Make piano learning fun with Piano Wizard Academy - Great Christmas Present!

I've known about Piano Wizard Academy for years. After all, I helped Sonlight negotiate the agreement by which they acquired the rights to sell the product.

But I learned something tonight that I had never known before. Check out this video by Chris Salter, the developer of the Piano Wizard program:



Jed, a profoundly mentally handicapped young boy, took three weeks to learn Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star under the tutelage of this video-game-style learning program. . . . At the time (he was seven and a half years old), he could hardly speak; he couldn't do a four-piece toddler jigsaw puzzle. Now, two and a half years later, he is playing Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Bach's Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring, and Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik two-handed, and his mom figures he's ready to participate with other children in a regular classroom.

The story itself is delightful. But, from my perspective, it "merely" provides one more reason to take a games approach to education when it makes sense.

What's so special about the Academy that it helped Jed? And why might you want to give such a gift to your children or grandkids?

Find out more here.

And NOTE: Right now--till Thursday noon (MST), Sonlight is offering a a great deal on the Academy. You get the Academy, plus a free keyboard (Retail value of $149), free FedEx two-day shipping (to the Lower 48), plus several other bonuses.

Check it out.

Pachelbel's Canon in D

An insightful and passionate rant about one of the most famous pieces of classical music . . . by musical comedian Rob Paravonian.

Excuse the language. . . .

The joy of recognizing and encouraging your child to develop his or her gifts . . .

We've been astonished at our 2 1/2-year-old granddaughter's obvious artistic bent. Her sense of color (she has demanded to pick her own clothes--very creatively, yet with astonishing sense of color coordination--for over a year) and her musical ability (turn on some music and she is in a reverie almost immediately) have jumped out at us from very early. But she has some astounding facility with language as well.

So her parents and we, her grandparents, try to encourage the development of these traits as much as possible. Her mom intends to take her to her first ballet class tomorrow morning if the weather will permit. (It's been snowing rather heavily here!)

Anyway. With Natalia's unique giftedness in mind, I was astonished to see the following video of a budding musical conductor . . . at three years of age!



Think of how well he has to know the piece in order to anticipate the changes in tempo and dynamic range. As someone commented: he is not merely reacting to the music; he is anticipating the changes. He really knows this piece.

I first saw the video here at the American Choral Directors Society website. Allen Simon, who posted the video to the ChoralNet blog, noted, Jonathan, the conductor in the video, "could give us all lessons in enthusiasm." --There is a page full of admiring and thoughtful comments about his conducting style and understanding of the music. Lots of accolades to his parents, too!

One guy wrote:

I believe a major symphony orchestra could easily follow his direction (except for the finish [Where he falls off his "podium" and lies on the floor giggling from the pure joy of conducting such a fine piece of music--JAH]) and audiences would love his style.

I also think that this video would serve an excellent training tool for conducting students--it teaches music expression using the whole body (including conducting with your feet), unbridled enthusiasm, and how to deal with emergencies without dropping a beat (or a baton).

In the comments section to another video, one of his parents comments,

Since before Jonathan was walking he was trying to conduct and at 19 months he had picked his instrument. He fell in love with the violin. His passion is for classical music. We found him a wonderful violin instructor whom he adores. He has been playing now for a year.

You can find that video (also of him conducting) here.

And then there's the very recent (he's now 4 years old) Jonathan performs "Humoresque" by Antonín Dvořák.

Fundamental music education . . .

Oh. My. Goodness.

I was involved with the early stages of a music education project at Sonlight Curriculum several months ago. I was intrigued . . . and inspired . . . and excited about the prospects of the program we settled on, but the developers really hadn't "put it all together" in a way that I felt comfortable promoting . . . yet.

I invested a number of hours in the project, offering input and feedback and critiques of what the manufacturer had done and was proposing to do. But I finally gave up. It was taking too much time. I still loved the concept, but considering the minuscule profit potential for Sonlight and all the other things I have on my plate, I bowed out.

Just this morning, having returned from a "Family Fun Week," I noticed that the rest of the Sonlight team and the manufacturer did not give up and, in fact, took much of my input and put together a tightly integrated, truly complete music education package . . . for preschoolers to adults. Truly.

Amazing.

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't tried it myself . . . and seen and heard the responses and remarks of other people--from preschoolers to adults.

What a brilliant integration of computer gaming technology and education! Absolutely riveting.

******

If you've ever wanted to learn how to read music and/or play the piano, I encourage you to check out the truly astonishing special offer Sonlight and the Music Wizard Company have put together.

Music education: Waxing nostalgic a bit . . .

A couple of employees at Sonlight have started a blog about music education. Their first post inspired me to write about my musical training/background.

I'm curious to see where Tim and Anne Marie go with their blog. (I have some knowledge of what they have in mind. But they are also doing "their own thing," here, so there's also a huge gap in my knowledge and I really am curious to find out where they take this.) Even more--and this is why I'm writing this post--I am curious to find out what others think about music education and what they remember as they think about their own experiences with music education.

Indeed, I got thinking about writing this post because I want to ask my best friend from elementary school (whom I mention below) what he might have to say about these things.

Got any inputs you might want to share?

Here's what I wrote:

Let me start with my dad: He was a fairly accomplished pianist and violinist and--by everything I ever saw--really LOVED classical music. I mean, it MOVED him.

He wanted his 6 children--of whom I am #2--to love it the same way he did. As a result, he pushed me--at least, I think he pushed me! (I don't know anything about my other brothers and sisters)--to take piano when I was in first grade.

I hated it.

I hated having to walk the three miles to the lessons. I hated the practice. I thought it was "stupid." And it was certainly boring.

I don't remember the psychology of it all. Maybe I had asked for the lessons. Maybe. But, whatever, he kept on threatening me: "If you don't practice, I won't pay for your lessons."

I think I finally escaped the pain within about six months. Something like that.

But then, when I was in 4th grade, we (everyone in my class at school) learned a bit about the flutophone (cheap recorder). In 5th grade, we were encouraged to take up a real instrument.

I chose clarinet. I loved it. I got pretty good at it. My dad sent me to private lessons in addition to the public school lessons. I got up to Mozart's Concerto in A. Loved the music. Loved the sound of the instrument.

But my public school music teacher ("our" teacher) was an absolute witch. She verbally abused so many of the kids so badly, I "couldn't take it" anymore. (Honestly, as I recall: I don't think she abused me very much, if at all; I "simply" remember she would yell at kids and abuse them . . . and there was enough other noise going on in my life at the time at home that) I quit. I "just" left my instrument in the music hall at school one day with no intention of returning.

And I didn't.

My best friend went on with his clarinet playing and became quite good at it. In fact, last I knew, he does music for a living now (though not as a clarinetist).

Anyway.

I sang in church and in the church choir. Loved that outlet. Especially the tenor line.

Throughout high school, I used to listen to groups like the Moody Blues and sing along and especially enjoyed the high background wailing vocals.

Sometime about, maybe, 10 years ago, as the church moved more and more into "praise" music and completely abandoned four-part harmonized singing, I got the idea in my head that I would start harmonizing like the Moody Blues. So, at this point, whenever I can hear myself (i.e., the "worship band" doesn't play too loudly!) I try to improvise and add interesting ornamentations to whatever the rest of the congregation is singing.

*******

I think, honestly, if I had the opportunity to learn anything I wanted, I would love to learn how to play percussion (the only time I can recall ever laughing out loud for joy over someone's playing, it was because what a drummer was doing in the middle of a song; it moved me).

And the one other thing I would love to do is learn how to compose music. But/and, I'm afraid, I would have to learn a lot of music theory and, somehow, figure out (or be taught) the way music "fits together."

[I remember reading a good portion of Gödel, Escher, Bach by Douglas Hofstadter and being amazed at the patterns he described. I also recall watching/listening to and attempting to follow some of the early lessons in Piano for Life and being amazed at how regular the patterns are. --But I certainly don't understand these things! I can "feel" the harmonies when I sing; I have no idea where I am on the musical scale.]

Anyway.

FWIW.

John

--In case you're reading this on Facebook: This post originally appeared on my personal blog.