Piano For Kids Volume 4 has reached bookstores worldwide and is now readily available on Amazon.com! Music teachers, new students, and novice parents galore can continue to musically flourish with new songs and music theory with the newest edition of the Piano For Kids series.
In Piano For Kids Volume 4, we are introduced to left-handed chord accompaniment with the melody on the right hand. While this may sound difficult for beginners, the Musicolor Method has tackled any challenges head on. The first step to learning accompaniment is to delve a little deeper than Volumes 1-3 into music theory. In Volume 4, we will learn about chords, harmony, and intervals with simple terms and visuals.
“What a fabulous way to learn music! I wish my teacher had this when I was learning…”
-Parent of a Musicolor Student
“Wow. I am sold! I went from zero to 50 Musicolor students in less than three months.”
-Music Studio Owner
In order to enhance the musical experience and broaden the beginner’s mind, Volume 4 of Piano for Kids is bringing forth the next level of the Musicolor Method. The Musicolor Method provides a strategic, easy-to-use, easy-to-understand system that simplifies more complex techniques and concepts. Don’t worry, everything will be explained in Volume 4!
Popular folk songs make teaching and learning fun in Piano For Kids Volume 4. Songs like Mary Had a Little Lamb, Long Long Ago, Go Tell Aunt Rhody, This Little Light of Mine, Wheels on the Bus, America the Beautiful, and more, are essential for laying down a musical foundation for every beginner. Let’s not forget the added bonus: Oh Susanna and Bingo are featured downloadable fun songs for free!
Using the innovative Musicolor Method, teachers and students can confidently demonstrate and play what Volume 4 has to offer. Piano For Kids Volume 4 continues the progression that will be seen in the upcoming Volumes 5 and 6- keep your eyes open for those!
Though she had already been working with young music students, Carol found that it was often difficult to transition them from early childhood classes to learning to read and play instruments. That’s when she came across the idea of using color as learning scaffolding and The Musicolor Method Masterclass.
Carol has since adapted the Musicolor Method to work with her youngest preschool students, as well as some of the elementary school kids. She loves how they take to color and can learn to play faster and with more fun.
Carol Koczo Manassas, VA
First instrument: Piano Age I started playing music: 8 Other instruments: Voice Number of years teaching: 35+ Number of current students: 15
Interviewer: Christy Goldfeder
Currently listening to:
All kinds of music: pop, Broadway, classical.
I’ve taught music as a side job for years
Many times, I was also involved in choral groups. I have always been involved in music in some capacity. For a long time, I might have just one music student while I was working outside the home.
I got really interested in History Preservation, and I got a degree in it, but it didn’t really help me get into the workforce. I kind of fell back into music again and started focusing on it more.
Right now, I teach all levels
I know one of Andrew’s philosophies is to focus your attention on one set of students.
For a while, I has a school like that. I had been focusing mostly on the 8-12 year olds.
When I started as a private contractor with Take Lessons, it opened the door to any age from as young as 5 to 60. That kind of changes with teaching also. In some ways, it makes it more challenging and a little harder to keep track of who is where and when.
I wanted to focus more on younger students.
I started searching for something to make it easier for me to teach younger students, because they were so challenging. I hadn’t really taught that age before. So, that is what led me to The Musicolor Method Masterclass.
I spent a lot of time looking at and reading some of his articles about his philosophy and his approach.
I was searching for something that would help me, and I think it was during those articles I began thinking this may be something I am interested in.
I just knew it. It was a gut feeling that this was something that I thought I could work with, I liked the overall approach, the structuring of the program. I think it was, you know, I think I just thought this is pretty neat. So I am going to jump out of my box and try it.
I started using the color for different ages
I started using it with 8 year olds and even one of my 12 year old students. I adapted The Musicolor Method to different ages. Most everyone of them really took to the color really quickly. It was like “Oh, that’s easy. I can identify that the red is C and I can look at it and match colors.”
It was so easy for the kids, and I kind of thought they would take to it easily.
Prior to finding The Musicolor Method, a lot of what I had seen with the color was connected to rhythm—like with Boomwhacker sticks. They’re long tubes, and what you can do is use them for counting and for music.
That is another reason why I decided to take The Musicolor Method Masterclass. I realized that Andrew had actually put color into a piano format and he had evolved it so that we could use both hands.
The business lessons helped me think differently about my teaching
I am an analytical person. I think reading some of his thoughts, how he wanted to approach and structure the program and the philosophy behind it was beneficial. It helped me organize and look at my teaching in a different way.
I noticed right away that the program was very organized. Very thoughtful in the way in which he put together his program. I did like the approach overall.
It’s been well worth the investment
I know he has added things since I took the Masterclass, for example, when to buy your first piano and a few other things. All of this is helpful.
He created the whole package. He is always making changes too, and he is always presenting information differently. I couldn’t quite believe how much information and work he had put into his program. It’s been worth the investment.
Overall, I am a big fan.
Another thing that I liked that I haven’t done, is I like that he included some of the other string instruments in the program. It’s something that’s just a little different for younger students to be exposed to. I like that the information is available if I do want to use it.
I know this is a complicated process, but I am very pleased with everything he has done and continues to do. I am glad I did it.
Why I’d recommend The Musicolor Method Masterclass
I never realized when I was taking piano that it was that hard to teach. There have been a few times that I have looked at students and said, “Hmm. How did I learn this?” I think it is harder to teach than one would think.
I think Andrew’s approach has made it easier. You don’t have to use so many words, you rely more on the visuals.
There are a lot of layers to the Musicolor Method. Andrew has put a lot of thinking into, how and when you want to bring a certain idea into the lessons.
I think putting all this together into this format has been really good. I don’t think I could have done it.
I was recently interviewed on the influential Creative Piano Teacherpodcast with Tim Topham. Tim’s a wonderful educator who has a very active blog, podcast, and a membership site. If you’re a teacher and never heard of him, you’re in for a treat.
In the interview, I discuss
How and why I decided to create a method book
How color is used in the method
Why the Musicolor Method starts with vertical notation
How it avoids position or finger number based thinking
My 7 core principles of music teaching
Which type of student this method is particularly suited to
I also talk about a special offer on our newly updated Musicolor Masterclass
After a long recovery from surgery, Anne was wondering if she would ever be able to have the stamina and drive to teach music again. She reconnected to her love of early childhood education, and her passion for playing, when she came across the Musicolor Method.
Now, Anne has reinvented herself as a private music teacher to preschool and elementary age children. She’s got a thriving, part-time business with a waiting list of eager students.
Anne Vardanega Sydney, Australia
First instrument: Piano Age I started playing music: 7 Number of years teaching: 38 Number of students before The Musicolor Method: 3-4 Number of current students: 14, plus waiting list
Interviewer: Christy Goldfeder
Currently listening to:
Bohemian Rhapsody movie soundtrack.
I’ve loved music since childhood
I started learning piano at 7 years old. I studied for 5 years, and I took exams for it in high school for what we call here in Australia, the HSC. In the U.S., I suppose you would call it your high school graduation.
I didn’t actually think I was clever enough to study music to graduate from high school. But I was encouraged by an inspiring and dedicated teacher who told me that I could do it.
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher
At University, I studied early childhood education, and I included music in my teaching studies.
I was actually a musicology major. I didn’t have to actually do a performance, but I had to do musicology arranging and composing. I absolutely loved it.
Professionally, I focused on classroom music. I played the piano, the guitar and sang with my students.
I had my son when I was 30. I taught early childhood music classes with him. He was able to come along when he was 2-5 years old.
My son’s early music lessons were a disaster
He started at age 4 with the piano, and it really didn’t work. At that time, there didn’t seem to be childhood classes that bridged early music and formal lessons. If he had the Musicolor Method back then, he would have loved it.
My son started studying guitar in school. Now, he and his wife are professional musicians living in New York.
I started performing later in life—teaching was always first
My son inspired me to learn bass guitar and voice and start performing in my 40’s. I was the bass player, backup singer, and music director of the church.
When my son was older, I got a job at his school teaching High School music and as the performing arts convenor. It was a role that I loved.
I was helping students perform for their exams, their performances and prepare for their graduation. At the end of the year they were doing performances.
My son and his fiancee (now wife) said, “Why don’t you start off because you have your early childhood background, your general education background. Why don’t you start teaching piano?” So I taught Kinder Music and Music Theory after the school year was over.
The Musicolor Method created the next phase of my career
I was recovering from hip replacement surgery, and I was actually feeling quite down and out. I was thinking that I might not be able to teach any more.
Andrew contacted me through LinkedIn, and he sent me information about his program.
As a parent and a teacher, I already knew there was a gap for young musicians. That’s what I had experienced with taking my son to piano lessons at age 4 – they were way too hard and really turned him off learning piano.
I could see the value in the Musicolor Method right away.
Plus, I have always loved color. If I showed you around my house see you got bright color paintings. The creative use of color in the Musicolor Method really appealed to me too. And it has been fantastic.
The kids are engaged and excited by the colors
I just loved the colors, and the children took to it straight away. My students started singing a lot more, which appealed to me as an early childhood teacher.
We love singing songs and they loved collecting the ribbons. I made a fun folder for them. We could go slowly through it, it didn’t matter how long a child had to stay. I could slowly go with the child depending on how they were developing.
It bridges beautifully with the early childhood years of music with 3-4 year olds. It’s the perfect solution until they’re a little older and can go on to reading music.
I believe there are still not a whole lot of good resources that bridge that Kinder music phase in young children. A lot of books have young students playing on the black keys. I do utilize that as one tool for visualizing different positions on the piano, but it gets boring, and it is not as creative as the colors.
The colors inspire creativity and compositions
I do integrate composition a lot in my lessons as well because the colors make it so easy for the children to write something. I am putting together a book actually, to show Andrew what our studio here has composed.
The kids get inspired by something that happened at school, or being on a holiday, or even by the stuffed toys I have in my studio. They use all of them to write song.
Even if they are struggling with playing with five fingers, they can still be creative. I love that. If they were learning traditionally they wouldn’t feel so good about themselves as musicians.
My part-time roster is full
I have students from age 4-9 on the Musicolor Method, and I have some older students who have gone on to other instruments but they come back to practice with me. But they actually started with the Musicolor Method.
I use it to build that transition solidly so that my students don’t lose that love for music or say it’s too hard.
The Musicolor Method helps connect with older students too
One student is turning 11 this year. I have actually said to him, “I think you need a better piano teacher now because I just focus on early childhood.”
But he’s still with me, learning harder songs like Star Wars and Harry Potter. We’re also learning chords, Beatles songs, and having fun singing together. I think that is quite interesting that he could really go to a different teacher, but for him, it is about the connection and the fun and creative process. He can play without the colors, but he still enjoys that creative side.
There are two older girls, and they are playing clarinet and saxophone. They are in grade 6. They are both in bands and they come back to me to practice. I don’t play clarinet or saxophone, but they feel confident enough with me to come back for me to help them practice. Their moms pay me to help them, I feel that connection is there to support them in their music journey.
Piano For Kids: Teach complete beginners how to play instantly with the Musicolor Method
New songbook allows parents to teach their children piano even if they have never played before
If you are the parent of a 3 to 6 year old (or any child) and you want to give them the experience of music, check this out.
Piano is a great first instrument.
We believe all children should learn some basic piano. Numerous studies have proven a positive link between success in life, school and work with some participation in music education.
But, it hasn’t been easy for many. If you’re not a prodigy, then you may have found learning to read music difficult. This method allows your child (and even you the parent) to learn the basics of piano by using color.
Watch this video to learn more.
You can order the book here. https://amzn.to/2rh2v5p
New Songbook Enables Even Preliterate Children To Play Piano Using Color and Simple Graphics
Now, any parent using the highly successful Musicolor Method®, can teach their child piano with the release of the songbook, Piano For Kids. The book (already available in Amazon) is the first volume in a six book series. Itincludes basic instruction that allows anyone, even without prior musical experience, to learn the basics of piano and music. Color makes it easy and fun!
Experienced music teacher Andrew Ingkavet, created the Musicolor Method® as a homeschooling project for his son, who began asking for lessons at three years old. Not finding a teacher willing to accept him, Andrew began developing a new curriculum for preschoolers. As a lifelong music educator, he gathered ideas from both inside and outside traditional music education. The Musicolor Method® associates color to musical notes with songs introducing technical exercises. The lessons are organized to eventually lead to full musical fluency and have been proven effective by teachers both in the USA and around the world.
Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between success in academics, career, and life with music education. Yet, until now, it has been extremely difficult to teach younger children piano and general music in a simple, fun and effective way.
Andrew Ingkavet teaches children, parents and educators to make music a part of their life. He is the founder and creator of the Musicolor Method®, and owns a thriving music school in Brooklyn, NY. He was one of the first VJ’s for MTV-Asia and former VP, Creative Director at FCBi. He holds a Bachelors of Music from New York University where he was a Scholar in Education.
After over a decade in development, we’re thrilled to announce that our first easy piano songbook Piano For Kids Volume 1 will be launching at Amazon on May 22nd, 2018. We’ve been testing and proving the success of this curriculum worldwide through our online classroom. And now you can get it here.
Piano For Kids: Teach complete beginners how to play instantly with the Musicolor Method – for preschoolers, grade schoolers and beyond!
How the Musicolor Method Works
Why the Musicolor Method works?
We created a visual way to communicate sound with color.
Kids make direct connections from sheet music to keys to fingers.
We bypass symbols like letter names, clef signs and staff and get right to playing music. The direct labeling and color scaffolding make learning fun, fast and easy.
Even preliterate and special-needs students can use this. They intuitively understand and know what to play. This gives instant confidence.
They can practice on their own!
Progress is rapid. By playing simple songs over and over, students can memorize a repertoire of songs and begin honing technique.
Each lesson adds new patterns. Eventually, we add details like structure, rhythm, harmony and more.
There are six phases of Musicolor Notation™. This book covers phase one.
6 phases of the Musicolor Notation™
What makes this unique?
We start with playing first.
We use color on keys, fingers, and a simple notation. Color is direct labelling and creates a scaffolding for children to quickly figure out what to do. It makes learning to play fast, fun, and intuitive.
Using the simple proven approach in this book, you can teach your preschool child (and yourself), to play piano (or keyboard) while beginning to learn about the fundamentals of music.
Each song is a finger exercise in disguise. You should only work on one per week. This allows your child to build up the strength and dexterity to tackle a new pattern the following week. Try not to speed through
Here’s a sneak peek video flip through.
Please share with any parents and music teachers you know.
What To Say On Your Music Teacher profile or website?
As I talk to my music teacher coaching clients, I’ve heard many of the same questions. One of these questions is, “What do I say on my website?” Or “What should I put on my profile?
Once upon a time you could make a simple poster, put them up around the neighborhood and voila, students would appear!
Those days are long gone. Nowadays, most students are seeking teachers through their smartphone. Whoever lands at the top of the search engine wins. Or at least they get a look. And when they get there, they want to read something.
So, what do you say?
To do this, let’s first think through the strategy behind the web page or profile.
Who do you want to reach?
What’s the problem you are solving?
How do you want to make them feel?
What’s it like to work with you?
What makes you different? What’s your superpower?
What should they do now?
[box] Note: This post is a sneak peek inside our weekly Office Hours, which is included in our Musicolor Method Online Course. As many of our teachers are running their own studio businesses, marketing is a big issue. [/box]
1)Who do you want to reach?
My first website for teaching was just a single page. It was a letter from me to parents of young children in my neighborhood. I wanted readers to feel reassured. I wanted them to feel I shared similar values as a parent. In other words, I’m just like them and have the skills to help their children learn an instrument. And then, directions to send me an email or call me to discuss your child.
2) What’s the problem you solve?
This can be deeper than you think. When most people think of a coffee shop, they think the problem solved is a cup of joe, a jolt of caffeine. But Starbucks saw themselves as solving the problem of space. They were a third place – not home or work – where you could relax with an excellent cup of coffee like in a European cafe. By redefining the problem they were solving, they stood out miles ahead of Dunkin Donuts where the entire experience is aimed at getting you coffee and donuts fast. Most of us would never want to hang out there!
The same kind of thinking can apply to the business of teaching.
The problem I solve at Park Slope Music Lessons is to train children in skills necessary for success in life through the vehicle of music lessons.
3) How Do You Want To Make Them Feel?
We may believe we make logical decisions. But, it really comes down to emotion. How do we feel about buying this product or service? Later, we justify it logically. I needed that new iPhone because of my business. Really? Well, it does make me feel pretty cool and cutting edge. Plus, it’s sooo beautiful! And it’s water resistant and has an amazing camera that I can use in my lessons and…
There you go justifying it.
So by putting in a few personal details, you can really help to convey an emotion.
For a music teacher website, I would suggest emotions like:
Fun, Trustworthy, Honest, Caring, Compassionate, Patient can be very effective.
Here’s an example I just made up.
Welcome. My name is Samantha and I teach guitar to children in Burlington, VT.
I love working with children, and have three of my own, and a cute poodle named Buffy. I am a patient, kind, and loving teacher with a great love of folk, pop, and classic rock. Give me a call so I can learn more about your child.
In this profile, I’m using a first person narrative, meaning I’m writing to you as Samantha. Now take a look at this one written in third person.
Welcome. Your teacher’s name is Samantha and she teaches guitar to children in Burlington, VT. Samantha loves working with children, has three of her own, and a cute poodle named Buffy. She is a patient, kind, and loving teacher with a great love of folk, pop and classic rock. Give us a call so we can learn more about your child.
Both are basically saying the same details. But the first feels like you’re talking to Samantha directly, where the second feels like a big company has hired Samantha. This may be useful for those of you who are uncomfortable to brag about your accomplishments. But I do feel it’s a bit colder.
Do you see how even just listing the qualities of patient, kind, and loving has made you feel a certain way?
What you are trying to do from the start is to qualify your customers. This is just a fancy business way of saying, choose the right customers for you. That’s one of the reasons we mention the three kids and and the dog. Small little fun facts can help you stand out. They can help you attract the customers you most want to work with.
We are looking to build rapport with the audience immediately. Parents will likely feel a resonance with another teacher who is a parent. Dog lovers will love knowing about Buffy. Cat lovers or people averse to dogs will go elsewhere. This is fine! They probably wouldn’t want to come anyway as they may be afraid, allergic or not comfortable with dogs in the area.
4) What’s it like to work with you?
This is where you tell them your process.
Example: Weekly 30 minute lessons in your home, packed with fun and real skills. Lessons are $30 per half hour.
Keep it simple but engaging. Don’t go deep into the theoretical or drop the names of all the teachers and conservatories you studied with. How are you going to help the client with their problem?
Example: I teach kids 6 years old+ to be future rock stars / leaders of the world! We have a beautiful upright piano in my home teaching studio located conveniently at ___. The cost of the lessons is $40 per hour and lessons are payable in advance in monthly payments. The first two lessons are trial lessons where we determine whether it’s a good match between student, teacher, and instrument.
5) What Makes You Different? What’s Your Superpower?
Everyone has a superpower. It’s the thing they do better than everyone else. Quite often, they don’t even realize that it’s a power. It’s so easy and obvious, they will often ask, “But doesn’t everyone know and do this?”
No! Whatever comes so easily and naturally to you is often the very thing you are not valuing. Because it’s so obvious. But for other people, they would gladly pay you to do that.
A Strange Question
If you are not sure of your superpower or powers, try this experiment.
Send a quick email to 5 people who know you well. They can be friends, colleagues, former colleagues, neighbors, people from the community, and maybe family. Family quite often have no idea because they, like you, are too close to the subject.
The subject line of the email is “a strange question.”
Then you tell them, something like this.
Hi,
I’m taking part in a course and need your help.
Can you tell me what my greatest strengths are? What is my superpower?
I need an answer by Friday at 10pm. (You need to give a deadline)
Thanks so much!
I did this experiment a few years ago. It was incredible. Though I knew many things about myself, there were a few things that did surprise me. It also just feels incredible to know that all these people would share their love of you!
So as you write your bio summary statement, you can list some of these superpowers.
For example:
My students and clients have told me many times that I’m a great listener who just seems to get what they’re saying even before they say it!
Example:
I can relate to just about anyone. I am especially good at reading people’s feelings. I have a high EQ.
Example:
I’m super creative and can pull in all kinds of ideas into a lesson. I’ve used stories from my life, pop culture, and folk stories to help illustrate a point.
6) What Should They Do Now?
In marketing, they call this the Call to Action. What is it they should do next?
For most of you, that would be either an email or a phone call. You want to engage the client in a conversation to see if they are the right fit, they understand your pricing, and how you work.
By the time the client calls you, they should already have answers to these questions, but they usually want to be reassured by talking to you, that you will be a good fit.
Keep it Simple and Smile!
Think of this acronym: KISS. Keep it simple and smile. It will all work out in the end!
One of the best parts of my job as a music teacher is witnessing the pure joy that music can bring.
Here’s one of my young students who started her first lesson with me at the end of June.We had a few lessons over the summer and then a break.But she loves to practice.This song was in our 3rd lesson and is her favorite.
Walking Before Talking?
As we ended the lesson, a student’s father said to me, “I took lessons in 2nd grade, but they started me with having to learn to read the notes and I just gave up.I wish I had you as a teacher back then.”
Me too!
Back then, the only way to teach was reading notes first.And, unless you were a childhood prodigy like Bach or Mozart, then, sorry!Forget about any preschooler taking piano lessons!You had to wait until you were at least 8 years old.
It’s like asking a child to walk before they can even talk! It’s backwards!
Somehow, the child-centered approach to early childhood education never seemed to make it to the music education departments of Universities and conservatories.
There is a natural growth cycle of human development. And reading cannot come before speaking, ever. So why expect it in a music lesson? Reading music notation cannot come before playing the instrument.
Everything In It’s Place
In the Musicolor Method™ curriculum, we have a strategically designed sequence of songs that build technique while disguised as fun sing-along songs. There is a right time for everything. We use several phases of Musicolor notation that is instantly readable and yet guides the student towards reading traditional music notation.And we use a concept called direct-labelling, that comes from information design, to facilitate the entire process.
If your child is struggling with reading notes, it’s probably not their fault. It just may be out of sequence.
I Wanna Rock!
Recently, I met a father of a former student.He was very complimentary about my students abilities.He told me how his other daughter went to a big franchise music school that promised to teach kids to play in a rock band.And yet when she came home each week, the father would ask her to play a song.
“Well I can’t remember.And I only play one note in the whole song.”
That sounds more like playing a video game like Guitar Hero where you don’t actually learn the skills to play anything on your own.You just play along with backing tracks or the teacher plays the real song while the kids get to play one note.That doesn’t sound all that fun to me.And judging from the father’s disappointment, not what he was expecting.There was no organized method or curriculum.
As a teacher and a parent, I’ve never been a fan of this kind of teaching.It’s more of an after-school activity to kill a few hours until dinner time.Where’s the growth?Where’s the mastery of skills?
Learning any new skills requires structure and organization. Even with a million instructional videos on YouTube, how do you know what to watch next? How do you have an organized path to mastery?
How Do You Know If Your Child’s Music Teacher is Effective?
Do you have your child in music lessons? Do you see consistent growth every week? Is your child able to play music alone without the backing tracks or duets and still sound like music? Are they learning the life skills of focus, perseverance and practice? If not, you may be experiencing the old-school, traditional method. I call it walking before talking.
Send Your Teacher To This Unique Training
We can help. Send your teacher to our training, you can learn more or sign up here. We have a full curriculum to teach piano, guitar, ukulele, dulcimer, strumstick along with general music theory to children as young as 3!
Here’s a video of a 4 year old who worked with me for 9 months from the age of 3 1/2.
