At-Home Piano lessons with Practicality, Promise and Portability {A Review}

 

As a desire to learn how to play piano has been ignited in our whole gang here, we were super-excited with the opportunity to receive a lifetime subscription to the Complete Set of Books from HomeSchoolPiano in exchange for an honest review.


What is Homeschool Piano?

HomeSchoolPiano is just what our family can use and perhaps what yours can, too!  

Seriously.  

It is an online program that offers up to five family members an opportunity to learn piano at home at their own pace through video-based lessons that typically run under ten minutes each.

These lessons can help kids and adults alike to learn piano from a beginner level or beyond at any time of the day or night as long as you have a 49 key keyboard or piano and a computer, tablet or similar with reliable internet connection.  (For those who are unable to watch the videos online, there is a link that allows you to download mp3 files for audio and mp4 for video, but I cannot attest to how that goes...)

Happily, HomeSchoolPiano is affordable as well.

There are two payment options for the same fabulous unlimited life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano along with all bonuses (downloads, jam tracks, sheet music) for up to 5 students:

1.  The Success Package (a single payment of $299)

2. The Payment Plan (3 monthly payments of $99.97 per month):

What does the Complete Set of Books include?



When you sign up for HomeSchoolPiano Complete Set of Books, you receive online access to:

• CorePiano (for absolute beginners):  This section contains over 30 lessons where you will learn things like how to sit at the piano, how to play the notes (through the grabbing technique) and basic music theory.  It is a great place to start if you have no familiarity with the piano, or, if like us, you want to solidify what you already know.

• Book 1 (for beginners):   This books teaches you how to read music and create your own music.  (That's right, it encourages skill and personal creativity.)

• Book 2 (for the beginner to intermediate students):  This book continues, of course, from Book 1, offering more about rhythm, technique and music reading.

• Book 3 (for intermediate level students):   This book, likewise, expands on earlier skills and offers lessons on how to create piano arrangements and to become a well-rounded piano player.  (I cannot say much about it yet as none of us are at that level yet!  However, we know we'll get there through the convenience of lifetime access in 10-minute or under segments!)

Each book contains six units, with each of these units containing seven 5-10 minute or so lessons.

 

These lessons are built around a 6-step cycle that touches on all of the nine National Standards for Music Education and provides a well-rounded musical curriculum.

• Technique
• Rhythm
• Ear Training
• Reading Music
• Song
• Improvisation. 

More importantly to me, (since I am not huge on standards-based curriculum) is that the approach makes it easy for students to understand and apply what they are learning, and, thereby, facilitates growth in piano playing fun and expertise.


In short,  HomeSchoolPiano - Complete Set of Books means piano for kids, piano for Mom and piano for Dad in increments of time and skill that can fit easily into the seasons of life!


Our Take

When we first received access to HomeSchoolPiano, I created logins for each person in my family and, then, we all sat down under one login to begin the first Core lessons together before bedtime, taking turns at the piano.

We all decided we liked the program and will use it to further our personal music and piano abilities, but only one of us decided to do that right now:  Nina.  

(Daddy has been working overtime and wants to use the time he is at home for sleep or excursions.  Mommy is trying to spend less time online when the kids are awake and the kids keep outlasting her at night so her plan to learn piano at night has been foiled.  Luke, unfortunately, lost most of his computer privileges for the summer and has been using what time he is allotted for another purpose.  Jack has been on a Lego kick when we are home and, to be honest, being summer, we are not home much)

I am okay with the fact that only Nina is utilizing the program at present though. In fact, I am actually thrilled.  It offers her something she loves that is "just hers" for now and sets her up for "teaching" us (along us learning ourselves from the videos, of course,) in the fall. 

And, oh does Nina love the piano and her ability to be independent with it! 


Even independent outside as the photos sprinkled throughout this post attest.

For Nina also loves to be out of doors and HomeSchoolPiano offers a win-win solution.  

On the day pictured, I helped Nina take the keyboard, laptop and a stool outside, where she happily and intently experienced lessons.

As she did so, I was reminded of a number of things about HomeSchoolPiano that make me smile so far.  Among them are:

•  Portability:  Even though we have no tablet, we do have a laptop, an extension cord and a keyboard set up that is not tough to move about.  That means we can take lessons outside or even on a trip to see grandparents in the coming year. 

• Independence!  Once logged in, my children can handle lessons on their own.

• Continuity (and Review): It is easy to pick up where you left off with lessons, but also easy to go back and review if there has been a lag between lesson times or if you simply want to go over something again.  Further, the lessons are well-laid out in digestible increments so there seems little chance any of us will miss any foundational skills before building further ones.

 

•  Convenience:  Although I think developing in-person connections with locals is vital, our family simply cannot budget time nor money right now for piano lessons times five (or even times two or three for that matter.)  Further, because we are currently in a season of homeschooling that is more out-and-about schooling than actually being-at-home schooling, I appreciate the convenience of any of being able to learn piano in ten minutes or under day or night.

•  Unity:  Since we are all using the same program at our own paces, we can all help and encourage one another - and sometimes even share time on the same lessons (whether as a review or a peak ahead.)

• Training and Inspiration:  I appreciate the balance of typical music training and creative inspiration.  With encouragement to vocalize, improvise and master piano skills.

• Accountability:  Although grades are not a focus in our home, personal accountability of some sort is important in life.  I like that there are online quizzes to help us all be honest with ourselves about how we are doing

• Relaxed Learning: In an ideal world, there would be daily time, or at least regular time, each week to learn piano (and to pursue the gazillion other interests and commitments we have).  In reality, our family tends ti dive into things in spurts.  The fact, then, that we have lifetime access to HomeSchoolPiano allows us to learn completely without pressure as opportunity and interest allow.

For our family, HomeSchoolPiano - Complete Set of Books offers practicality and promise for our piano-learning desires.  Nina is progressing and becoming the "expert" among us.  The rest of us began to progress, but also had the freedom to put that progress on hold until fall.

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See how other members of the School House Review Crew have been enjoying HomeSchoolPiano.

How would unlimited lifetime access to piano lessons bring delight to your home?  Have you found other ways to include music in your learning and fun?