JazzEdge: PianoWithWillie (Studio Access) Piano Lessons review

Last year we reviewed an online piano teaching resource, Homeschool Piano. This year the TOS Review Crew members were sent one of three different programs put out by the same company, Jazz Edge. The options were DrumsWithWillie, PianoWithWillie, and Easy Piano Basics. For the purposes of this review, we were sent PianoWithWillie.

The plan was to have my eldest use it to continue some of her training, as she was the main user of the Homeschool Piano course. Unfortunately, we hit a road-bump or two, the main one being that our keyboard went on the blink before I was able to take any video of her using it. :p ARGH!

However, not to be disheartened, we decided to take an unconventional approach, to see what could be done in these less than ideal circumstances. While PianoWithWillie lessons are intended to stream on any device... (Which does make them perfect for "lessons on the go")

we decided to see what could be done *using* an e-device as the instrument! Admittedly, this is *not* a recommended or best-case scenario, but I figured it would be worth trying it out, to see how a family could keep up with their lessons when going through a life event that precluded the use of an actual piano or keyboard most days (ie military family moving, longer-term stays with grandparents, or longer-term vacation for example).

For the purpose of having a keyboard of sorts to play on, we used the Garage Band, and Piano HD apps for my iPad. While not having access to a full keyboard, these apps did allow us to increase the key size to close to full size, which gave her the opportunity to try out many portions of the lessons she watched. (See our videos below)


Now, a note about the depth and breadth of the lessons.
PianoWithWillie is a HUGE resource, with hours and hours and hours of piano/music lessons. As a matter of fact, this studio access subscription give access to 330 distinct lessons in four different levels: Beginner (37 lessons), Intermediate (93 lessons), Advanced (168 lessons), and Professional (39).

The lessons can be searched filtering by element, level, genre, tonality, key signature, time signature, and instructor. If this is all too confusing for you to navigate on your own, you can also ask PianoWithWillie to create an individualized "Success Map" for your student(s) at an additional charge. 

My daughter is definitely in the Beginner level, so I promptly searched lessons using the Beginner Filter, and we looked through them to see what she would be interested in. We also went through a few of the 30 Day Success Playbook lessons, but realized that some of them were duplicating some of the basic material from the Homeschool Piano lessons that she had done last year.

Eldest enjoys hearing people play ""Gospel-style" piano, so decided to check out the "Easy Gospel Basics" lesson. This particular lesson is split into nine different chapters, so I suppose it might be better to say that there are 330 "Units," and each Unit includes varying numbers of lessons. This Unit has 9 chapters/lessons (Which makes the actual number of lessons in the 1000's!). Each chapter tends to run between 5 and 10 minutes in length.

Because of the extensive use of chords in the Gospel lessons, and our current limitations, she decided to try her hand at something a little more Jazzy~  She worked through "The Chicken Pox Blues" lesson, which had 5 chapters~
1. Melody
2. Adding Chords
3. Blues Bass
4. Intro and Ending
5. Wrap up
She couldn't do much with the chords given the surface she was working on, but she did learn the melody and the bass line (one at a time)



Each lesson includes a link to download sheet music and other relevant information for that lesson. The website also keeps track of which lessons have been completed, or what percentage of the lesson has been done, which is handy.

By and large, I am highly impressed with the materials put out by Willie Myette and Jazz Edge. If you are looking for a music tutor, some lessons for the summer, or want to begin or improve your music skills, this could be a great place to start!

PianoWithWillie can currently be found on Social Media at the following sites:
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Vimeo

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: JazzEdge
• Product: PianoWithWillie (Studio Access) 
• Ages: 7+ is the recommended minimum age without a parent assisting, but it is perfectly appropriate for all ages on up through adult.
• Price: 
• $49 ~ Monthly Membership
• $99 ~ Quarterly Membership
• $399 ~ Yearly Membership

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say about this and the other two Jazz Edge Programs. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~

Homeschool Piano ~ piano lessons at home! (TOS Review Crew)

It has long been a regret of mine that I have not taught any of my children to play piano. I play the piano (classically trained), and my husband plays by ear, and none of our children have really played to this point in time. Of course, a major part of that regret is the fact that we don't own a piano, and our keyboard hasn't always been available. However, when the opportunity came up to review Homeschool Piano Complete Set of Books lifetime access to Homeschool Piano with the TOS Review Crew, I determined that we would make sure our keyboard was accessible. So... it's on the dining room table~ it's been on the back porch during the day... it's portable (kind of...).

Homeschool Piano is the brainchild of Willie Myette, a graduate of my husband's alma mater, Berklee College of Music in Boston. His style of teaching is very different from the way I learned, as it is very jazzy, with a heavy emphasis on improvisation. In the past, when I have brought up the idea of piano lessons, my eldest has been generally resistant, but this time around she thought it might be worth a try. Hurrah!

The lessons are split into a "Core" Beginner book, and Books 1-3. Each book contains 6 Units with 7 Lessons in each. They cover the 6 topics in the circular graphic to the right, with an additional Bonus lesson.  Some of the Lessons include tests, to ensure that the student comprehends the material, and there are accompanying worksheets and sheet music in pdf files that are to be downloaded and printed. *Economic note: I actually printed the manuals up 4 to a page for each unit, and then cut and stapled them together by Unit. I did print the songs and a few of the other sheets out full size so they could be more easily read while playing.

Homeschool Piano lessons are largely video based, with the lessons available via tablet, computer, and presumably mobile phone, if you have a smart phone (which we do not). It's a very unique set-up, with a video of Willie in the lower left corner, and the top 2/3rds of the screen are split into two lengths. The Top portion is a "Virtual Keyboard." The notes are highlighted in red as they are being played and are identified by name. The lower portion is video taken from above the keyboard, showing Willie's hands actually playing the notes, as you can see in the graphic below. I find it a little amusing that my daughter's first reaction to the video set-up was very dubious (She thought it was odd...), but after going through some of the core lessons and 2 units of book 1, she has determined that she enjoys the lessons, and is challenged to complete them. Her take now, after going through a few units, is that Willie knows how to make the lessons fun, while helping his students play successfully right away.

Eldest's favorite part of the lessons is learning the new rhythms (which coordinates with her interest in dance), and learning the improvisational licks that are taught in each Unit. It is very gratifying to be able to play something that sounds a little more complex than the first songs I remember learning to play. This can be important when the student is starting out at an older age.

Keeping in mind that my daughter has not played piano before starting this program (other than a little bit of picking out melodies on her own, 1-finger style and using her very own "number system"), here she is playing the 2nd full song in book one (We're both happy with her headway in a relatively short period of time)
Now some improvisations based on the notes learned so far. (And no, our set-up isn't optimal as far as "sitting at a piano" is concerned, but it is working for us at this point in time) 
The Lessons and Songs that are learned build on one another (for example, the base line in the improv is heard as part of a song later on, which helps to increase the success of the piano student).   Sadly, my youngest student is being very "seven" and thinks he doesn't currently like music (ha! I know better~ he's singing all the time...). However, in my opinion, music isn't something that should be pushed... he will come around, I'm sure, as his sister continues to progress, and starts playing even more fun and funky music, and Homeschool Piano will be waiting for us when he's ready.  Middlest~ will be joining his sister in learning piano this fall. Having *not* taught the older two until this point, I'm interested to see how he does, *and* how music affects other areas in his schooling. 
If you would like to get a taste of Homeschool Piano Lessons before purchasing, you can check out 6 free lessons covering Technique, Rhythm, Reading Music, Song, Improvisation, and Bonus.  I am very impressed with the thorough but engaging manner in which Willie teaches. Having been classically trained, and having been thrown into some more contemporary situations, I am also picking up a few tips and pointers, so maybe one of these days I'll be able to more closely rival my "play-by-ear" husband who also has that Berklee music theory training. Sad to say, I don't think I'll ever be great at "grabbing the keys," which is a much more useful technique in a jazz situation than in my usual Church Musician or Classical environment, but it's fun to play around with a style that is a little looser. Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Homeschool Piano
• Product: Homeschool Piano Complete Set of Books 
• Ages: All Ages
• Price Options: 
• Success Package (One payment of $299) Unlimited life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano along with all bonuses (downloads, jam tracks, sheet music) for up to 5 students. 
•  Payment Plan (Payments of $99.97 per month for three months):  Unlimited life-time access to HomeSchoolPiano along with all bonuses (downloads, jam tracks, sheet music) for up to 5 students. 

Please click the banner below to visit the TOS Review Crew and see what others had to say. As always, I hope that this review was useful to you as you choose where best to spend your homeschool budget.

Blessings~