Experience a music education that is FUN and turns your aspiring musical child into a functional musician!

See It, Feel It, Make It, and Hear It

• See it - We learn how to read notes on the Bass and Treble Clef, beginning with single quarter notes and developing into complex chord extensions (both hand simultaneous)

• Feel it - We learn to count various rhythms while also in various meters of 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/8, and so on

• Create it - We learn how to write our own melodies and rhythms and then how to compose music in varying levels of complexity (depending upon the level)

• Hear it - We learn how to use our ears to take music that we hear, and transcribe it into music OR add to it.

The Importance of a well-balanced curriculum in the first 2-5 years of Music Education

The first few years of a students musical experience are SO important. A dynamic and capable teacher must balance FUN while also challenging students to push themselves as far as they can go! The curriculum must also address the pillars of music as well. So the teacher (and curriculum) must balance sight-reading of notes with also playing by ear as well as tapping into the already-innate ability that most children have to create music (which unfortunately is neglected all too often). We do that in our lessons! We track and allow students and parent to see their progress through software that tracks their progress on each song, while ALSO teaching the other fundamentals of music…improvisation, composition, pattern recognition, proper dexterity, theory, and playing/deciphering by ear (audiation) what the music is. Students attend a small-group format where they can graduate out of each level as soon as they are able to demonstrate proficiency (as tracked and monitored by our software along with our teachers) at the current level (each level has 42-58 short-songs that students learn to demonstrate proficiency). Curios as to what your child will be learning in their early music years?

Level 1 - FUN-damentals

We have a ball together as we learn the following core concepts of music:

• Quarter Notes

• Quarter Rests

• Half Notes

• Dotted Half Notes

• Half Rests

• Whole Notes

• Ties

• Finger Numbers

• Notes Names A-G

Level 2 - Building on the Basics

Some (not all) of the core concepts taught at this level

• Reading notes on the Treble Clef

• Reading notes on the Bass Clef

• Understanding Measures

• Identifying (audibly) between Bass and Treble Clef Notes

• Comprehending and understanding 4/4 meter

• Playing multiple notes simultaneously in one hand

• Playing multiple notes simultaneously with BOTH hands

Level 3 - Extending from the Basics

Some (not all) of the core concepts taught at this level

• Accidentals - both sharps and flats

• Playing and hearing/deciphering between Major and Minor Chords

• I, IV, V7 chords

• 8th notes

• 3/4 Meter

• Staccato and Legato

• Dynamics

Level 4 - Creating Complexity from Simplicity

Some (not all) of the core concepts taught at this level

• Lead Sheet Reading

• Improvising on top of a Lead Sheet Song

• Syncopation

• Using the Sustaining Pedal

• Crescendo and Decrescendo

• Additional mP, mF and other subtleties within Dynamics

Level 5 - I am becoming an Intermediate Musician!

Some (not all) of the core concepts taught at this level

• C, G, F, and Am Scales

• Scale fingerings and playing in parallel and contrary-motion

• Triplets

• Dotted Quarter Notes

• Chord Inversions

• Intervals 2nd - Octave

Level 6 - I am becoming an Early-Advanced Musician!

Some (not all) of the core concepts taught at this level

• Am Natural and Harmonic

• Em Natural and Harmonic

• D Natural and Harmonic

• 16th Notes

• 6/8 Meter

• Chromatic Scales

• Tetrachords

Level 7 - and BEYOND!

Students that enter level 7 with us at Music Pillars have a fantastic foundation to support their musical journey into advanced musical endeavors that can be expressed in individual lessons with our advanced piano teachers, in composition, and/or in joining our Piano Orchestra that plays for our live Musical Theater Productions. We also support entrance after level 6 into the Royal Conservatory Music Academy and help students prepare for their written or practical exams (based upon student and parent commitment and interest). Have questions about this? Feel free to call/text us at 858-999-8584 and we’ll be happy to help talk more about it!