Samiam Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 My boys have been taking piano lessons for about six months. While I want to continue, I don't want to continue the monthly expense, or the time from our day for the lessons. I will if I HAVE too...but I'd prefer not. Are there any reliable online or dvd based lessons that actually teach piano well? I have some musical background, played clarinet for 7 years through school. It's been years, but I have the jist of the music stuff, and have been following along with my son's lessons, so I'm up to speed on what they know now. And the books we use offer instruction as well (Faber). So between all of this, I think I could keep them moving along for beginners, and perhaps go back into lessons with a teacher in a year or so...when our budget isnt' quite as tight....if I had some help with at home lessons. Any recommendations for online/dvd based piano lessons that are decent...not too adult-oriented, but not too babyish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMWB Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I would love to hear more about this topic as well! Especially about DVD based lessons, we do not have the internet capabilities to watch videos or do skype on any regular basis. A friend found http://www.learnandmaster.com/piano which looks interesting, but I don't know anyone who has used it in real life with kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 My boys have been taking piano lessons for about six months. While I want to continue, I don't want to continue the monthly expense, or the time from our day for the lessons. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by not wanting the the time for lessons? Do you mean the daily practice or is getting to the weekly lesson a long distance? Whether one learns an instrument through in-person or video instruction, the bulk of the time during the week will be with the practicing. If you can't commit the time to that, then learning an instrument won't be possible. If your current teacher has the flexibility, having a lesson every two weeks would be my prefence to having no teacher. The piano is very different than the clarinet, in that once the keyboard notes are identified, things get much more challenging and complicated when playing hands together and starting in different hand positions, and following the correct fingering. Having a real-live teacher will be so much more effective in learning, and also a lot more motivating. Knowing you have to play your songs for another person each week is very motivating to keep working. Plus you will be motivated to help and encourage your sons, as you want each lesson to be time and money well-spent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I hope this is not a JAWM post because I can't find it within myself to recommend learning an instrument, with intent of playing it well and properly, without an in-person teacher. If the goal is just to play very, very casually, then something online or on DVD might suffice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarahW Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 There's Hoffman Academy (link in my sig). I have my kid do it for music sense and basic theory instruction. Hoffman has pdfs to purchase that go along with the lessons. I haven't done that, but it may be something to look into. If you have a music background I think it is possible to save a chunk of change teaching the basics yourself. Eventually, yes, you'll need a real-live person to progress further. But at first...just make sure there's no bad habits developing, and you should be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samiam Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 I'm not exactly sure what you mean by not wanting the the time for lessons? Do you mean the daily practice or is getting to the weekly lesson a long distance? Whether one learns an instrument through in-person or video instruction, the bulk of the time during the week will be with the practicing. If you can't commit the time to that, then learning an instrument won't be possible. If your current teacher has the flexibility, having a lesson every two weeks would be my prefence to having no teacher. The piano is very different than the clarinet, in that once the keyboard notes are identified, things get much more challenging and complicated when playing hands together and starting in different hand positions, and following the correct fingering. Having a real-live teacher will be so much more effective in learning, and also a lot more motivating. Knowing you have to play your songs for another person each week is very motivating to keep working. Plus you will be motivated to help and encourage your sons, as you want each lesson to be time and money well-spent. I meant the time out of our week for the lessons themselves. 2 boys, at 30 minutes each, plus the drive time there and home. It's 2 hours of our day. Of course daily practice is a must, I get that, and we do that. I had the "every other week" lesson in the back of my mind as well...something I might discuss with our teacher too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My kids enjoyed Simply Music DVDs. It is a different approach, though - not teaching reading of music, but just the playing. The kids had fun learning the songs and I think they developed an ear for what chords sounded good, timing, etc. But, it was more of a beginning, get the kids interested kind of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 My ds started with a series called Progressive piano which includes DVDs and CDs to play along with. It was under a teachers supervision though and honestly he wouldn't have made much progress otherwise I don't think. The weekly commitment keeps us on track with practice and although I learned flute for quite a long time at school, piano uses a different set of skills. You're ok with theory etc but the application is different. That said if you absolutely can't afford the teacher then a DVD course or online learning would still be better than nothing and provide a level of exposure and good sight reading skills etc. another option that a lot of people take is fortnightly lessons as it reduces the cost and time commitment and a lot of pupils need two weeks to master a piece anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Simply Music can be used on-line and actually carries you pretty far into piano playing if you keep going and don't just do the intro classes. You can get life-time access for comparatively little through the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op. As mentioned up thread, it is a different approach and may take some getting used to but DD has really enjoyed her lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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