I also found something that I didn't expect: a site that has completely changed the way I approach piano instruction. As a music teacher for the past eight years I've spent enormous amounts of time investigating method books for learning. Anyone who has taken piano lessons knows exactly what I'm talking about. There's the Hal Leonard method, the Bastian method, the Piano Adventures series, the Noona method, the John Thompson series, etc. Each of these systems has comparative advantages and disadvantages, but there are many similarities among them. No learning method will ever be perfect for every student, but usually I can find something that's good enough to get the job done. There's no way to get around the fact that learning to play the piano well takes an enormous amount of practice time over the course of many years, and some students simply aren't willing to invest the required energy.
If I could discover or create the perfect piano method, it would contain a repertoire that students love with plenty of good material for beginning through advanced players. It would build slowly from the most basic to the most complex concepts, and it would include theory and technique as well as teaching good practice habits. But there's only so much a series of method books can do to motivate students to practice. Sometimes it's just going to feel like work. Sometimes students will struggle to achieve mastery of a certain skill. And sometimes they'll wish they could be doing anything but playing the piano.
So what if the problem isn't with the method books themselves, but with the entire concept of learning to play piano from a series of printed books? What if measuring mastery could be a more objective process, like measuring IQ? What if students could receive instant feedback, not only at their weekly lessons but also every time they practiced a song at home? And what if this could be coupled with an effective step-by-step learning method, instructional videos and high quality songs that students love to play? This is the vacuum that technology can help fill.
All of my students, without exception, enjoy playing video games. I've watched my own children spend hours and days trying to master their skills, beat the bad guys and attain the highest possible score. Their intensity rivals the time and effort spent by the great masters learning their craft, be it music or chess or mathematics or art. I've always said that if I could get my students to approach piano practice the way they approached video games, I'd be the most sought after piano instructor in the world.
And I'm happy to say I've discovered a way to do exactly that.
The basic premise is simple: students play along with the computer on a midi keyboard. When they are finished they receive a score, along with an easy to understand visual depiction of any timing or pitch mistakes they've made. When playing songs they have the opportunity to learn one hand at a time, then both hands together, section by section, slowly at first and then faster and faster. Bronze, silver and gold trophies are awarded based on the level of mastery achieved, and the available repertoire is expansive and high quality and continuing to grow. Students who used to watch the clock during their lessons are now begging me to let them play their songs "just one more time" so they can get a better score, and their progress or lack thereof is clear to us both each week. Even when students are just playing beginning songs, the process of practicing is made more enjoyable by the backing track that accompanies each song. It feels like and prepares students for playing along with other musicians.
This technology isn't perfect. It doesn't ensure that students are holding down notes for the correct length of time, just that the attack was correctly timed. Nor can it know if a student is using correct fingering. That's still my job as a teacher, and I can also help with pedaling and expression. But that's the beauty of this solution: the basics of note reading and rhythm take care of themselves so I can focus on the more nuanced aspects of performance and develop musicians, not just note readers.
To learn more, check out the videos on the site below. And feel free to post comments. I'd love to hear what you think!
