We have been thoroughly enjoying learning to play the keyboard using Simply Music.  This free program, Music & Creativity – Foundation Course, is taught by Neil Moore.  It teaches your child to learn how to create music without learning to read music. 

This free course includes an introductory quickstart lesson and 19 regular lessons.  The course includes video lessons, plus some downloadable files. The downloadable files include a soundtrack file, reference book , diagrams that help you to visualize the songs and a pdf book called Music and the Art of Long-Term Relationships. The majority of the course is taught by Neil Moore demonstrating the lessons at the piano. 

What You Need

You will need to have a laptop or tablet with internet access to watch the videos on and a piano or keyboard with at least 49 keys.  We used our iPad as it sat nicely on the music stand. 

Piano Lesson Structure 

Each lesson includes at least one video and as soon as you complete the video, you can mark it complete and move onto the next.   We worked through a video each day, for approximately 3-4 days per week.  This helped my son have time to practise and master each lesson prior to moving on.

Neil Moore does an excellent job at breaking down the music sentences so that you can easily learn to play an entire song and feel confident in doing so without learning to read music.  He also uses an iPad to show you how to visualize and memorize the music sentences.

By lesson 3, you will learn to play an entire piece of music just by learning 2 basic music sentences for each hand.  17 songs are included in the course. 

What We Enjoyed

Since my son is not reading music yet, I really liked that he was able to start playing an entire song by lesson 3.  It took us a bit to get through the introductory lessons, but I highly recommend you take the time to go through those lessons in detail as it sets you up well for the remainder of the course.

I really like how this course is very hands-on and you can quickly and easily learn songs that include a repertoire of contemporary, classical, gospel, blues and jazz styles. 

My Recommendation

I look forward to watching my son progress through the remainder of this course and develop his music skills. I would definitely recommend Music & Creativity – Foundation Course from Simply Music.  Within just a few short lessons, your child can successfully be playing an entire piece of music. 

Be sure to check out the reviews from other Homeschool Review Crew members by clicking here. 

Social Media Links

Facebook: www.facebook.com/simplymusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simplymusic
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/simplymusicinst/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplymusic/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/simplymusic