Just a quick heads up! I see that Kinderbach is having a drawing TODAY. If you are looking for piano lessons for your children, Go Enter!
The email: The LAST Summer Sizzle draw will be made TODAY – August 5, 2010 at 5 pm. Make sure you are entered to win!
The prize an online membership worth $95.88!! Enter today. It’s a sizzling summer give away.
My review of the Kinderbach program from last year for the TOS Crew. We enjoyed it!
Summary & Rating: 4.5 What an ingenious way to teach piano! We have been using this online music curriculum since early December to teach my 4 year old about music, and the piano. As I was totally clueless about playing piano, I expected this review to be difficult for me–instead, it turned out to be a really fun thing we could do together.
We began our study using a little keyboard I got for under $20. It was a perfect size for a young child.
Using Kinderbach really opened my eyes to what a difference the internet can make in our lives. Here I was, sitting in my family room watching my daughter learn piano!
I really wanted to use all the printable pdf lessons, so in order to make this work for us, we needed to do a few things.
First, I purchased a little keyboard so we could practice along (a keyboard or piano is necessary ).
Then, I went through some of the information online. We were able to look at two weeks’ worth of lessons totally free. You can too—click to see their two week trial. Each Kinderbach lesson basically includes a video session, with worksheets to color and cut and some type of music practice—whether that is tapping to a beat or playing on the piano. To really enjoy each lesson, I found it helped for me to preview the lessons and print out any sheets we would use in that lesson, so it was streamlined.
As we use a laptop, In the early stages of our lessons, I set up our “piano time” at our large kitchen table, with the keyboard facing Em and the laptop directly behind the keyboard (See photo A).
See a video about how Kinderbach works on their site.
We graduated from the little keyboard to the big piano at Christmas, when Grams & Gramps gave us a Piano for Christmas!!
Once we were all set up, I was able to sit and play along. The lessons are broken down so that each day you can do a little bit of playing and a little coloring and singing along.
The lessons are designed by Kari Gregor who uses a cast of characters to deliver many of her lessons–small children will love Dodie and Frisco—my child certainly did. You can also move at your own pace. We actually went pretty quickly, sometimes doing a weeks’ worth of lessons in a day. (I do not know if that is recommended, but it worked for us some days when Em was really into it)
We learned about reading notes, about rhythm and levels of sounds…and this was just in the beginning trial.
At Christmas, we got a big surprise from my Mother and Father in law and received a really nice full size keyboard! (See photo B) At that point, I moved Em over to that and she did pretty well adjusting to her new location. This did make it more difficult to incorporate the worksheets (not having the desk right there) but, I began doing the worksheets nearby and then getting on the keyboard. Em was progressing nicely as far as learning notes and some simple piano playing! (Pretty good for a four year old!)
Kinderbach is available for home lessons or school lessons. They recommend beginning your child at ages 3-7.
For a total of 60 weeks of lessons, the cost is $95.88 for the year–making it VERY reasonable. If you purchase monthly, the cost is 19.99 per month. You can also buy the DVD/CD packages (starting at $40.45).
At first this seemed pretty expensive–but compared to purchasing lessons it is not. I also love the $95 price–and I would plan to set this up at the beginning of the year if I was planning ahead. I wish the monthly one was a bit less–I could do like $12.99 a month-but 19.99 is out of my budget.
I am really sorry our trial with Kinderbach is over! We really enjoyed it and it is a wonderful alternative to trekking to regular lessons. I truly am amazed at the amount of information covered and the colorful and interesting video presentations. Go try Kinderbach. I really think you will enjoy it!
To see what my TOS crewmates have to say, click here!
A trial subscription to Kinderbach was provided to me for the purpose of my review. I have expressed my unbiased opinion on this product.
This post is a guest post by Andrew. As he actually plays guitar, I have asked him to give his opinion.
Summary & Rating: 4 Kudos to Jean Welles who wastes no time in teaching you to worship with the guitar. In Volume One, after a quick introduction of the properties of a guitar and its ability as an instrument, she strums her way through seven lessons and seven songs. She teaches chords, strumming patterns, lyrics and offers advice on finger positioning, correct posture, personal faith and discipline. For example,“for those times when the going gets hard, when your fingers hurt or you’re lacking focus, tell God about it! Pray”, she says.
We had the opportunity to review Jean Welle’s first installation from her series on Worship Guitar. Jean is an accomplished musician with a master’s degree in guitar performance from USC, training from numerous professionals and assorted classes under her belt. Personally I have been playing guitar for a few years and what I found most compelling was Jeans position on singing and playing, for the first time I found a lesson which expected me to sing lyrics and play as soon as I started. I have never been able to sing and play, when my mouth opens my strumming coordination dissolves. With her video lessons and strumming patterns I was belting out (privately in my home) lyrics to popular songs like: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands and Take My Life in no time. Very encouraging, having a teacher who expects big things and leads you forward in a precise manner on how to attain them.
I find this series to be an excellent way to learn the guitar at a steady and evolving pace free from criticism and lack of ability. After mastering these lessons, I would wager that the student would have significantly less fear in starting or joining a worship team or moving forward with private training from an instructor. An excerpt from the book: “This is…a series of lessons geared towards developing those who want to ‘play skillfully’ (Psalm 33:3) and praise God in music.”-Mission accomplished.
Visit Jean’s website here to see more information, get some free lessons, download music or to order. We received the DVD Volume 1 plus Book 1 for $29.95, but many other options and courses are available.
To see what my TOS crewmates have to say, click here!
The Worship Guitar DVD Vol. 1 and Book 1 were provided to me for the purpose of my review. I received no compensation and I have expressed my unbiased opinion on this product.
Summary & Review 4.5 A treat to review! I grew up in a very musical family. My parents both played at least one instrument and they encouraged each of us to try our hand at different instruments. Along the way, they introduced me to opera, musicals, classical composers, and bluegrass—to name a few. In that same vein, Maestro Classics uses the power of original orchestral composition combined with the entertaining tale of Aesop’s the Tortoise and the Hare to introduce young children to various aspects of the orchestra.
The packaging immediately caught my four-year old’s attention. Inside the CD case was a booklet that contained information on the Tortoise and the Hare, as well as, games, puzzles, songs, and more. Among other things, it had a wonderful diagram that outlined where the various instruments are located in an orchestra. It should be noted that the disc recommends this product for children 5+ and their families; however, if you have a very musical child that is younger (like we do) you will still get a benefit by listening to the disc. It just might take one or two sittings before they engage.
From the first track to the last, the quality of the music and narration is very apparent. Along the way the Simon’s try to interact with the listener to help them increase in their knowledge of both music and orchestral instruments. The disc contains one track that encourages the listener to sing along. You will learn something and be entertained as you listen to Maestro Classic’s the Tortoise and the Hare.
Go here to listen to samples. They are beautiful!
Take a look at their website. They offer other titles including Peter and the Wolf, Casey at the Bat, Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, and Swan Lake. They even have lesson plans to go along with the music!
The CD set I received is priced at $16.98 (CD with teaching booklet). They do, however, have other packages available with a discount when purchasing more than one.
Go here for more information or to purchase.
Music lovers will enjoy Bonnie Ward Simon’s Blog, here.
To see what my TOS crewmates have to say, click here!
The CD was provided to me for the purpose of my review. I received no compensation and I have expressed my unbiased opinion on this product.
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