Review: HomeSchoolPiano

HomeSchoolPiano, which provides online piano lessons with teacher Willie Myette, recently gave us the opportunity to review their HomeSchoolPiano - Complete Set of Books.  We were given a lifetime subscription for up five students, which obviously worked out perfectly for our family.

 

 

 

Have you ever wished that your children could learn to play the piano?  Have you struggled finding a piano teacher, or struggled with finding the time to run your children to lessons, or faced another barrier to providing piano lessons for your children?

HomeSchoolPiano might just be the answer for you.  This program is for all ages, and lessons are accessible any time that suits you.  All you need is:

1. A piano or keyboard (with at least 49 full size keys)
2. A tablet (any tablet, or even a smartphone) or computer with an internet connection

 

 

 

 

HomeSchoolPiano follows a six step method to teach piano to your child.



1. Technique
2. Rhythm
3. Ear Training
4. Reading
5. Song
6. Improvisation

By following this process, the student learns not only how to read and play music, but to compose original music.

 

 

There are 3 different levels (books) and beginner Core lessons, with PDF books to print for each level.  I printed out all of levels, and spiral bound them.  You could easily use a binder as well.  These workbooks contain music for the student to play, along with scales to practice, pages to practice rhythms, and empty music staffs to write down the music created during improvisation.  All of the workbook pages are labeled with the unit and lesson that they correspond to.

I had each of the boys figure out which level they should start at, because they've all had piano lessons (anywhere from 1 to 10 years, depending on the boy).  I don't play the piano, so I figured they could figure this out more easily than I could.  Then they just worked through the lessons a few times a week.  The boys used the iPad to watch the lessons and take the quizzes.

I can log in as the boys' teacher, and I have access to printable records for each boy.  I can use the this to check my students' progress and quiz scores, as well as keep tabs on the percent complete of each lesson.  I can also check to see when they last logged in.

I love this online program.  I love that the boys are learning technique, correct form, sight reading, as well as improvisation.  We view learning to play music as an important part of the boys' education, and even though they aren't beginners, HomeSchoolPiano is very beneficial for them.  The boys don't always love piano, but they like this program.  The most difficult thing about this is making sure they practice, but that's always been the case.  Willie is a good teacher, and it's nice that we're able to do lessons on our schedule.  Having the ability to check their progress from anywhere is very beneficial.  I just found out our piano teacher is taking the semester off from teaching, so instead of looking for a new teacher, we will continue with HomeSchoolPiano lessons.  It sure is convenient!





 

 There are two different options for purchasing the HomeSchoolPiano program, both of which provide unlimited, life-time access for up to five students.

• One payment of $299
• Payment plan:  3 monthly payments of $99.97/month

 

 

 

Still aren't sure if HomeSchoolPiano will work for you?  You can sign up for a free lesson on the website.

             

Vocal Coach Singer

Vocal Coach  offered two of their products for the Crew to review:  Vocal Coach Singer and Teaching Kids to Sing.  I will be reviewing Vocal Coach Singer;  I received the downloadable mp3s, which are priced at $99.99.

Confession:  I can't carry a tune in a bucket.  I like to sing, though, so that presents a problem for those around me.  I've been told that I could probably sing well if I had a bit of training, but the time or money isn't in the budget.  

The Vocal Coach Singer includes the following mp3s:

• Getting Started
• Complete Breathing
• Complete Warm-Up
• Complete Tone
• Complete Expanding Your Range
• Complete Diction
• Complete Performance
• Daily Workout High Voice 1 & 2
• Daily Workout Medium/Low Voice 1 & 2

along with these printable PDFs:

• Instructional Guidebook
• Lead Sheets (each exercise with track number)
• Singer's Journal
• Song Evaluation 

The Instructional Guidebook provides a general introduction to the course, and it should be read first.  The next thing is listening to the Getting Started mp3.  This gives a brief introduction to each of the remaining mp3s.

The Complete Breathing, Complete Warm-Up, and Complete Tone mp3s are the foundation of the program.  They explain the how and why behind breathing and posture, warming up the voice, and tone, and then move along to present exercises for each of the topics.

The Complete Expanding Your Range mp3 explains range and helps you to determine your current range, and then provides exercises to help you increase your range.  The Complete Diction mp3 explains what diction is (pronunciation, enunciation, and articulation).  Good diction is important for a singer because it helps with tone and pitch. The Complete Performance mp3 guides you through choosing songs that suit you, picking the right key, as well as other important details, like gestures and facial expressions. 

The Daily Workout mp3s guide you through working out your voice.  The singing exercises vary in difficulty, and the first time through the vocal coach, Chris Beatty, sings it with you.  The following times, he'll give you verbal instructions on how to sing the exercise.    

I learned a lot about using my voice as an instrument.  I never realized that posture and breathing were so important to singing well.  The tone exercises help eliminate issues that might make your voice sound unpleasant (twangy, nasally, etc.), and it also explains vibrato and how it should sound and be used.

I've got to admit, I felt a bit silly during a lot of the exercises.  Practicing these in the privacy of my own home was a definite plus.  I still don't have a fabulous voice, but I could tell a difference when I followed their instructions and practice.  I think with even more practice I can sing to my heart's content without being embarrassed.  If you'd like to learn to sing, or if you can sing and you'd like to improve your voice, check out Vocal Coach Singer.

For more reviews of The Vocal Coach products, go here.

 


Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

KinderBach

KinderBach is a music program for ages 3 to 7 that can be done in your home.  It's available as an online subscription, as an iPad or iPhone app, or on DVD.  I was given a 6 month subscription to review.  

I cannot play the piano.  I played the flute from the 6th grade through the 9th grade, but I have completely forgotten how to read music.  However, despite my lack of musical knowledge, I am convinced that learning to play an instrument is a wonderful way to engage and train the brain, and I think piano is a great instrument for learning to read music and learn music theory.  My older four sons are in piano lessons, and it's about time to start the youngest.  I was very happy to receive this product to review, and so was Nicholas.

KinderBach teaches piano through adorable cartoon characters.  Dodi the Donkey (pictured above), Frisco, Carlo the Caterpillar, Edward the Eagle, Felicity the Frog, Gracie the Gorilla, Alan the Alligator, and Bob the Bear (along with Ms. Karri, the founder and lesson instructor) will guide your young child through learning to play the piano.  In addition, Miss Diddle and Bruno will help teach your child to play different music note patterns on the piano, and the Beat Bug Brigaide will help your child learn rhythm.  In Bach Talk, your child will learn tips and techniques for making their own songs.

There are 6 levels, with 10 weeks of lessons in each level.  Each week is broken down into 4 short lessons.  The short lessons are wonderful because they keep the attention of a young child, but are long enough to teach the concept in a fun manner.  Throughout the lessons, the student is often moving around and interacting with the lesson (beating a homemade drum, for example, to work on rhythm).

Each lesson is in video format.  Ms. Karri teaches your child the fundamentals of playing the piano.  She's energetic and entertaining, and Nicholas really enjoyed the lessons.

In addition to the online lessons, there are PDF worksheets to download and print.  You can print out the entire book for each lesson, or you there is an option to print individual pages for each lesson.  These range from coloring and activity pages to do along with the lessons to music to practice with.  The activity pages were a little bit young for Nicholas, and he doesn't really enjoy coloring, so we skipped doing many of them. I can see where they would be very helpful with a younger student, though.

 

  

KinderBach is a hit with Nicholas.  We've only had our subscription for 6 weeks, and I already see a huge improvement with his ability to keep a rhythm.  He loves to practice the piano like his older brothers.  He asks daily if we can do a lesson, and often tries to talk me into doing additional lessons.  I'm happy that he's getting exposure and developing a love for making music before we start more formal lessons.

To use this program, it's best if you have a keyboard to play.  You don't need anything fancy, just a basic piano or keyboard is recommended.  You'll also need basic craft supplies.

The online program is priced at $19.99 a month (billed monthly) or $95.88 for a full twelve months, and you can try the first two weeks of the program for free.  The iPad app is $26.99, and there is a free version to try the program out.

For more reviews of KinderBach (both the online subscription and the app), go here.

Disclaimer: As a member of the TOS Crew, I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.