When my daughters were around 4 and 5, I wanted to start teaching them piano. Little did I know that I would be blessed to find a program that not only taught piano, but also ear training and singing. It was a complete music program called Music for Little Mozarts.
Here’s a Music for Little Mozarts product review to help you decide if this program will benefit your homeschool.
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What You Get
Music for Little Mozarts is geared towards ages 4 – 6. There are four levels: orange, green, blue, and purple. The components for each level can be purchased separately, however, you can get a great deal at the first level by buying the Deluxe Starter Kit. In the kit you get the following:
- Tote bag
- Lesson Book 1
- Workbook 1
- Discovery Book 1
- Set of 2 CDs
- Beethoven Bear plush toy
- Mozart Mouse plush toy
- Flashcards
- Music Activity Board – magnetic and dry erase
The Lesson Books
By far the most captivating part of the Lesson Book was the story of Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear in each lesson. The two stuffed animals guide the children through learning to play the piano in a fun way. Activities include placing the animals on certain keys on the keyboard to enhance learning. My children were fascinated with the story and these activities.
The lessons include many concepts. Proper hand position is stressed in the beginning. Note reading in the beginning is done without a staff. The staff is added in the second book. Musical terms such as forte, piano, legato, and staccato are covered.
The Workbooks
The Workbook reinforces concepts in the Lesson Book and teaches ear training. Activities include:
- Coloring keys of the same name on a printed keyboard (i.e. all g’s)
- Recognizing intervals by ear
- Identifying a rhythm that is clapped
- Drawing lines to match note names to notes
- Recognizing crescendos and decrescendos by ear
The Discovery Books
Besides the story in the lesson book, my kids had the most fun with the activities in the Discovery Book. It is full of delightful activities that get the kids up and moving around, just what younger children need. Here are some things that are included:
- Songs with activities such as clapping, walking, and stomping
- Singing solfege (do – re – mi)
- Listening to stories of famous composers such as Bach and Tchaikovsky
- Listening to excerpts of classical music to find fast and slow parts along with other musical concepts
- Clapping or stomping a written rhythm
- Learning instruments of the orchestra
- Playing a pattern on the keyboard with a song
The CDs
There are two CDs included in each set, one for the Lesson Book and one for the Discovery Book. The one for the Lesson Book includes the telling of the story with voice characterizations for Beethoven Bear, Mozart Mouse, and their friends. It also includes performances of each piano piece in the lessons. The Discovery Book CD includes recordings of the songs and listening selections. My kids really enjoyed dancing and doing the activities that went along with these recordings. They loved hearing the stories told by the voices of Beethoven Bear, Mozart Mouse, and their friends.
The Rest
Other valuable items in the kits include a magnetic whiteboard with a grand staff and flashcards for reinforcing musical concepts. The plush toys of Beethoven Bear and Mozart Mouse are by far the most important because they are used for many of the activities.
If you would like to teach your young children beginning piano skills and give them a good foundation in music, then this product would probably be beneficial for you. You don’t have to be a good pianist to use this program. I had only elementary level piano skills when I used it to teach my children. I relied on the CDs to play the accompaniments for me. If you can’t afford a piano, an electronic keyboard will work. That is what I used.
If you are extremely busy and can’t dedicate a half an hour a day or so to music, then I wouldn’t recommend this program. It takes dedication, regular practice, and time commitment to learn piano.
We had a great deal of success in using this program. One of my children sings and plays the organ in church thanks to the musical foundation she got from Music for Little Mozarts. Overall, my children really enjoyed learning music with this curriculum.
You have to be careful to not let yourself get bogged down by all of the activities in this program. That was the only downside that I saw to this product, too many activities. It is best to select the activities which are fun and beneficial for your child. If you stick with those and forget the rest, you’ll have an enjoyable time using this material.
We saved ourselves a ton of money that would otherwise be spent on a piano teacher by buying this product. Overall, I was very pleased with it.