HomeschoolPiano

 

What I reviewed: HomeschoolPiano – Complete Set of Books
What is it? Homeschool Piano Lessons by HomeschoolPiano
Who is it for? All Ages and Levels of piano – beginner up!
How much is it? $299 for an unlimited, lifetime membership for up to 5 students that includes lessons and all extra bonuses (downloads, sheet music, and jam tracks) – or 3 monthly payments of $97.99 for the same.
Where can I find it? http://homeschoolpiano.com/

Tell me more:

HomeschoolPiano is an online series of video based piano lessons for beginners that teaches everything from the complete basics onward through 3 levels past that – developing skills in technique, rhythm, ear training, reading music, song, and improvisation. It, apparently, can be used on any internet enabled device however, we only used it on a laptop so I have no insight into how it works on anything else.

In the videos, you get to see Willie, the teacher, in the bottom corner, with 2 different keyboards across the top – one the actual keyboard that Willie himself uses as he teaches, allowing us to watch and copy his hands as he plays and the other a digital image that highlights the keys as he plays – showing what exactly he is doing.

There are 4 levels. Each level includes a downloadable book to print out that has the music and worksheets needed for that section, and a series of videos that build on each other to help develop knowledge and skills. Each lesson has the option to download it as audio or video, and many even have easy lesson review quizzes – just to make sure you’ve understood.

The first, CorePiano, is where beginners will discover where and how to place their hands on a keyboard, how to find Middle C and understanding the musical alphabet, how to move their fingers, the important things you see on a sheet of music – like notes, clefs, and symbols, using the pedals, and lots more of the fundamentals that you need to learn when you are becoming a pianist.

From there, the lessons move through three more books – each expanding in skills.

Willie’s teaching style is very relaxed and very personable. You can tell that he has been teaching music for a very long time.

When your child logs in, there’s a clear box right on their home page with a button to continue from where they left off – making it very easy to keep going from where they were last time. The lesson and level is also clearly listed. Plus, if they ever didn’t fully grasp a lesson, it’s still right there for them to go back and review!

As the parent, you can check out student reports – which shows how much of a lesson they’ve completed by a progress bar, when they started and completed that lesson, and how they did on each quiz.

How we used it:

Growing up, every Wednesday after school, I would gather up my armful of books and rush down the street to have piano lessons with a really awesome lady. I think I was 6 when I took my first lesson, and I only stopped when I moved away from home at 20. Music (piano and voice) has been very important to me for my whole life.

I’ve tried, with minimal success, to draw my children’s interest into piano – making it accessible and piling all my old books nearby for easy use. The only time I’ve been able to keep them at the piano is either when I’ve opened up the lid and we’re checking out the insides or if there’s a computer involved somehow!

Although I signed each boy up for their own account, we ended up all just doing it together at once. In honesty, we kind of hopped around lessons – pulling bits and pieces out to try. Since I am already familiar with most of this, it was a great way to start discussions and explore together. It even excited the kids to grab early years music books from the shelf and ask me to teach them how to play easy songs!

For me, the part that has me personally interested in following the lessons for my own knowledge is the fact that these lessons teach improvisation. Years and years of piano lessons done with intention of Royal Conservatory of Music grade exams taught me extreme regiment and structure with music, and I have always struggled with the idea of just “going with it.” I cannot play by feel well. I feel extremely uncomfortable without sheet music in front of me. I’m excited to learn more about just being free to play by ear instead.

The only downside I can see about learning piano this way is that you don’t get to build an amazing relationship with a special teacher from spending so much time together one on one.

All in all, I am extremely impressed with the quality of the lessons, the easy-to-use website, and the way that music is made simple and fun to learn. I invite you to see what my other crewmates thought by clicking the image below.