What stripes can the children earn, and when are they ready to test for them?
Children improve faster when they study the stripes in order since each one builds on the skills learned in the previous one. It isn’t mandatory that they be earned in order, but it is easier that way for the students. Children are ready to test when they can play the notes correctly, with a steady tempo (continuous beat – not stopping and starting or slowing down and speeding up). They can earn a stripe by performing the required songs well for the teacher. REQUIRED STRIPES WHITE “Hot Cross Buns” and “Mary Had A Little Lamb” YELLOW “Good News” and “Trampin'” ORANGE “The Twelve-Bar Blues” BLUE “Ode to Joy” Duet, both parts 1 and 2 performed with a partner PINK “In the Jungle” and “My Heart Will Go On” GREEN “Simple Gifts” RED “Lean on Me” PURPLE “Do, a Dear” and the theme from “Star Wars” SILVER “America” and “America the Beautiful” BLACK Sight reading GOLD From memory, all songs of the WHITE through SILVER stripes and the chromatic scale (up and back down), beginning on middle C OPTIO
