Anyone who knows me knows I love music. I listen to music all the time, and when I get the chance, I love to play piano. I took lessons when I was a kid, but had to stop for some reason, but the love of playing stayed with me, so when my big sister Sam was gifted an upright piano and she had no room for it at her house I gladly begged mum to let us store it here for her, simply so that I had an excuse to play. I've slowly been teaching Miss K to play, but given I don't have a lot of theory practise under my belt it is a very slow process. So when The Hoffman Academy contacted me and asked if we would review their online lessons I jumped at the chance.
There are two elements to the piano lessons given at Hoffman Academy. The first one is video lessons, which are available for free on their website. The second element is the work books, which are available for purchase at $19 USD per unit, or $85 USD if you purchase all of the units at once, which is a savings of $29! We were given a copy of the first unit workbook, and we have been going through it slowly while watching the videos.
All of the lessons are given by Joseph Hoffman who teaches the "Hoffman method" of piano playing. The videos are definitely aimed at children, with the language used very simple and explanations broken down to a level where children would be able to understand them. For us this was perfect given the student is five years old, however it may be a bit insulting for adults who are trying to learn to play through this website. That being said I don't think anyone should be deterred from trying Hoffman Academy regardless of their age. There is even a fun puppet show at the end of each video, something Miss K looks forward to as a reward for accomplishing another lesson.
The thing I loved about the Hoffman Academy piano lessons was that it made learning the piano both fun and easy for Miss K. Everything was broken down in a way that I find impossible to do, so she picked up new lessons quicker than she ever did with me. It also did away with a lot of the frustration both of us felt when I was handling her lessons on my own. Because she could see results a lot quicker she didn't lose confidence in her abilities when she did make a mistake, and was more willing to give it another go, something I could never get her to do, so Hoffman for the win there.
Hoffman Academy has made learning the piano easy and affordable. The fact that she was able to sit at the piano with my tablet open in front of her has made me happy because I don't have to leave the house, and she can pick it up whenever she wants and try another lesson, so if we're stuck inside on a rainy day (which means all the time right now, thanks very much winter.) then instead of getting in my hair she sits at the piano and works her way through another lesson, and I get to sit in my dressing gown with my unbrushed hair and not worry that the piano teacher thinks I'm a lazy parent. And given that each unit comprises of up to twenty lessons you are certainly getting value for money.
For further information, including looking up Mr Hoffman's impressive resume, check out the Hoffman Academy here. You can watch the videos without needing to purchase the workbooks, but they certainly do add to the learning experience and help reinforce the information given in the videos.
Well that's all from me today, I'm off to enjoy the rare tiny bit of sunshine we're getting here today, it's made even more special by the fact that I had to scrape frost off my car this morning and drive to kindergarten in 0 degree weather. Have I mentioned that I hate winter lately?
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the first unit of lessons in return for this review. All opinions given here are entirely my own *
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