Homeschool Crew Review - Music & Creativity Foundation Course

My kids have dabbled in the piano off and on for years. I’d like to get them piano lessons, but the money for that is not quite in the budget yet. That’s why I was excited to find out that there is a free option for online piano lessons –Music & Creativity Foundation Course by Simply Music.

About Simply Music

The course we reviewed was designed and taught by Neil Moore. Since Moore was young, he hears music and sees it in two and three dimension shapes. As an adult, he worked on a teaching method to help students also see the music as he does, which lead them to learn the material quickly. For the last 20 years, he has been teaching educators so that they may use his method.

Now, he has decided to create a self-study method (Music & Creativity Foundation Course) for people who wouldn’t normally have access to music education. He’s passionate about trying to get his program into jails, drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinics, PTSD clinics, and women’s shelters. He’s also excited to have the program reach typical learners like my kids who may not have the resources or the availability to get private music lessons.

About the Course

The course is offered completely free! No strings attached. You don’t even have to give your credit card number to access the course.

The Music & Creativity Foundation Course has nineteen lessons, and lessons run as short as 3 minutes to as long as 20+ minutes. In addition, some lessons have several parts.

Moore believes that everyone is profoundly musical, so instead of starting off teaching learners how to read music, which often leads to difficulty and the belief that learning to play the piano is “too hard”, Moore uses a playing-based approach. This approach immerses students immediately into playing the piano.

There is a keyboard printable that you can download, and Moore suggests for adult learners that you simply slip the printable into your briefcase, plug in your earbuds to your smartphone, and practice whenever you can throughout the day, even if you don’t have a keyboard handy. Children could also practice in the car when riding home from school or to extracurricular activities.

Moore also includes the e-book, Music and the Art of Long-term Relationships, which outlines many of Moore’s philosophies, especially when it comes to helping students stay involved in music. Ultimately, Moore’s purpose for offering this course is so that the learners can have music in their lives for the rest of their lives.

How We Used the Program

My daughter used this program three to four times a week. During our review period, she got through lesson 9, so she made it about halfway through the course.

Our Thoughts on the Program

Stylistically, this course is very visually appealing. The background is black, Moore is wearing black, and the piano is black, so the only white is the piano keys. This makes for a very sharp, appealing image.

I loved that we could take the lessons at home for free! In addition, if my daughter is still interested in this program after she finishes the free section, there are many other lessons she can access. Next is Foundation Enhancement, which has 21 video lessons and costs $35. There are also eight other courses that are in development but aren’t available currently, so there is a lot of material here to be studied.

My daughter is not an auditory learner; she is much more a kinesthetic learner, so at times, she felt that Moore talked a bit too much. I don’t really see this as a weakness of the program but as one of my daughter’s weaknesses. I thought that Moore did a good job explaining just enough without being too wordy.

My daughter enjoyed getting to play entire songs, but she’s also eagerly looking forward to learning to read music.

I plan to continue having her use this course now that the review period is over.

If you’re looking for a piano program you or your kids can study from home, the Music & Creativity Foundation Course is a great option.