is the highest perfection,
the harmony composed
for his praise
should follow
the strictest rules
that perfection can claim,
as far as human imperfection
can realize them."
-- Johann Josef Fux, 1725
is the Most Important Item
on the List
Quit in Their Teens
Here's How To Make Sure Your Child
is Not One of The Casualties
It's a simple fact that the majority of music students quit in their teens, or earlier, never having learned how to play piano or other instrument beyond elementary or medium levels of difficulty. And the reasons are not hard to find.
Here's the problem.
Many music teachers do not really understand how to get a child to a high level quickly. And if they don't get to a high level quickly, your child, as a teenager, will soon realize that she is not getting any peer recognition for her music skills. When that reality sets in, your child will quit lessons and she will go and do something that does get her recognition by her friends.
At that time you realize every cent you've spent on music lessons has been wasted.
But there is a solution. And that's why I wrote Ian Hodge's Read, Write & Play Music.
You see, good teaching of any kind has some basic ingredients that are necessary for good learning to take place. These are:
There must be clear goals for each lesson. There must be an identified way to teach that lesson. There must be a way of measuring if the goal has been achieved.
Good teachers always have a lesson plan that includes these ingredients. That's what makes them successful teachers.
But often the same disciplines don't exist for music teachers. The student turns up for a lesson, the teacher asks the student to play what has been practiced since the last lesson. And in many, many instances, not much has been accomplished. And the reason is that in the previous lesson, the child was not properly taught what they needed to do. They were told to go home and "practice harder."
Something Missing
But there was something missing. And I eventually figured out what it was.
You would think it is obvious that if a child cannot read music their ability to learn is very restricted. Yet there are hardly any programs designed to teach children how to read. And there are not too many music teachers who have the right steps to make sure the student is a fluent reader of music.
Learning to read music, however, is not a whole lot different than learning how to read English. Once you've mastered a vowel sound and can blend a few consonants, the child is ready to read any book with that combination of letter sounds. And the student will learn to read reliably and quickly only by having lots of practice reading the words that can be made up from those sounds.
Learning to read music is the same, simple process. A child can be taught a group of notes and how to read them. Then they can be given pieces to read that have those same notes, perhaps in a different order, but they are still the same notes. And they will learn to read those notes reliably and quickly if they are given many pieces to read with those notes in them.
Now this is so obvious, you would think all music teachers would do this. But they don't. The teach the child four or five, may six pieces in a year. What the child really needs, however, is to learn four or five pieces a month. Only then will they learn to read quickly. Otherwise they'll get bored and quit practicing. When they can read fast, they can learn fast. Get the idea?
This was not how I was taught. I was given my four or five pieces a year. I persevered. I learned other pieces without telling the teacher. My mother loved hymns and always had me reading and playing them for her. So I learned to read -- and read fast. Therefore I could learn a new piece very quickly. In fact, I became a professional accompanist because I could read music and play it without necessarily having seen it before.
Over the years, I've applied this principle to my teaching, and you can hear the results. Click here to listen to 10-year old Michelle playing portion of a Haydn piano sonata after just two years as my student. My studio had a bunch of mixed students, aged between 9 and 15 who could crawl all over the keyboard from an early age. Not because they were necessarily talented, but because I gave them all the tools they needed, and reading came first. These students were never intimidated by a page full of music because they could decipher what they saw. They could read.
But there's more . . .
When your child is in school they learn to read and write the letters and words. Why don't they learn to write music, I asked myself. After all, there's only about eight simple rules you need to learn in order to be able to write a good melody.
And so I wrote Ian Hodge's Read, Write & Play Music with this in mind. I wanted a program that taught my piano students how to write music in the strong belief that this would help their reading. And it does . . . in a very powerful way.
Naturally, if they can write music, they must also be able to read it. And if they can read it, there’s a good chance they could play if someone showed them how to manage an instrument. And this is what makes learning music so much fun for children: Successful playing.
That's why my piano students advance very rapidly. They enjoy learning, are successful at learning and play brilliantly.
Now, your child can benefit and learn how to successfully read and write music.
Each lesson has identified objectives Each lesson is simple and easy to understand, even for an 8-year old student Each lesson has exercises for the student to practice what they have learned The exercises in each lesson constantly review material from previous lessons, to reinforce the concepts already learned Every sixth lesson is a complete review lesson of previous lessons. There's a separate teacher/parent guide to check the answers for each lesson's exercises.
Review, review, review. Practice, practice, practice. These are the ingredients of a good lesson plan. And Ian Hodge's Read, Write & Play Music has all the ingredients that make a highly successful educational program.
| Read what one school principal has to say about this program . . . The text is very child friendly and attractive. The brightly colored pictures keep the reader engaged. Simple, clear language promotes independent study and self-teaching strategies that require less adult guidance than traditional music texts. The structure of the lessons mirrors many researched based principles that apply to effective instruction for children. There is the introduction of the objectives, presentation of symbols and music vocabulary, then guided and independent practice and review of concepts and skills. This similarity is highly useful because the format will be familiar for the school age child who is also learning reading and math concepts in a similar context. Serena Edwards, M. Ed., School Principal. |
In this program you have everything you need to have your child successfully read, write and play. The first volume, in two parts, deals with melody writing. In the first part, the children will learn the eight rules they need to write good compositions. The second part teaches them how to use different note values to create rhythm and interest in their compositions. Click here to see a sample of the lesson material.
Along they way, they learn the basic music theory they need. They learn:
The Italian words that govern speed, dynamics and expression Short history lessons on great composers of the past How the instruments of the orchestra make sound
There is basic piano and keyboard instruction for the student. There are guideline notes for parents or teachers who know nothing about music.
This is a self-instructional work book. It teaches two or three basic concepts each lesson. It is easy to work with and your child will soon be reading, writing and playing their own music on a piano or keyboard.
Normally, you’d pay $20, $30, or even $60 an hour for a music instructor to teach your child. I’ve even seen some teachers charging up to $80 an hour. And mostly they teach boring scales and a few pieces that hardly inspire the child. It’s no wonder children don’t enjoy music. And that's why parents don’t like to pay for music lessons. Why spend the money if the kids are going to quit.
But Ian Hodge’s Read, Write, and Play Music gives you over 10 hours of instruction in 18 lessons (which would normally cost at least $200 or more) for a fraction of that cost. For only $54.90, you get 18 lessons in Volume 1, PLUS a Teacher's Guide, that give your child all the tools needed to begin a successful pursuit of musical enjoyment. And if you order now, I’ll throw in a free upgrade to the Teacher's Guide to include Vol. 2 when it's available.
For more information on how to get this great program now, simply Click Here. Free upgrade to priority shipping in the USA (mainland states only).
