Learning piano should be FUN!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Experienced Musician Gives His Gift of Beginner Piano Lessons

A music teacher from Colorado had relocated to Laguna Beach in California to try his hand at the entertainment business, and was working in a gym to cover the bills until he could get established. When Mary Jo Winefordner looked around for a piano teacher for her children, she found him in that unlikely place acting as a personal trainer.

The temporary trainer, Graeme Winder, said “I came to Laguna Beach to be a composer and performer but did not consider teaching. But, when Mary Jo, a client at the gym, asked whether I could teach her children, I figured why not?” he said.

Since then, Winder’s natural gift for teaching won him a following among musical small fry and their parents, some of whom began taking lessons themselves. “Graeme is unique since he teaches to a student’s strengths,” said Winefordner, whose son Ian, now nine, chafed at having to learn to read sheet music though he possessed a sharp ear for sound when he began his lessons five years ago.

Winder’s approach of less emphasis on reading music and structured practice in favor of early creativity is, at least in part, endorsed by Laguna Beach High School and Thurston Middle School choral arts teacher Roxanna Ward, whose popular classes make her a powerful influence on the town’s musical culture. She believes that “ear training” makes musicians more flexible and prepares them for the spontaneous skills needed for impromptu gigs and jamming with other musicians. “I had classical piano training from age five on, but my father was an accomplished steel pedal guitar player and my mother a vocalist who did not read music,” she said.

This is a perfect example of finding a gifted teacher for easy beginner piano lessons where and when you least expect it.

As we said before, the only thing better (and cheaper) than private lessons we've found is Rocket Piano, and at only $39.95, is a downright steal. Click here for more information.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

easy beginner piano lessons for all

The exciting world of piano playing for most people starts with easy beginner piano lessons The traditional approach has always been to search for a local professional teacher who offers private lessons. While this can be a successful way to learn piano, it is riddled with possible hurdles, not the least of which is the substantial cost. Years of private piano lessons typically add up to thousands of dollars. And if the learning process isn't structured to be enjoyable, practicing the piano can turn out to be an laborious chore. If this is not avoided, many students chose to abandon their piano playing aspirations altogether, and simply quit. But, this is entirely avoidable. Rocket Piano BoxFaced with the daunting task of learning something as difficult as the piano, where do you turn? There's nothing worse than getting all excited about learning something new, only to find your choice of teacher is boring, detached and oblivious to your individual learning issues. Before you know it, you have invested hundreds or thousands of dollars and made very little progress. Or even worse--YOU HATE PLAYING THE PIANO!

I have been playing an instrument for well over forty years(Yes-Forty Years!) and I think I am in a good position to tell you the pitfalls to avoid. Although I DO play piano, my main axe (slang for instrument) is slide trombone, which I started playing at age ten. I have taken some piano lessons in college, and I continue to use a keyboard to practice improvising on and for working out chord progressions.

Reviewing various piano learning options on the internet has enlightened me to some really good news for prospective students. I have found an online course that can teach you piano if you have never played before, or help you improve if you have had a modicum of piano training. Its called Rocket Piano and it has received rave reviews from piano students all over the world.

This step-by-step piano learning system is brilliantly designed to make piano learning FUN, by using books, instructional videos, and games. The inventor and teacher of the course is a fifteen year veteran of piano who has many credentials including a Bachelor of Media Arts in Commercial Music and a Australasian Award for Composition. Her name is Ruth Serle and she is a terrific teacher. (She even offers a FREE online lesson for you to try out.)

The best part of Ruth's piano learning course is the price--only $39.95, which is completely refundable within 60 days if you are not completely satisfied. The entire course is downloadable, which helps keep the cost down. Ruth also offers a hard copy version of the course which is comprised of books, CD's, and DVD's sent to your door for $199.95.

The $39.95 version of Rocket Piano offers you immediate access to the course materials so you can begin learning piano in a few seconds after ordering, and because of how complete and comprehensively it is designed, is really a steal. Actually, EITHER version is an amazing value--you would have to spend many many times the purchase cost in private lessons to be exposed to the year's worth of lessons Ruth takes you though on this course.

Ruth says on her website that the $39.95 price is an introductory offer and at some point will rise to $99.95 for the Rocket Piano system, so if this sounds like something you would be interested in trying, I wouldn't wait very long. Her risk-free money-back policy makes me very comfortable recommending this course.