Jean Welles’ Worship Guitar Class for Kids is an excellent program for children and adults to learn to play guitar. Being a non-guitar playing person I was surprised by my own ability to follow through and successfully duplicate her fingering. After I gave it a try I introduced the streaming videos to the girls and they are starting to get the hang of how it works. We were so excited about our ability to make a few sounds that we went out to see how much a proper guitar would cost. (For this review I had to borrow a friend’s guitar.)
Although the title of this course is “Worship Guitar” secular homeschooling families should not feel that by purchasing this product that they are subjecting their children to any form of indoctrination. The lessons start off with a quick prayer and the songs are dedicated to God and the values that everyone needs to be successful in life. People from all faiths should be comfortable with the songs and the spirit in which they were created.
One thing that my girls really enjoyed was the feeling that they were in a personal lesson with Ms. Welles. Ms. Welles has a cat that is present during her instruction and for my cat loving girls this was a giant plus. I think that showing parts of the live lesson with the adorable little girl was also a brilliant touch because it gives the little ones confidence seeing another student receiving corrections and praise for a job well done. As a parent I felt that she had a genuine love of her students and of God. This quiet and loving confidence made the lessons special and enjoyable (for us at least) than many that we have experienced with music teachers that we’ve encountered in real life.
The Worship Guitar Class for Kids is also incredibly affordable for any family. You can get the nine streaming video lessons for $28. If you would like to have the children practice without tying up the computer, you can also request the lessons on DVD for an additional $5 for a total of $33. The course covers:
How to hold down a note to get a clear tone on the guitar.
A couple worship songs with the melody plucked to strengthen their hands.
Kinderbach is a lovely program for parents who want to expose their children to the wonders of music. It is designed for children three to seven years old and is a great introduction to more formal piano lessons. But don’t mistake this to be one of the “cutesy” toys parents buy their children to pretend that they are learning music. This is the real deal. Children will be learning about sharps and flats, keyboard placement, rhythm and notereading. But it’s done in such a gentle and fun way that even parents with music-phobias are able to relax and enjoy themselves.
Kinderbach musical curriculum consists of videos (available as online or DVDs), ebooks and a piano keyboard. For this review I concentrated on my middle daughter’s enjoyment and learning experience since she’s six years old. She was immediately engaged with the videos of the teachers. She finds them to be very entertaining and in many cases funny. She especially likes the way that the instructors teach the concept of higher and lower. They use this beautiful golden retriever and a set of stairs. As the dog goes up or down, the male voice has to pitch his voice accordingly. Those lessons give her a full case of the giggles. She also enjoyed doing the workbook pages which include coloring and minor craft work.
I liked the way that the instructors taught the children to remember the names of the keys on the keyboard. I found it interesting that they started with Dodi the Donkey (key of D) because when I was taking piano lessons many eons ago Middle C was king. But after watching the subsequent videos it made a lot of sense. Children need reference points, especially if they aren’t reading yet. So having illustrations like Dodi’s house for the key of D and making tents for Dodi all over the keyboard really is quite ingenious.
It was never a chore to get her to do her lessons and she learned a lot. Even her “over the hill” sister (at 10 years of age) took part in many of the activities because they were just so much fun. My three year old son, who is a perpetual motion machine, really enjoyed doing some of the musical routines that are in almost every video. We even formed a little band of drummers, piano players, singers and kazoos.
The children had a lot of fun with the program and Alaya, who never got a chance to take in-person piano lessons, was able to play simple songs on the piano after the first week of the program. I think that this is very important because drills don’t give you the satisfaction of being able to play a little tune for yourself or others. I didn’t have to fight with Alaya to do her musical lessons either, so that was definitely a plus.
Kinderbach can be utilized in a variety of ways. If you’d like an online subscription, the cost is $7.99/mo. for the entire family. If your internet connection is shaky, you might want to invest in the various DVD sets. The DVDs start at $55.95 (2 DVD set) and go up to $222.88 for the 10-DVD set. Before investing any money into the program, you can take advantage of the free trial to see if this is something that you and your children would enjoy.
P.S. Kinderbach has also been kind enough to give my readers a 10% discount on their product orders if you click the discount link. And don’t forget to have your kids enroll in the “Dodi Loves D” – Valentine Draw! The contest ends March 1st with the winner of the Everyday songbook being announced on March 3rd. Check out the main page, but your children’s masterpieces can be submitted by email or snail mail. So break out the crayons and begin your musical journey with Dodi. Khalid Family Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars
Maestro Classics is a wonderful program designed to brng classical compositions to life by coupling them with traditional stories such as The Tortoise and the Hare (the CD selection that I received) as well as Peter & the Wolf, The Story of Swan Lake, Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel, to name but a few of their offerings.
There were a few things about this musical program that really appealed to me. For one thing I loved the illustrations that were used on the CD case as well as in the instructional booklet that is included. And speaking of instructional booklets, this one is a winner. Although it is small (to fit inside of the CD case) it is chock full of activities, information and discussion points for the entire family.
In The Tortoise and the Hare booklet they have information on the musical instruments that were used on the CD as well as a basic intoduction to musical notation and how it relates to math. My youngest daughter loves animals so the section on the difference between turtles/tortoises and rabbits/hares. There is are crossword puzzles, word scrambles and memory exercises to test how well the listeners were paying attention to the story.
The music is beautiful and played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. So needless to say, the music is of excellent quality and very pleasing to listen to and sing along with for the kids. My almost ten year old daughter (who initially thought this was for the younger children since she’s such an old lady) really enjoyed the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris” song and played that one over and over again. My six year old daughter just loved the whole experience (for her it was an experience!) because it hit all of her pleasure buttons: music, singing and storytelling. Even my three year old son took time off from his job of dismantling my home to sit and listen while the CD was playing. So, the kids give it a definite 5 out of 5 stars.
This is a wonderful addition the family regardless of your educational choices. Hearing and connecting to fine music really is an often neglected activity in today’s hurried world. The stories are narrated in a very funny and entertaining way, but for me it was the music that made it all worthwhile. I love the way that music can change the mood of the story so quickly and expertly. No need for long explanations because you just feel it inside and it resonates with your soul.
Maestro Classics Stories in Music series can be purchased at their website as well as in retail stores. The best deals seem to be on the home website, so I’d recommend going there first. This is a high quality, high class introduction to classical music for the entire family at a very affordable price of $16.98 for single stories and gift sets cost $24.99. They are also adding Spanish language stories to their catalog for all those budding Spanish students and native speakers.
Music IS the universal language and Maestro Classics makes it one that you’ll like to listen to again and again.
I'm a homeschooling mom with seven children: 3 human, 2 feline and 2 canine. I'm also the wife of one very patient husband who seems to like the role of ringmaster to our circus. I am a virtual assistant who enjoys writing, crafts, music and laughter. I hope you'll visit often. Please be aware that this blog is supported by affiliate links, although every link isn't necessarily an affiliate program.
Jean Welles’ Worship Guitar Class for Kids is an excellent program for children and adults to learn to play guitar. Being a non-guitar playing person I was surprised by my own ability to follow through and successfully duplicate her fingering. After I gave it a try I introduced the streaming videos to the girls and they are starting to get the hang of how it works. We were so excited about our ability to make a few sounds that we went out to see how much a proper guitar would cost. (For this review I had to borrow a friend’s guitar.)
