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JennGM
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I'm asking for a friend who wants to teach her children a bit of piano. She doesn't have much experience, but her schedule is a bit hectic to commit to regular lessons outside the home.
Has anyone used
Mrs. Stewart's Beginning Piano Lesson for Children and Adults
or
Learn and Master Piano by Will Barrow homeschool edition.
Or perhaps you have another program that you could recommend?
Any input appreciated!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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cvbmom
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We purchased Mrs. Stewards Beginning Piano Lessons to use this year. It looks really good! I can't review it yet because we won't be starting until September. If you have any questions about book content, I can look at the book and (hopefully) answer any questions about it.
God bless,
Christine
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DominaCaeli
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Thanks for asking this, Jenn--my husband just started looking into home piano lesson options for our himself and our two preschoolers, and he was asking me to check 4Real for recommendations. 
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Celeste
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Gracesmom
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That is so weird! I was just looking into this last night!
I hope there are some reviews on here!
ETA: this is the one that I came across in a catalogue...looked interesting http://www.musiqhomeschool.com/
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Lori
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I found this series of short videos on ehow...don't know how old her children are, this does seem to lend itself more to the younger set, but it's interesting!
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Lori
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violingirl
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I don't have any experience with those particular books, but I'm a piano teacher and I'd like to recommend a series that I've been using with students for a few years that I *love*.
It is called Piano Town by Keith Snell. It begins with a primer level, then moves forward into levels 1-4. It is very CM with short lessons, and the books are very self-explanatory if someone wanted to try on their own for school. It would be best used in this manner if a child is 7/8 or older.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the series.
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MicheleQ
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We have used Alan Jemison's piano series with good results. My girls used it and their piano teacher was impressed with their playing level when they started taking lessons. My 14 yr. old dd just mentioned that she thought my 6 yr. old ds should start it soon as he shows a lot of interest in the piano.
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MicheleQ
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JennGM wrote:
| She doesn't have much experience, but her schedule is a bit hectic to commit to regular lessons outside the home. |
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A friend of mine found a teacher who was willing to come to HER home and teach and I have found one as well (a young man who came through our RCIA a few years ago and is a brilliant pianist/composer). I love this idea because it means no outside running around (although we were fortunate that our first teacher just lived down the street so they could walk).
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Michele Quigley
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JennGM
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violingirl wrote:
I don't have any experience with those particular books, but I'm a piano teacher and I'd like to recommend a series that I've been using with students for a few years that I *love*.
It is called Piano Town by Keith Snell. It begins with a primer level, then moves forward into levels 1-4. It is very CM with short lessons, and the books are very self-explanatory if someone wanted to try on their own for school. It would be best used in this manner if a child is 7/8 or older.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the series. |
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Well, I'm a piano teacher, although right now just for family. I'm interested in hearing more about this series for myself.
In what ways is echoing CM's view? Short Lessons? What else?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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JennGM
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Michele, thanks for that input. I was going to mention to her about Alan Jemison. I personally didn't like it for me, but that experience of self-teaching is really good.
I do think that learning piano, art, or whatever does depend so much on desire and interest for success. I started piano at age 11, but I really, really wanted to play and didn't want to be in "baby books" so I sightread as much and anything I could get my hands on.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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violingirl
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JennGM wrote:
violingirl wrote:
I don't have any experience with those particular books, but I'm a piano teacher and I'd like to recommend a series that I've been using with students for a few years that I *love*.
It is called Piano Town by Keith Snell. It begins with a primer level, then moves forward into levels 1-4. It is very CM with short lessons, and the books are very self-explanatory if someone wanted to try on their own for school. It would be best used in this manner if a child is 7/8 or older.
I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about the series. |
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Well, I'm a piano teacher, although right now just for family. I'm interested in hearing more about this series for myself.
In what ways is echoing CM's view? Short Lessons? What else? |
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Specifically short lessons. Each week's worth of work includes 3-5 short pieces (4 measures long in the beginning, and eventually expanding to 8 and beyond) focused on one task. It takes the student about 10 minutes to practice each day and after spending 4-5 days on that lesson set they are typically ready to move on to the next lesson set.
I also see a CM connection in how the songs are constructed. Just like CM would ask a student to have 6 perfectly formed letters rather than a whole page, this series uses something very simple- a 4 measure piece- to focus completely on one task and doing it very well. A piece designed to learn 4ths will only be 4 measures long, but it will probably include 8 4ths.
I teach a lot of boys and find this series to be very geared to boys- the song titles even run in units. So while they're learning about 4ths and 5ths all of the titles have something to do with trucks and construction. The set of pieces teaching F Major in level 1 all refers to dinosaurs and paleontology.
The series moves into short classical pieces in level 3.
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TxTrish
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[QUOTE=JennGM]
Learn and Master Piano by Will Barrow homeschool edition.
QUOTE]
We use this and are enjoying it.
The children had all taken piano lessons before, so my eldest child just chooses from our lesson books more songs to practice during the week for everyone. I don't play, so my daughter does it with the kids.
With her leaving now - I will be taking up the baton, and hopefully learning with them 
I also saw a new one at Seton, same type format:
Children's Musical Journey
Here is the actual website.
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ALmom
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Maybe I'm a lone voice out there, but is it possible to have someone come to your house as opposed to doing it youself - especially if you don't have any experience? A college student who has had to "correct" technique in order to move on might be a more affordable avenue to look to for lessons. Or focus on simply learning how to read music and listening or something without formal lessons.
This is not to say that just because you have a teacher, they will be paying attention to technique and if you are going to get a teacher who doesn't pay attention to technique, then I guess doing at home with one of these recommended books is equivalent - but there is something to be said for waiting and investing in the best teacher your region provides. Of course, we all have our limits in terms of what we can afford, etc. I just would want to make sure that folks are aware of the trade offs. When we started off with our musically inclined dd, we didn't have a clue and she has had to work very hard at undoing and relearning stuff.
I know that someone who just had to redo a bunch of technique is going to pay attention to teaching it correctly to their students and they may be a great source for those early lessons.
I don't say this to be a wet blanket but from experience with how important technique on an instrument can be and how much more difficult it is to overcome once you have bad habits. I think it would be easier to let children learn on their own once they've had some really good years with solid foundation. If you start on your own, just be prepared to look for a really good teacher down the road who can recognize and undo bad habits. How you hold your hand, whether or not your knuckles collapse, how you do the pedal, how you do your wrist - a bunch of things like that will make a world of difference on the piano(and a lot of it is subtle and I'm sure I don't have a clue). Some things can even result in long term injuries (fortunately we have never experienced that but we do know folks who have).
So just for your friends information.
It would be different if we were all trained properly or if the mom had some experience with correct technique.
Janet
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JennGM
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It's not a wet blanket, Janet. That's reality, and I agree completely. She actually has the same fears, so is now leaning towards a teacher.
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SeaStar
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I found a teacher in our homeschool group... a teen who has a lot of talent and is very excited to teach. I was very happy about this. My dd already knows and likes this "teacher" and is excited about starting to learn piano.
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4Real Forums : The Arts in the Everyday
Topic: Home Piano Lessons
