Madeleine Makes Music

After the long weekend, we were all a little sluggish this morning as we prepared to return to the grind.  Or, as Madeleine put it:

MADELEINE: I'm tired.  Cause Mama?  I learned this from SLEEPING:  When you wake up after you were sleeping, you're still TIRED.


Sheesh. This kid is so smart, she even learns while she's SLEEPING!!


Madeleine was apparently not too tired to make special gifts for everyone in the family, however.  She composed little "songs," which she wrote out on paper, complete with a distinctive drawing.  Each person's song was left in a particular place where the recipient would be most likely to find it.

For Julia, at her seat at the table where she does homework, sat this lovely song:

The song itself seems to consist of just two notes: C and G.  (Madeleine labels any line notes that are not C itself; therefore, an un-labeled line note will be C, or so she tells me.)  Not a super long song, but the picture sure intrigues me.  One frowny-faced girl and one smiling girl?  Are the two notes symbolic of the two girls?  Or is frowny-face sad because the song is too short, but smiley-face liked it that way??  Now I'm super curious.


Taped to the front doorknob for Ethan to find as he arrives home from work:

Ethan's song is a little longer: C E D.  (Non-line notes that are un-labeled are Ds, according to Madeleine.)  I'm not sure what the picture is trying to convey.  Is it Beethoven at the piano?  Or an anthropomorphic sun?  Or some sort of posessed evil demon?  Or is it perhaps a rendition of Ethan?  Hmmm.


Madeleine's song for me was given to me while I was practicing music, so I was able to play it right away!:

Now this is some FANCY stuff!  Staccato notes, plus a repeat sign??  My melody was E C D F G, then F G D with a repeat of those three notes.  Loving it.  I guess I didn't get a picture with this song, unless those floating eighth-notes/testicles at the top of the page are supposed to be a picture and not musical notes.


Madeleine even wrote a song for herself and left it on the piano:

Her song is one note only: C.
Of course she gave herself the easy song.  While I got stacattos and repeats and testicles and all that! 
I'm not sure what the floating serpent head with crazy curly hair is supposed to symbolize.  It's hanging sort of menacingly above that ginormous middle C.  Creepy.

At any rate, I appreciate Madeleine's desire to exercise both her artistic and musical creativity in order to present gifts to the people she loves the most: her WHOLE FAMILY!