The people who made this video have a great website musicianswithapps.com
It has been very useful for me in finding apps kids love. They review apps for all kinds of instruments and give a rating. They make it easy to find out what the best apps are and even let you know how their kid testers voted and how the teacher voted. You’ve got to check it out! Oh and I use the featured app in my studio – all the kids love it!!!
Thanks to a post on Natalie Whickham’s Blog, my students have been enjoying this wonderful new app. It systematically teaches staff notation and rhythm while captivating the student in the story of a princess. Girly girls in my studio LOVE LOVE LOVE it. This app has some fun extras for kids also – as you move through the levels you unlock different fashion items for the princess and you can even take pictures of the princess!
I highly recommend this app for students who may be struggling with staff notation. It can be purchased in the itunes store.
Thanks, Natalie!
Okay, this is not exactly a PIANO app, but it is the app that I use most often for my students during piano lessons. iPhone’s YouTube app is amazing! I have a few students who have very short attention spans. The YouTube app provides fun breaks during the lesson that extend the learning.
There are so many videos on YouTube of everything! There is usually at least one for any given song that we are learning. So, I just do a quick search for the song and find a listing that looks appropriate. Instantly my student has a “live” performance of the song he is working on. Of course with it being YouTube, some videos are better than others. This is yet another learning opportunity. I have the student critique the video and compare it to his own playing.
One very good thing about this app is that there is a FAVORITES tab. I add the videos that are most popular with my students such as the Beethoven’s Wig series.
I also use the app to demonstrate how other kids of similar ages play the song. Students who are struggling with a particular song are immediately motivated to keep trying when they see a kid younger than them in a video playing the song easily. While I do stress that usually a LOT of practice has taken place before they post this up on YouTube, it still motivates the student to keep trying.
I could go on and on about this app, but if you’re looking for a great way to spice up your piano lessons, use this app!
When I was a kid there was a saying that went like this: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. These days it seems that we need our apps just as much or even more than we needed those apples! So, for the next few days I’ll share my favorite apps for piano with kids.
At just $0.99 this app is awesome! Perfect for the 4-6 year old beginning piano student. It is part of Alfred Publishing’s Music For Little Mozarts method. Familiar graphics for the student who is using these books and so fun to play! I use it during the lessons and encourage parents to download it to their device as well. At $0.99 it’s an EASY way for parents to sneak in some extra practice time for their little one away from the piano.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another app suggestion. In the meantime, I’d love to hear about your favorite apps to use in the piano teaching studio.
Happy Playing!
