We have been told that there is so much information on the page that "no one" will read it.  We have found that "some" do read it and they are those who can become interested in what we're doing.

A few years ago we started asking some questions about piano lessons and how they were taught.  Some of the questions were:

(1) How Much Music Can You Learn Before You Lose Your Front Teeth? 

(2) Are "private" lesson formats really the most efficient and effective way to teach?

(3) Since it's obvious that improvisers and chord players know more and have more fun, why aren't students taught more than music reading, a little music history and some less than useful music theory?

(4) What is the role of technology and "stations"? Does it replace the teacher or enhance the teacher? 

(5) Can we improve the quality of pieces that a beginning student is required to play or is "Three Froggies in a Puddle" going to be as good as it gets? 

In other words, can you innovate something as established as the "method" books and 30 minute private lessons? 

Since 1988 we have been teaching over 300 piano students each month.   We publish materials for students who are 4, 5 and 6 years old called The MiniMaster™ Early Childhood Music Program and materials for 7 year olds through adult called The MusicMaster™ Series for Piano.  We always use our studios as a "lab" to test and guarantee that our materials work as we planned.

Our teaching and publishing philosophy:  

Be sure any piano student who spends time, money and effort learns to do more than just read music.  

Our publications include all elements of music reading PLUS the ability to improvise, create music, use chords in arrangements and do what many call "play by ear". (We call it playing by brain because improvising and "ear playing" involves planning and thinking as well as a strong theoretical base.) We have also developed some techniques so students are able to play a memorized repertoire of well known pieces that are two or three years earlier than expected. 

A Different Curriculum and Different Lesson Format

We have experimented with many different lesson formats and are persuaded that our current approach is the most efficient and effective.  We pair students and we team teach all students.  Because our curriculum easily divides into three tracks: music reading, improvising and creating music and developing the big sounding, memorized repertoire, students change rooms, change teachers and change subjects during a 60 minute, weekly lesson.

Not only do we love the format, so do students and parents.  The energy level is very high, time goes by quickly, and teachers are able to do more active teaching instead of just listening and monitoring.  It's just so much more exciting than one student at a piano and one teacher sitting on a chair.  Our teachers are continually using a white board, using flash cards, doing rhythm drills, teaching chords, having little contests and competitions and listening to students play for each other.  A student can easily be included in an evaluation of another student's playing.  And because there is a combined total of six students in our teaching rooms, we can have mini performances.  The younger, less experienced students are shown what more experienced students know and can do.

      The MiniMaster™ Early Childhood Music Program

 Answers the Question:

How Much Music Can You Learn Before You Lose Your Front Teeth?

Our Early Childhood Music Program is designed to teach 4, 5 and 6 year olds SUBSTANTIAL musical skills and concepts. And they are able to play. Unlike many programs for young children, we wanted to make them participants (vs. spectators or listeners) because we're convinced that the extra-musical benefits (the increased cognitive skills, etc.) of music are not realized by some simple listening or singing and schmoozing. 

For example, we invite you to become better acquainted with ideas such as the "Mozart Effect" and whether the idea is valid or been over sold.

 You can see a list of skills and concepts on our studio informational site www.musicmaster1.com.

  If you would like to investigate products or pedagogy, send an email to info@musicmasterinsider.com

 So, what is the MusicMaster Development Group hoping to do?

Any of the following - 

(1) Empower parents who may not know that there is an alternative to most piano lessons.

(2) Provide a parent (or nanny) the chance and training to teach their own child with our scripted materials. The reasons? Save money. Supplement or improve an existing curriculum. Earn money teaching other children. Provide a child with the significant cognitive advantages attached to learning to play music.

(3) Enable a prospective teacher to begin teaching because they have a high quality curriculum and on-going support and help. The reasons? You can earn a high hourly income and still work from your home and provide a valuable service.

(4) Help a current teacher to improve and enhance their current curriculum. The reasons? (1)Traditional piano lessons have produced an amazing number of drop-outs. (2)There are so many fun computer programs, keyboards, MIDI devises, sound cards, virtual instruments, etc. that are really only useful to a student who is learning to do more than read music.

(5) Enable homeschool families to add an impressive musical curriculum to their existing curriculum. And to teach music to any child from 4 years and older. The opportunity for a home school parent to co-op with music is gigantic.

(6) Provide our MusicMaster™ Insiders with an opportunity to purchase needed musical products and gifts at reduced prices.

(7) Provide our MusicMaster™ Insiders with an opportunitiy to resell many of our products and earn a decent percentage in commissions.

(8) Provide our MusicMaster™ Insiders with the opportunity to earn bonuses on sales from the entire crew of MusicMaster™ Insiders.

  Prospective Teachers

As a teacher, imagine talking to the parents of a prospective student and describing a curriculum and a lesson format that is more complete and effective.

In our studios, we easily enroll more than 90% of students who inquire.

Remember, we use all of our materials in our own studios and know for sure they work.

How should a parent or teacher evaluate a piano lesson?  Here's an interesting idea:

 If you have a good piano teacher who teaches in a high quality environment but uses a fairly traditional curriculum, the outcome for a successful student will still be determined by the CURRICULUM.

The curriculum will always determine what the student knows and can do at the end of the process.

  That doesn't even consider the many drop-outs who were turned off by a slow moving, limited curriculum.

   If you want to look more closely at how our materials are used in a real life teaching environment, visit www.musicmaster1.com

That's a small information web site that our students and prospective student can look at for more information about their lesson experience.

 Our program encourages prospective teachers to begin teaching because of the exceptional curriculum and the level of support that we offer for all of our products.

AND

  It encourages anyone to look into opening a studio operation that can compete with anyone in their town or neighborhood.

  For more help and information about teaching this very useful part of a piano lesson, subscribe to our newsletter called Lines & Spaces™ or - E-Mail Any Questions to  clinician@musicmasterinsider.com

Home Home School Parents go Here

Frequently Asked Questions

Will our suggestions work for everyone?  

They could but we've done enough presentations to teacher's organizations to learn that there are some that are entirely satisfied with their limited curriculum and traditional pedagogy. 

And many teachers who can't improvise or who are enamored with 300 year old harmonic theory may not have a relevent theory background or understand the process that experienced improvisers and arrangers understand. 

The important thing is that we are able to provide materials and support for anyone who is even a little dissatisfied.

And we hope to persuade some parents that their child's lessons will only be enhanced when the parents understand that there is an alternative to standard piano lessons.

Our feeling is that improvising can be used in a wide variety of musical styles (hymns to rock to jazz to Broadway, etc.) The underlying theory and process is always the same.

Consider this quote from a prominent jazz educator regarding the teaching of some of the "characteristic techniques"  of jazz; i.e. (replace jazz with improvising).

"There are a number of myths which, by their weed-like persistence, contribute much to the controversy surrounding the subject of teaching of jazz and its characteristic techniques. One of these is a myth that was borrowed from "classical" music and, in a slightly refurbished form applied to jazz. This myth consists of the unfortunate notion that the creation of music is a vague, nebulous act fundamentally outside the control of the creator, that is the composer/improviser, and that there is a state called "inspiration" which periodically descends from "above", being granted only to those who, for equally nebulous reasons, are especially endowed to receive such inspirations.  A corollary of this fantasy is that such ingredients as thought and work (other than the mere notating of the "inspiration" on music paper), in fact any intellectual activity whatever, are anathema to "true" artistic creativity.

Solos were thought to emanate full-blown from the mouth and fingers of the player, without benefit of any intermediary such as the brain.