My boys have expressed a real interest in music, and learning how to play the piano, for quite some time now. In fact, a few months ago, the Botanist Boy purchased his own violin using money he'd earned and received for his birthday and Christmas. But coming up with money for lessons hasn't worked out yet.
I was very pleased with the opportunity to review MusIQ HomeSchool from Adventus. Little Bit has been pretty excited about it, too...Botanist Boy? Not so much.
MusIQ HomeSchool is an award-winning, multi-level music and piano curriculum, featuring lessons created by music educators, and designed for home.
It is a seven-year curriculum, which includes over 20 levels for your beginner to advanced intermediate piano students (ages 4-18). There are Lesson Plans including detailed lesson objectives, activity sheets, quizzes and assessments plus hundreds of helpful tips from experienced educators.
The Early Curriculum, which includes Children’s Music Journey Volumes 1, 2, & 3, is designed for children ages 4-10, so I had Little Bit working here. (This video give you an overview of the early curriculum)
The lessons are "taught" by various composers. Miss Melody leads the practice sessions. There are learn-to-play pieces, and the improvisation room gives the students opportunity to create and record their own music. Oh! And there are games!
Little Bit was eager to get through the lesson, and practice session, so he could compose his own music, and then play games.
Botanist Boy has been working through Piano Suite. Since Little Bit is currently 10, I did have him working some from both Children's Music Journey and Piano Suite. (Below is a brief video overview)
Sad to say, but Botanist Boy was not nearly as eager to work through Piano Suite. (Is it just because of his 13-year-old attitude, or what?!) But I find myself well pleased with the theory and history portions especially.
I like that they are learning to read notes, and even playing portions of simple songs right from the beginning, practically. I also like the history portion, biographies of the composers, and even a timeline.
We had a bit of a problem setting things up in the beginning, trying to get my keyboard and the computer to communicate with each other. Hubby came to the rescue: tested the cable I was using, and found it was no good. Since he is an electronics engineer, he has all kinds of cables, electronics bits and pieces lying around. So he found a cable I could use to get us up and running!
You will need a computer with Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000, and a MIDI piano keyboard (a digital keyboard which connects to your computer with a USB cable).
Because it took us a bit to figure out the USB cable wasn't any good, and the fact we were out of town for Spring Break, we haven't had as much time to explore and use the program. I am very thankful, though, that we will have many more months to use it. I think I will need to be adding it to our budget, though, so we can continue using it over the next several years.
If you are looking for some way to provide music appreciation, theory, and piano lessons for your students, you will want to check Adventus out for yourself.
Cost: Monthly subscription is $10.95. This really is a great option for families with several children, in multiple levels, and provides the option of low monthly payments.
Contact Information: Website Email Address:
Adventus Incorporated
3008 Oxford St. Suite 101
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, B3L 2W5 Phone: 888-999-6434 (toll free) FAX: 902-453-4168 Facebook Twitter
Looks like an interesting option to learn to play the piano and definately cheaper than piano lessons. I don't think I would like the keyboard, since I prefer a piano or full keyboard and think it gives a better feel when learning to play the piano.
I didn't know your husband was also an engineer. What lucky ladies we are, huh? It certainly saves me a lot of headaches.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an interesting option to learn to play the piano and definately cheaper than piano lessons. I don't think I would like the keyboard, since I prefer a piano or full keyboard and think it gives a better feel when learning to play the piano.
ReplyDelete