Piano Lessons in the Home Using Adventus
There are a few subjects I always hesitate to ‘farm out’ for instruction with my boys. Sending the boys for private piano instruction is one area that I hesitate to do as I feel I have the skills to teach them. However, I do not have the time to spend with them doing the one on one instruction I would desire. Thanks to our latest product to review as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I might have found a good solution for now: MusIQ HomeSchool from Adventus.
Piano Lessons in the Home with Adventus
MusIQ HomeSchool is a 7 year instructional program that can be begun by a student as young as 4 or used by high school students with the end result being competency at an advanced intermediary level. The program capitalizes upon the ability to both present instruction via the computer in a consistent manner AND to record a student’s actual performance via the MIDI connection. Lesson plans are available to the parent to know what activities the child should do on a given day. MusIQ Library is an online resource with more activities (e.g. coloring pages for the younger levels) which can be utilized to expand a child’s studies.
There are actually 2 options for using the MusIQ HomeSchool program from Adventus. You can purchase the software outright or you can subscribe monthly to use the software which requires an internet connection. For this review, we were supplied with the subscription to all levels of MusIQ HomeSchool. Lesson plans can be purchased separately. The purchases can by specific level or in a bundle for either early elementary or multi-level along with an M-Audio KeyRig 49 MIDI piano keyboard if you do not already own a MIDI keyboard. The boys have been using this with my full-sized digital piano, although I am now seeing that I might prefer a separate, smaller keyboard for them to use for the learning.
Experiencing Piano Lessons in the Home with Adventus
For this review, I had all hands on deck. P is the only one who’s done any real instruction with me in the past using different materials. However, his younger brothers have been chomping at the bit to learn a bit of piano and have a legitimate reason to touch use my digital piano.
Although P has had some training, it had been a while since he sat with his previous materials to continue building skills. I opted to have him start on Piano Suite Premier Level 1 like R was doing.
Initially, I was going to have D and J use Children’s Music Journey Volume 1. However, we had some technical difficulties with that one the first time we tried to use it (which were resolved quickly by my going into the settings menu and making sure the devices showed up.) Having watched R and P using Piano Suite Premier Level 1, I realized that he was ready for that level as well.
J has such a short attention span for the activities, as he is only 3 and not near the recommended 4th birthday, that we have taken a while longer per lesson for him. However, he is getting the basic concepts taught (high and low notes which they call birds and whales.) D has occasionally volunteered to help J with the lessons which warmed my heart to see the older child wanting to teach the younger.
For all of the levels, there are lesson plans to accompany the level which makes it very easy to implement the program. Each lesson lists any suggested materials you might need (e.g. musical alphabet flashcards) and the amount of time each portion of the lesson should take. Any worksheets for the student are found by lesson as well. Topics covered by each lesson include theory as well as ear training. Games are a part of the programs to help the student develop better keyboard skills in a fun environment.
With Children’s Music Journey, there are coloring pages by lesson in addition to worksheets to help reinforce the concepts being used. In Lesson 1, the worksheet has the child coloring high and low notes as well as circling the groupings of black keys. That lesson has a suggested time frame of approximately 55 minutes. With J, we broke it up into several sessions so he would not be overwhelmed with the work.
Given P’s past exposure, I opted to have him just start at the beginning of Theory Thinker and spend a set amount of time on it (15 minutes) before switching to Piano Player for a chance to practice the tunes included for that level. As they make their way through Theory Thinker, the sections are ‘checked off’ as they are completed.
As someone who has taken lessons from three different individuals in my lifetime (including one professor at college) along with self-teaching some aspects of playing piano when it comes to accompaniament, I have to say that I am really impressed with the MusIQ HomeSchool program from Adventus. Following the lessons will give the student time for theory (which P has fought me on in the past) as well as practice time, history and even some ‘fun’ time (which R loves to do.) The lesson plans do not assume that the home educator has any background in the material and yet makes it simple enough to implement.
I especially like the feature of recording the child’s ‘performance’ to play back. This is especially helpful with my boys as they can usually get the correct notes, but are challenged with keeping the correct pace. Hearing the program ‘play’ the selection first helps to a degree. However, hearing how different their recording sounds really helps it ‘hit home.’
We did encounter a challenge with using my digital piano for the game section as the instructions did not ‘work’ for us. However, I discovered that the the MusIQ HomeSchool program is optimized for the 47 key MIDI keyboard and mine is a full 88 keys. That just meant having to play around for a few minutes to find which keys produced the desired effect and then making a note of it.
If you have several children wanting piano lessons, then I would highly recommend the complete bundle of MusIQ HomeSchool program products.
The price includes all levels of the program as well as the keyboard. Depending upon how dedicated my boys are to continuing this program, I am seriously considering going with that option. Considering the going rate for private lessons here range from $20 to $30 per half hour, I would have ‘paid’ for the whole package in under 8 lessons for 3 boys. I call that a bargain!
Did you take piano lessons as a child or adult OR do you have children who have taken lessons?
What are YOUR thoughts about this in-home option for learning how to play the piano?
By learning piano. You can become more organized and relaxed and stress free.
Nice article thanks for sharing that post. I also like piano lessons with healing effects. Very relaxing.
Piano lessons help children perfect their natural learning processes. Music is a language, and children are programmed to absorb languages. Studies have shown that kids can most easily learn new languages when they start at a young age. Piano lessons help children develop the very same skills needed to accomplish language arts, like reading. In piano, students learn how to follow directions, scan written materials, think critically, create solutions and translate writing into action.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of having a piano in your life is also the one we’ve known about the longest–the uplifting effect it has on your spirit. When you sit on that bench and open the keyboard cover, you tap into a powerful way to communicate emotion, enliven a gathering or just relax.
for the easily distracted child, piano is concentration.for the uncertain child, piano is poise and confidence.for the child who gives up easily piano is perseverance.
Piano lesson myths are so ingrained into our culture and our consciousness that it almost seems silly to counter them. But on close examination, even the most “obvious” beliefs about piano study and piano practice are not only wrong, they are damaging to the individual who is bound by their chains. This material is an attempt to help pianists of all levels be liberated from such mental constraints, attitudes and assumptions regarding piano lessons, so that they might truly reach their goals.
I never had piano lessons, but always wanted to learn to play. It’s something I really want my son to learn. My husband is a natural musician, but he’s not had any formal training. Between the two of us, we could probably teach him, but I am intrigued by this home study product. Might be just what we need!
Denise,
I am really pleased with this so far. They can work more independently from me as the program walks them step by step. But, I can also be near by to help as needed and be a mentor for them.
I’d like to give this a try and see what kind of outcome it’d produce. As a piano teacher, I think it’d be very difficult to teach your own children..simply because you’re “mom” not “teacher.” (I ran into this issue when I taught my little cousins.) This seems like a good tool to see how interested they’d be in learning!
Tara,
What you described is exactly why my boys haven’t gotten very far in the past. My eldest has asked me to teach him off and on, but then balks at my corrections. As this program only gets you so far, the need for an instructor would come up. However, it would lay a great foundation for that point.
I believe they have a 1 week demo available on their website. You just need a MIDI keyboard, a cable to connect it to your computer, and an internet connection.
This is awesome! I would love to teach my kids how to play the piano. Thanks so much for sharing this!
Wow – this is so cool! I wanted to learn how to play the piano growing up. It’s great to know that this is available if my kids want to play too.
Wow, I had no idea they had computer programs to teach piano. Do you think the program would work for a child who has had no past experience and mom has no skill to help either? It would be really great to teach my daughter, but I can’t help at all. I can read music, but that’s as far as I go.
Jen,
I think it is put together that you do not need a real musical background to have your child learn.
What a great idea. I want H to take piano so badly!
The reason I quit piano was because of my teacher so I actually LOVE this idea!
Liz,
That’s definitely the downside for anything instructor led. I quite Girl Scouts because I couldn’t stand the Troop Leader and it was the only choice in town.
Wow! This is great! I have a friend looking for something like this! I will share!
How fun!
Kas
Such a great idea, I’ll try this with my daughter!
Seriously – this looks amazing. I would LOVE to teach Abby to play piano!!!
Meagan,
I wasn’t sure how J would like this. But, he LOVES his piano time. Granted, it’s not super hard at the moment. However, I am hoping that he’ll continue for a while.