Dance of the Unicorns

Kaylee entered her first piano competition!! Her teacher named off a few competitions. She stressed one in particular and Kaylee jumped at the the chance. It was a "Composition Competition." I don't think she really understood what it included, but it was a great opportunity for Kaylee. I knew what she was getting into, but kept a big smile on my face.

Kaylee has a ton of songs in her head and loves to compose. I always have to remind her to practice the songs she is learning before just playing whatever. It is interesting to hear her practice because she starts practicing her "required" stuff and than something in the song triggers another thought. She than begins to start playing something else that she is just making up. She has a great ear and it is fun to hear the songs she makes up.

For the competition, she wrote a very minor sounding song entitled "Dance of the Unicorns." She had to do everything!! Luckily, her piano teacher is wonderful and gave her steps to complete along this journey. She first thought of a melody and I helped her write the main notes down on a piece of paper. She had 5 melodies she liked and than chose 2 to incorporate into her song.

Kaylee and I spent numerous hours transferring what she was playing onto music sheet paper. Kaylee than figured out the length and type of notes, dynamics, key signatures, etc. It was fun to watch her brain work and try to get from one sound to another.

The entire thing ended up being 3 pages with a few key changes, time changes, etc. If I do say so myself...it is pretty impressive.

The day she turned it in was a HUGE relief. She earned a new purple soft blanket and smelly bath soap -Sweet Pea (her favorite) for just completing the song. What an accomplishment!!

Here is her sweet song, in her own handwriting. This is the 5th and final copy!! We will see what happens. It is now in the hands of the judges.

Kaylee is imagining what she will do with the prize money...