Hooked On Piano Crash Course
Do you have a child or student who has little to no experience with piano, and you’re wondering where to start? Well, good news!! You are in the right place. 
Hooked on Piano is the perfect book to start learning piano and includes my non-traditional approach for teaching beginners! WOOO! This book combines everything I teach in my Cascade Method training course for teachers, but I am actually teaching it to my students. 
Throughout the book (and course–which we will get to soon), students will:
Learn dozens of songsCompose musicPlay gamesPerform in front of other kidsLearn all the fundamentals of musicGain confidenceFeel empoweredAND have FUN while falling in love with piano!
WHEW, who’s in?! 
Buckle up, because today I am giving you a Hooked on Piano crash course! I’ll show you a sneak peek into the book and how I implement it into a 12-week course for students!
Table of Contents
Why Hooked On Piano
Let’s rewind to three years ago…before Hooked on Piano was created.
After 18 years of 1:1 lessons, I decided to add group lessons into my schedule. At that point in life I was looking for a new way to support my family financially, without adding a burden time wise. I was absolutely terrified, and had no idea what I was doing, but there is a quote I really love that says: “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” … So I went for it.
And now, after three years, my group lessons are STILL going strong! As a mama of two providing for my kiddos alone, this decision is paying off more than ever. So here’s a reminder to go for what you want, even if it seems scary!!
Enter: Hooked on Piano
When teaching group lessons, I was struck with the idea for Hooked on Piano. What if I could take a book for beginners and offer a course that got kids genuinely excited to play piano?! 
So with lots of creating and brainstorming, I developed my Hooked on Piano book AND course for kids!! For now, I offer a 12 week LIVE course in the fall semester. Unlike my piano club that has been meeting in person, Hooked on Piano is on Zoom so it is accessible to all kiddos in all time zones! 
I also limit this course to 15 students because I want to be able to truly connect with everyone and develop a meaningful relationship!
My non-traditional method of teaching has been bottled up in this live course to immediately boost student’s confidence in playing piano! They will learn:
over a dozen popular songs
how to compose their own pieces
finger numbers
super fun games
basic rhythm
and ultimately how to develop a genuine love for playing!
While I use this book as a beginner’s course for students, the beauty of teaching is that we all have different teaching styles. You can implement this book into your lessons the best way you see fit for your students!!
How Do You Make It Fun Online?
Whether you are a teacher or a parent, I HEAR you. Another online lesson? More screen time? Trust me, I get it! But one of the biggest reasons I love group lessons is the social aspect. When students are first learning to play piano, it can feel so isolating, but during these lessons, I incorporate breakout rooms where they will play games in pairs of 2. I also like to ask volunteers to play new pieces they’ve practiced throughout the week (this helps lower performance anxiety)!!
Who Is "Hooked On Piano" Good For?
This 12 week course is good for ages 6+ but it truly depends on the student and their willingness and desire to learn. I would recommend the student being at least 6 years old but if the student is on the older side, they’ll pick up everything very quickly. I designed this book to make piano fun and to make sure students gain confidence and a love for piano!
For Parents!
If you are a parent looking to get your child started with piano, you can read all about the live course I offer! In addition to all the songs they’ll learn, I’ll teach them important piano fundamentals and concepts through games and boom cards.
Check out one of my students who learned this piece by himself!!
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