Mommy22alyns Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am NOT musically inclined at all. The girls will get some music appreciation with MFW. Rebecca is likely to be stopping choir but Sylvia will continue. Is there anything I can do at home to teach the basics? We also can't afford any more lessons or instruments (no room either). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekfk Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The only music curriculum I'm aware of is k12.com. I don't know what it costs. http://www.classicsforkids.com/ is a really good free website for teaching about composers. This website is provided by a classical music station. They have a show for kids. You can listen to the episodes at http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/past.asp. They teach about the lives and works of famous composers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am NOT musically inclined at all. The girls will get some music appreciation with MFW. Rebecca is likely to be stopping choir but Sylvia will continue. Is there anything I can do at home to teach the basics? We also can't afford any more lessons or instruments (no room either). What exactly are you looking for? Do you want to teach them to sing, or just basic music theory? Are you wanting more of a music appreciation course? Do you want them to learn instruments? If you're looking to teach them to sing well, you're going to want to hire a professional. That's something that it's near impossible to teach without proper training, and you can actually harm their voices if you have them do things incorrectly. As for music appreciation, I'd recommend just turning on Pandora to the classical station and letting them listen. The way one learns to love good music is by hearing it over and over again. I don't know of any music theory courses, but I'm sure someone else will know of quite a few. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeofakind Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Don't know if this is what you are looking for but there's Calverts Discoveries in Music. May be a little spendy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I am NOT musically inclined at all. The girls will get some music appreciation with MFW. Rebecca is likely to be stopping choir but Sylvia will continue. Is there anything I can do at home to teach the basics? We also can't afford any more lessons or instruments (no room either). Hi Amber...are you looking for actual music instruction? Piano? The reason I ask is because we just started Children's Music Journey - http://adventus.com/store/childrens-music-journey/?vm=r, and my DC are really enjoying it. CMJ is a beginning piano instruction program that you can use online with a subscription, download, or buy the DVD. All you need is an inexpensive midi keyboard that you can plug into your computer. We bought a 66 key one, but a 49 key one would work fine. We jumped in at Level 2, because the gentleman I talked to on the phone said that Level 1 is for very young children, and the first few lessons of Level 2 review Level 1. They also have homeschool plans that you can purchase to go along with the levels. I have ordered one, but I do not have it yet. Your DC can go on to Level 3, then Piano Suite Premier and Ear Training programs, that can take you through to Grade 4 Royal Conservatory. My disclaimer is that I do have my Grade 6 Royal Conservatory, but that was eons ago. I did go out and buy the first couple of levels of Piano Adventures, fully intending on starting my children on lessons at home, but after I thought about the cost and the time it would take me to teach all five, I took them back and started searching for something that they could do on their own. The neat thing is that they will pull out my old beginner Leila Fletcher books and play songs on our regular piano. I am seeing results and the best thing is, they don't complain when they do their lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 What exactly are you looking for? Do you want to teach them to sing, or just basic music theory? Are you wanting more of a music appreciation course? Do you want them to learn instruments? If you're looking to teach them to sing well, you're going to want to hire a professional. That's something that it's near impossible to teach without proper training, and you can actually harm their voices if you have them do things incorrectly. As for music appreciation, I'd recommend just turning on Pandora to the classical station and letting them listen. The way one learns to love good music is by hearing it over and over again. I don't know of any music theory courses, but I'm sure someone else will know of quite a few. :001_smile: I don't know, I guess part of it is, what should music instruction look like for homeschoolers? Is music appreciation enough? Do they need to learn to read music? I'm a little :svengo: at K12's prices, but Calvert looks like it may be doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 Hi Amber...are you looking for actual music instruction? Piano? The reason I ask is because we just started Children's Music Journey - http://adventus.com/store/childrens-music-journey/?vm=r, and my DC are really enjoying it. CMJ is a beginning piano instruction program that you can use online with a subscription, download, or buy the DVD. All you need is an inexpensive midi keyboard that you can plug into your computer. We bought a 66 key one, but a 49 key one would work fine. We jumped in at Level 2, because the gentleman I talked to on the phone said that Level 1 is for very young children, and the first few lessons of Level 2 review Level 1. They also have homeschool plans that you can purchase to go along with the levels. I have ordered one, but I do not have it yet. Your DC can go on to Level 3, then Piano Suite Premier and Ear Training programs, that can take you through to Grade 4 Royal Conservatory. My disclaimer is that I do have my Grade 6 Royal Conservatory, but that was eons ago. I did go out and buy the first couple of levels of Piano Adventures, fully intending on starting my children on lessons at home, but after I thought about the cost and the time it would take me to teach all five, I took them back and started searching for something that they could do on their own. The neat thing is that they will pull out my old beginner Leila Fletcher books and play songs on our regular piano. I am seeing results and the best thing is, they don't complain when they do their lessons. This looks really, really promising. How old were your kids when you jumped in at Level 2? It looks like I could use the same level for both girls, is that true? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 The only music curriculum I'm aware of is k12.com. I don't know what it costs. http://www.classicsforkids.com/ is a really good free website for teaching about composers. This website is provided by a classical music station. They have a show for kids. You can listen to the episodes at http://www.classicsforkids.com/shows/past.asp. They teach about the lives and works of famous composers. This looks interesting. Have you use it yourself? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekfk Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I used k12.com as an online public school for kindergarten. I didn't care for the K music curriculum. It may get better in later grades. But my daughter takes piano, so the K12 stuff was way too basic. We use classicsforkids.com a lot. My 6 year old loves the shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happycc Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 This program is great. My daughter is learning so much from it. Not only is she able to play great music on the piano she is also learning chords, names of notes on the piano, rhythm, timing, etc. She has learned a lot in just a few weeks. I am completely and thoroughly impressed. It does cost some and you do need a keyboard of some sort though.There is a discount on Homeschool Buyers Coop. She goes up to pianos in public and start playing. I haven't gotten the rest to start but they will in time. Once I get her going I can focus on another one. Even dad can plop down and play a song now. Ok another favorite of our family is Beethover's Wig cd. Hilarious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roxy Roller Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 This looks really, really promising. How old were your kids when you jumped in at Level 2? It looks like I could use the same level for both girls, is that true? I started all of my kids at Level 2. Their ages are 6, twins that are 9, 10 1/2 and 12. My DD12 has taken a year of piano lessons, but that was a couple of years ago, so she is doing this as review. One component of the program that was a nice surprise for us, is that you have a new 'teacher' every few lessons. These 'teachers' are animated versions of Handel, Chopin, etc.. At the beginning of each lesson they play a portion of something they have composed and talk a little about the background of the piece. My children love having Mozart or Tchaikovsky as their 'teachers'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xilka Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Music Appreciation! Listen to and learn songs from different decades. Right now, my son and I are learning about music from the 60s and 70s, specifically Beatles, Doors and Rolling Stones. I just choose artists from our music library and google the lyrics, so that we can sing along. I reinforce by playing the music we are learning about during knitting time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niranut Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 We are using the K-level for Pfeiffer House Music this year with my 5yo & 4yo (and the 3yo most of the time, too), and are really enjoying it. They do have levels up to grade 6, and then a music theory course for grades 6+. If you do want to give them a try and you can wait, they do offer free shipping several times per year. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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