part of the fun.
As well, the metaphor relates the abstract concept of bars to tangible objects that students are already familiar with: boxes.
As always, this lesson is clarified and reinforced by colorful graphics and exercises. Why are students sometimes asked to repeat new words or ideas soon after they have first read them?Asking students to write what they have just read helps them notice the new words or concepts, before reading further.
Noticing fosters conscious awareness, which is the first step toward deep learning.
After drawing attention to a new word or concept, the student is engaged with examples, colorful graphics,
and activities that help ensure in-depth comprehension.
The emphasis in the Doctor Mozart series is on deep understanding, to build a solid foundation for music lesson success. Why is the 2/2 time signature shown but not discussed at length in Level 1?It is presented with other time signatures only to show that the bottom number of a time signature is not always a 4.
Students are sufficiently challenged with learning 2/4, 3/4 and 4/4, which are the most useful time signatures at this stage.
In the Level 2 workbook, 2/2 and other time signatures are explored in detail. Are quarter, half and whole rests covered in Level 1?Yes. One full page is devoted to each type of rest. These pages feature ingenious illustrations that aid understanding, as well as time value arithmetic exercises.
Additional practice with these rests is also integrated into some later sections of the workbook. Does the workbook contain numerous pages of random note-reading drill?In Level 1, most note-reading exercises emphasize discernment of patterns in the way pitches are notated. This helps students develop a conceptual framework to make sense of music notation. To help establish this conceptual framework, the words "line" and "space"
are alternated beneath many of the keyboard illustrations in the note-reading section, to
remind students that neighboring keys are notated alternately as line and space notes.
Many of the note-reading exercises present notes arranged in patterns, to help students
discover how note names repeat at different pitches on the staff,
and to compare notations that look similar, but represent different pitch classes. Are accidentals covered in-depth?The section on accidentals spans 13 pages.
A page introducing ascending half steps is followed logically by a full page that discusses sharps, with the help of explanatory color graphics.
This is followed by two full pages of sharp exercises.
A thorough study of flats, naturals, and enharmonics follows, over the remaining 9 pages. Are students expected to learn musical terminology from a dry list of words and definitions?No. The terminology section spans six full pages of explanations, color graphics, and activities.
Every term is explained, and almost every term is accompanied by an imaginative color illustration to aid the student's memory.
Help with pronunciation is provided for some foreign words like "crescendo".
The graphics in this section are striking and memorable, to assist student learning. Are lessons reviewed after being taught?Practice exercises are provided for every topic. As well, there are pages that are dedicated to reviewing topics that have been covered in prior lessons.
In addition, virtually everything taught in the workbook is woven into the sections that follow.
Care has been taken to integrate the material, so that students have repeated opportunities to put to use virtually all of the concepts and skills they have learned,
even while they are studying subsequent lessons. Are Doctor Mozart theory workbooks compatible with other programs and methods?Doctor Mozart theory workbooks can be used alone, or together with other method books.
Levels 1 through 3 also correspond to the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM),
the Royal American Conservatory Preliminary theory requirements, and the
Music Teachers Association of California Level 3 certificate.
However, no pedagogical compromises have been made for the sake of accommodating these curricula.
All topics are introduced systematically to help students develop a deep understanding of music theory.
For example, two pages are devoted to distinguishing between diatonic and chromatic half steps.
This complements and deepens students' understanding of sharps, flats, and enharmonic notes.
Moreover, introducing this topic in Level 1 helps students become familiar enough with it
that when it is reviewed and explored in greater depth in the
context of minor 2nds in the Level 2 workbook, they will not feel overwhelmed.
Are mnemonic aids used to teach note-reading skills?A variety of mutually reinforcing approaches to note reading are used, including mnemonics, which are accompanied by entertaining graphic memory aids. Students' varied learning styles are also supported with:
Are students given any opportunity to be creative while studying music theory?Yes. For example, students are occasionally asked to write any notes of their choice on the staff, within certain stated parameters relevant to the topics they have just studied. This allows some creative freedom, while encouraging them to take ownership of their work.
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