Tuesday, June 29, 2004

No, Simply Music isn't giving me a kick-back for this promotion
If you've ever wanted you or a child to play the piano with fluency, but haven't succeeded, consider taking a course in the Simply Music method. Simply Music believes that everyone is musical and teaches you to play blues, classical and popular songs in your first few weeks without forcing you to learn to read music first or practice scales (like I had to for years).

In December of 2003, at the age of nine, never having had a piano lesson, or, indeed, any formal music instruction before, our son began taking Simply Music lessons in Sacramento. The results were astounding.

Our son has always been interested in music, but he is really just a normal 9-year-old boy. He likes to play and watch basketball and other sports, read Captain Underpants books and run around giggling and being silly with his friends.

At the end of his first lesson, he was playing a real piece of music nicely. At the end of three weeks, he had memorized three pieces and was playing them with expression and feeling. He couldn’t wait to go to his lessons or to practice, or watch the video or listen to the CD or, indeed, anything associated with the program.

None of the homework was overly time-consuming or difficult to fit into a busy family week. And the lessons are only ½ hour long—perfect for a child’s attention span.

He learned to play over 12 pieces in as many weeks, everything from Beethoven to Blues to Amazing Grace.

When I contrast this to the many years as a child that I put in doing scales, learning to read music and slaving away doing piano exercises—I have so much less to show for it today (and even then) than my boy does after just those few weeks. I am learning more about playing the piano from watching his lessons and practice than I did in over seven years of lessons!

Both he and I are completely hooked on this affordable and stunningly aptly-named program, Simply Music.

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