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~

Musical Golden Nugget ~ Sky Spills Over~ Michael W. Smith's latest video! (And a giveaway:) )

I have an extra special golden nugget for you all today, because it includes an album giveaway! 

Michael W. Smith is an amazing musician, with a long career in writing, singing and performing. As a matter of fact two of my very first contemporary Christian albums (purchased on cassette) were Michael W. Smith's first two studio albums, Michael W. Smith Project, and  Michael W. Smith II.

Not the original album artwork...
Ask me how I know? ;) 

Yup~ my cassette cover looks just like this
Only not square... :) 

For a number of years I was a big MWS fan, and his First Christmas CD is part of our traditional Christmas Morning soundtrack. However, I eventually lost interest as many of his songs started to sound like they were written with the same formula (insert sad face). You may have discovered by now that while I have extensive musical tastes, I do tend to be a little bit picky about melodies and lyrics both. 

Fast forward to earlier this spring~ I was driving by myself, when I heard a portion of a song that caught my interest~ I later asked my daughter (who can frequently be found sporting earbuds and listening to great music) if she had heard a new song that had a really interesting rhythm and included something about "Thunder" in the lyrics. She was stumped as well, so we looked it up on our (recently defunct :( ) local radio station website~ where they published their play list as it happened. What a surprise to find out that it was Michael W. Smith! I was so happy to hear something new, innovative, and creative from him!

The song (which you may have heard if you listen to Christian Music Radio), is Sky Spills Over, found on Michael W. Smith's Sovereign album.

The album was released earlier this month, and Wed, May 27, 2015 marks the debut of a video for Sky Spills Over. The song itself is an anthem of HOPE from a lyrical point of view. The video includes that theme, but as videos often do, it seems to tell a sort of sub-story. This one appears to be a bit of lost children, meets prophecy, and a savior. 

Michael W. Smith has this to say about the video:
"I’m really passionate about the song SKY SPILLS OVER.  It was fun creating it in the studio and I’ve been overwhelmed at the response it gets when we perform it live every night.  My son Ryan is a really talented filmmaker so I always enjoy working with him on a project.  But what made this project even more special was that 3 of my own grandkids were in the video.  This video was a lot of fun to make.  I hope people enjoy it!"

Without further ado~ please enjoy Sky Spills Over ~ And when you're done listening/watching, be sure to enter in my giveaway for Michael W. Smith's Sovereign Album!


 
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blessings~

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and/or post.

Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway.  If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win.  Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

Homeschool Legacy ~ We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution

The TOS Review Crew is once again reviewing a group of Unit Studies from Homeschool Legacy.  This time there are 13 units being reviewed, that cover a variety of topics. Some of them are for more elementary ages, and others are for a wider age range.  This year we were chosen to review We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution. This particular unit study has reading selections and activities that can be used with a wide range of ages, which makes it an especially good choice for a family with multiple children (which isn't to say that it can't be used with a smaller or only child family... because it can!).

You can see that there are history, holiday, and science titles. Interestingly enough, we were chosen to review a history/government title which coordinates with the title we reviewed in 2012 (Revolutionary Ideas~ The Story of the American Revolution Review).

There are many things that remain the same for this review, as the basic format of the unit studies hasn't changed overly much.

This study included material covering;

Bible (Biblical Worldview and weekly family devotions)

Quality Literature (Independent and Read-Aloud selections for many ages)

Language, History, and Research (Word studies, Vocabulary, and suggestions for research projects/reports that we tended to cover more as discussion than written papers, as my high schoolers are fairly busy covering their every day work)

Geography, Arts and Crafts, and Art Appreciation are touched on in a very limited way, which is understandable given the topic.

Field Trip Suggestions are given throughout, some of which are virtual field trips (Appreciated when field-tripping is more difficult to accomplish).

At this point it is important to let you know that my family received a digital copy of this unit study, not a physical copy. We discovered this time that we felt we might have fared better with a physical copy, as my eldest has a hard time reading and concentrating on content on her computer screen and does much better with a book in her hand.

HOWEVER, one of the huge benefits to this digital copy is that it has been reworked, and now includes links to various websites and videos, making it simple to click and go. The digital study also includes color photos now instead of the black and white photos we saw in our previous review. Nice upgrade!

We solved some of the digital/concentration issue by putting the document on my ipad and opening it in my pdf-notes app. This gave a nice screen size to the pages, and allowed for highlighting right on the page. I highlighted the bits for them to read in one color, and the bits for them to DO in another color. When they completed things they were check-marked in another color.

Some favorite things about this study remained the same as in our last review :

• The addition of movies to school time (Although we had already watched "National Treasure" we thought it was great that it was recommended!) 
• The easy links to get to various websites, videos, etc...
• The inclusion of recipes and games (What good unit study doesn't have those? :) )
• The great information (Of course!) and topics for discussion. 
• Christian Worldview~ Although the history revisionists would try to suggest that people like Ben Franklin maintained less than a Christian Worldview, Homeschool Legacy does a fabulous job of including quotes that show this is far from true. Take for instance one of my daughter's favorite quotes by Mr. Franklin (taken from the weekly family devotional): 
  

What we found more difficult with this Once-a-Week Unit Study (beyond the electronic vs physical debate) also remained the same~ you can go back and read my first review (Scroll towards the end) to see why I don't feel this works really well for high school students in particular as a Once-A-Week Study, but why I also think that it is a great resource (If planned into your regular week for more than one day), particularly if you are looking for an interesting quarter (?) credit in Government for your high school student.

One more thing to mention, and then I'm down to the Nitty Gritty~ Those who have children involved in Boy Scouts of America or American Heritage Girls can use these unit studies to help them earn credit and/or badges, and the studies include forms and notes throughout to help with those endeavors.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: Homeschool Legacy
• Product: We the People: Getting to Know Your Constitution
• Ages: 4th-12 grade
• Price: $17.00 Digital Download , $21.95 Physical Copy

You can visit Homeschool Legacy on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest
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~

Nuggets of Gold for the Week of May 18

I'm back with a few more nuggets for you all~
Short and sweet this time around as I didn't get this posted last week,
and I want to get this up while the first Kindle book listed below is still free.

Music: Ginny Owens is a Contemporary Christian Artist (Musician). I was introduced to her when I wrote a review for one her albums back in 2011. She is still writing, singing, and performing music. In fact, I sadly missed the opportunity to hear her live just last night when she was performing with Michael Card.

Aaaanyway....  I wanted to let you know about a Ginny Owens Acoustic Sampler available on Noisetrade (Same deal as the last set of music I posted from Noisetrade~ you have to sign up, and give them your email, then they send you a link to download the songs. You can pay as much or as little as you decide to help support the artists in their endeavors).

Just to give you a little taste of her music (note~ please keep in mind as you watch her that she is blind, so she doesn't have typical expression in her eyes, and she tends not to blink, but her voice is wonderfully expressive!):



And here's another~

Here are a few Kindle books that I'd like to share with you.

The first is a childhood classic republished by a fellow FIAR mom's publishing house, Purple House Press. It's being offered free today (eek! only a few more hours) for Kindle.
The other two are a couple of novels that were enjoyable reads. (Click on the photos)

"New Adult" Romance
Free at the time of posting

Civil War Historical Novel
Free at the time of posting

Sweet Reprint by Purple House Press
Free at the time of posting
(Possibly only 5/18/15)

Once again, please let me know if you appreciate/enjoy these sorts of posts. :)

Blessings~

"S is for Smiling Sunrise" Alphabet picture book (TOS Review Crew)

If you have a Pre-K - second or third grader, you might be interested in this latest item I received for review, S is for Smiling Sunrise, which is an ABC Picture book. In addition to the book, if you visit the WordsBright website, you can download a free Teacher's Guide (*Note: the Teacher's Guide comes in two levels Pre-K/K and K-3), and a free mp3 alphabet song.

This is a nice addition to any Alphabet Book collection (yes... I have one of those :)), and can be used with a variety of ages. Each letter of the alphabet is accompanied by an illustration and a rhyme. The rhymes are positive interpretations of things in the world around us, and celebrate goodness, beauty, and wonder. The first time we read this book, I had my 7 year old read it to me. Another time I read each letter/rhyme and asked youngest if he thought it was talking about goodness, beauty or wonder. Beauty and Wonder were often both his answer. It was a nice comprehension exercise which helped him think a little more critically about what we were reading.

Some of the letter rhymes offer a little art, others a little science, and a few emphasize character-training, or are more relational in nature. Almost all of them are good jumping off points for discussion.

If you have children on the younger range, there is a one page Parent's Guide with Pre-K recommendations to extend the learning. While a little young for my second grader, I personally felt that the Teacher's Guide could be most useful for the 4-6 year old range. It includes Concepts, Questions, Vocabulary and Activity suggestions for each letter/rhyme of the alphabet. If you do a "letter of the day" in your homeschool, this might be right up your alley!

No offense to the person singing the "S is for Smiling Sunrise" ABC song, but I didn't find it to be something that my children young or old would be interested in listening to. However, it was nice to hear the way the rhymes fit together in the traditional ABC tune, so that they can be sung at home.

When reading this book to my 2nd grader I have to admit that he wasn't overly excited about the concept. In his opinion, ABC books are for "little kids." However, once I explained to him that ABC books can be used to explore different topics, and show what you know about something he was much more willing to be a participant in listening and discussing.

Not So Nutty Nitty Gritty 

• Company: WordsBright
• Product: S is for Smiling Sunrise and Teacher's Guide (Free)
• Ages: Pre-K to 3rd(?) grade
• Price: Hardcover List price $16.95, ebook also available. Check your favorite online book seller for the current ebook price. 

Visit WordsBright on Facebook.

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~

Wordless Wednesday ~ Schedule Explosion!

When your schedule explodes in May, 

it might be because of your kids... 

And I wouldn't have it any other way! 

Blessings~

Linking up with

 and 5 Minutes for Mom             Wordless Wednesday

Nuggets of Gold for First Week of May~ Music, Books and More~

Nuggets of Gold for First Week of May~ Music, Books and More~

May has arrived and there are green shoots and bright flowers popping up everywhere~ the trees are budding out, and (here at least) there are baseball games upon baseball games upon baseball games! (So many that my schedule blew up, and I missed posting last week! EEK!)

However, just now I happen to have a few minutes to share some Golden Nuggets with you all~ please let me know in the comments if you found anything interesting or new here! :)

Music:

I know I've mentioned Christ August a number of times~ his latest album, The Maker, was released last month, and I highly recommend it! However, what you may not know is that there is an "Unreleased" album of Chris' available on Noisetrade. There are some fun songs, some sweet songs, and it's *all* Chris (I don't have every song on this album uploaded to itunes, but a goodly number of them are). :)

The deal with Noisetrade is that you can download music for free~ then, if you love it, if you have funds available, etc... you can "tip" the artist. Sweet!

Here's a neat lyric video by one of our favorite artists (who we *haven't* seen in concert yet...) Jamie Grace. She's a fighter (she has Tourette's Syndrome). Great song!

Jamie Grace has released a new Album~ 

not  a free or discounted "nugget" but a great find, none-the-less.

My Eldest made a quick Irish Step Dance video for a fun challenge on Jamie Grace's Facebook page~ it was quite appropriate, as it was the day before she left on her mission trip to Guatemala~ Doing Life Big! (We goofed a little on the last clip by not having the music right by the camera, so it's not quite as loud, but the STEPs are loud!)

Now for a couple of Books~ click on the covers to go directly to Amazon~
some lighter fiction today...

YA Fiction
Free at the time of posting

Sweet WWII Romance
(I enjoyed this one)
Free at the time of posting

  
I'll call it good for now, as we're on our way out the door again!
Again, please let me know if you enjoy these posts, or find something new here! :)

Blessings~