Just spent two hours on a CM help website

[JadeOrchidSong]

http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/

I am so intrigued by the author of the website. She seems to do a great job. I feel very encouraged after reading Learn to Play Piano on a shoestring. She is amazing. My dh is teaching our boys to play piano. I would really want to try the piano books she has used. Has anyone tried this to teach your own kids to play piano?

Progressive Keyboard Method for Young Beginners

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0947183418?ie=UTF8&tag=higherupandfu-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0947183418

Also I saw KISS grammar on the site and checked it out. It looks very advanced. Has anyone used this grammar?

[Melissa H. in GA]

Hi,

 

I used these books to teach our son who was 9 at the time. He did pretty well w/them. Then, we switched to a piano teacher who said that the Progressive books were "pretty ok" but that they were missing the theory needed. She now has him doing these plus Alfred. He's almost done his current set of books and I'm not sure what she will have him move into.

 

Not much help, but at least a bump for you.

 

Melissa

[....]

Hi! I've been working with our oldest 3 on piano for about a year now. We use the Schaum books and some beginner sheet music we find on various online sites. My 9 yro writes music sometimes and she's able to play some beginner intermediate stuff -like an easy version of Marriage of Figaro...or some Bach. We have a piano in our living room and the 9 yro and 6 yro have learned to play by ear (which is not the direction I had planned for them :glare:). Anyway, that is a whole 'nother long, controversial topic. I am really proud of them, tho. :D

 

So, teaching them at home has been awesome for several reasons. Noone gets burned out. We've had a couple of friends burn out from piano lessons and the kids no longer have any interest in playing (which is sad). Also, I don't have to pay for lessons. We can work at our own pace.

 

Surprisingly, the 8 yro (the boy) is not the greatest student in the world, but his piano playing is s m o o t h . The 9 yro reads music very well and is able to memorize, but she can be rough on the keys and with her timing.

 

Anyway, I just wrote a big, long book about my kids playing the piano. :tongue_smilie: OK, so I think most programs are probably fine. Schaum, Alfred is really good...there are some programs that come with DVDs. I come from a family of musicians and they really learned the old-fashioned way. I think my dad used Schaum when he was a kid (he's an incredible piano player) and lots of time just playing along with music. Kids need to listen to music, too. We try to listen to some classical music in the car. Also, took my 9 yro to the symphony a couple of times. I think those kinds of things really help.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Hi,

 

I used these books to teach our son who was 9 at the time. He did pretty well w/them. Then, we switched to a piano teacher who said that the Progressive books were "pretty ok" but that they were missing the theory needed. She now has him doing these plus Alfred. He's almost done his current set of books and I'm not sure what she will have him move into.

 

Not much help, but at least a bump for you.

 

Melissa

If you read how this woman teaches her kids piano, you would see that they started with two years of recorder, then the progressive books 1, 2, 3 and then transit to Alfred's. So it is basically the same books that your piano teacher uses. I will forward the link to my dh and see what he thinks. Right now he teaches with Bastien's piano books.

[JadeOrchidSong]

Hi! I've been working with our oldest 3 on piano for about a year now. We use the Schaum books and some beginner sheet music we find on various online sites. My 9 yro writes music sometimes and she's able to play some beginner intermediate stuff -like an easy version of Marriage of Figaro...or some Bach. We have a piano in our living room and the 9 yro and 6 yro have learned to play by ear (which is not the direction I had planned for them :glare:). Anyway, that is a whole 'nother long, controversial topic. I am really proud of them, tho. :D

 

So, teaching them at home has been awesome for several reasons. Noone gets burned out. We've had a couple of friends burn out from piano lessons and the kids no longer have any interest in playing (which is sad). Also, I don't have to pay for lessons. We can work at our own pace.

 

Surprisingly, the 8 yro (the boy) is not the greatest student in the world, but his piano playing is s m o o t h . The 9 yro reads music very well and is able to memorize, but she can be rough on the keys and with her timing.

 

Anyway, I just wrote a big, long book about my kids playing the piano. :tongue_smilie: OK, so I think most programs are probably fine. Schaum, Alfred is really good...there are some programs that come with DVDs. I come from a family of musicians and they really learned the old-fashioned way. I think my dad used Schaum when he was a kid (he's an incredible piano player) and lots of time just playing along with music. Kids need to listen to music, too. We try to listen to some classical music in the car. Also, took my 9 yro to the symphony a couple of times. I think those kinds of things really help.

I like the bold part about learning at home. We like to have our own schedule. We can go camping or go on vacation without worrying about missing the prepaid expensive piano lessons. It is FREE. Also, it builds bonding between dad and dc.

[sagira]

My ds and dd are learning with Alfred's. I like that it has theory built in. My ds has a tendency to do it by ear (like me). Even though I played piano for nine years, I cannot seem to teach my child. I have a hard time dealing with mistakes (my ear hurts, it's like nails on a blackboard for some), and I get upset really easily, my patience is paper thin with piano for some reason. We still don't pay for classes, because the teacher knows my family really well and we've helped her a lot in the past. I also helped her get new business for her music teaching company. The children enjoy it. I need to make sure they practice, though.