Piano Online

A Wake-Up Call

As a society, we find ourselves in a gripping situation as we have been asked for the first time in our lifetimes to practice "social distancing". Our children are home from school and no one really knows when they will go back. Most colleges and universities are converting as many classes as possible to online classes so students can finish out the semester after an extended spring break. Churches have closed their doors to worship services. Toilet paper, of all things, as well as bottled water, are nowhere to be found on any shelf in any store. This pandemic is already making history and we have no idea how it will play out. 

Benefits of Piano Playing

In the music education industry, teachers are scrambling to set themselves up for online lessons to help maintain their streams of income without putting their health and the health of their students at risk. As parents, we want our children to continue their education, including their education in the arts. Playing the piano is generally known to create new neural pathways, which has many benefits, such as improving communication skills, memory, attention, language, speech, and even spatial and math skills. It has also been suggested that playing the piano improves one's ability to vocally convey emotions.

Piano Online

Piano Marvel is the solution to our current dilemma and the ongoing solution for online piano lessons. Students can tackle learning piano on their own or with a teacher using this interactive technology. Piano Marvel is a great tool for piano teachers who are teaching online lessons that allows them to view their students' progress in the app. As a company, we offer support and classes to help teachers implement Piano Marvel in online lessons, one on one lessons and group lessons. Here are a few of our favorite features:

1. The interactive Method and Technique sections of Piano Marvel are a great place to start for beginning, intermediate and advanced students. The Piano Marvel Method is a comprehensive curriculum that was developed by Aaron Garner, piano teacher, and former class piano instructor at UNC in Greeley, Colorado. He studied many of the best piano teaching curriculums available before developing his own for Piano Marvel. There are 6 levels in the Method trophy case with 20 exercises in each sublevel, which adds up to 100 exercises per level. The technique trophy case, where scales, arpeggios, and flashcards are located, is organized the same way. There are also video lessons for each exercise of the first three levels of the Method to help beginners get started.                                         
2. Advanced and professional pianists can also benefit greatly from studying with Piano Marvel due to its extensive and ever-growing Music Library. There are pieces from levels 1-18. Many professional pianists use Piano Marvel's Prepare and Assess Modes to learn difficult pieces for performances. Prepare, and Assess Mode are part of Piano Marvel's Practice Mode where pieces are "chopped" or "minced" into smaller sections to learn with individual hands and then hands together. These sections are also played at 3 different tempos. Prepare Mode waits for the note to be pressed before moving onto the next. Assess mode expects the player to play up to tempo and gives them a score at the end along with showing all correct notes in green and incorrect notes in red. The assessment measures tempo as well as tone. The exercises in Method and Technique also utilize Prepare and Assess modes.
3. Would you like to be able to sit down at the piano and play any piece of music you want? The Standard Assessment of Sight Reading (SASR) is the only standardized test in existence to measure sight-reading and is being used by universities and schools around the United States. Taking the test on a regular basis is a great way to improve quickly!
4. Movie theme songs, new music the kids are listening to, and other popular music is a great motivator for the young and old alike. Piano Marvel has a large selection of licensed music that is included with all premium accounts at no additional charge.
5. At Piano Marvel, motivating students to want to practice and excel at the piano is high on our list of priorities. We issue challenges and competitions to our users on a regular basis and offer prizes to those who participate. We offer a community of support and encouragement to help our users continue growing and setting goals. Leaderboards for practice streaks, practice minutes, and our new Scale Ninja challenge, among others, help keep students motivated and progressing.

These features are only a handful of the tools found in Piano Marvel to provide encouragement and ongoing learning. Aaron Garner, creator and constant innovator of Piano Marvel, says, "No one can outgrow Piano Marvel." There is more than enough material for everyone at all levels and abilities and we will keep inventing more ways to have fun and keep learning.

Take a quick tour of Piano Marvel here

Heidi Garner

Heidi Garner helped start Piano Marvel with her husband, Aaron Garner, in 2008. Since then she has held a variety of roles at the company, but is most recently the Marketing & Branding Ambassador. You may run into her on our social media or at a convention!