Violin Lessons Like No Other; Accessable & Affordable with Practice Monkeys

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Years ago we drove 120 miles round trip and paid $22 an hour for my son’s violin lessons. That violin sat idle for the last few years until I was offered to review Practice Monkeys, Family Subscription to Live Violin Classes. I had just about given up hope for using the instrument again because of the hours of driving and the thought of paying one-hundred dollars for four lessons. Fortunately, Practice Monkeys makes lessons practicle and affordable.

You migh want to check out this offer…

How does 16 live classes, each month, in your own home with instant access to replays, tools, tips and helps for under $50 a month appeal to you?

(It gets better! The offer that is available for this review is only until February 1st! Don’t miss Lessons for $39 for the LIFETIME of your lessons with Practice Monkeys)

That caught my eye too. Maybe that little violin of yours could still get some play time.

Can violin lessons be done in an entirely different way?

Sarah Van Kleeck has revolutionized my idea of lessons as I knew them. She is a Suzuki Method violin teacher for the last 27 years and designed Practice Monkeys to solve the problem of finding lessons that are Comprehensive, Convenient, Fun, Effective, Excellent and Affordable.

How Does She Accomplish This?

Practice Monkeys is housed online, with LIVE online classes four days a week. You have access to the materials that were taught in your child’s LIVE lesson any time you are ready to use it for review and for practice.

What Does This Look Like in Real Life?

My daughter is in the beginning LEVEL 2 class, so LIVE classes are at 3:15 in our time zone. LIVE classes are on every week day; Monday through Thursday, and the recorded class is housed online to refer to and practice with.

Sarah is an enthusiastic teacher. She is also very well versed in working with children. I was not sure what to expect, but as I watched her teach lessons through the live feed, it was clear she had been working with children for a really long time. She was very intuitive to each student, some responded to her quiet prompts, some thunderous applause, she was quick to pick up the children’s cues.

The classes are small, so each student get to check in or try out a part of the lesson during the live class time as well. Enough individual care was given for my kiddo to feel like she was working for her teacher during practice time. Sarah can capture your child’s interest and hold it long before the gift of making music begins to work it’s enchanting magic.

Sooner that I thought, my daughter was making actual musical sounds from the violin. We had a very basic beginner class and felt like everything was well covered, from how to hold the instrument to how to tune. My child was empowered to own her lessons from the very start. Since she was an older child in the Level 2 Tree House, I was totally hands off except for dialing in for the live classes. There were much younger children taking the class as well. The Suzuki Method is perfect for much younger learners. 

 

Navigating the Site

When you log into the Practice Monkeys site, you navigate to your assigned Level TREE HOUSE. The Tree House is where everything you might need to refer to is housed. There are helpful videos for choosing and caring for your instrument as well as to show correct position and tuning.

There are also printable resources for you including…

• Parent Guide
• Practice Sheet
• Skill and Habit Checklist
• Music Theory Memory Coloring Book

Videos include a Parent Orientation and Student Set Up as well as How to Tune Your Violin and a link to helpful Apps

Ready, Set, Go

Once you have gone through the beginning steps and are ready to begin you can jump right into the recorded Practice Classes with the Links right there on the page. The navigation process is as easy as possible, with a bookmark your child would be able to find everything they need to access right on this page.

Below the Practice Lessons are the 10 Essential Skills that your child should master to progress to the next level. Each of these lessons is described and includes instructional videos to go back to for reference and practice time.

Play and creativity are part of the lessons. Sarah encourages children to gain Poetic Knowledge of their instrument by exploring the sound it can make outside of the lesson plan. Along with an instructional song for fun there are tasks during the lesson that help your child explore the sounds the violin make while using their imagination.

I love that playing independently was a part of the lesson plan. My daughter discovered many sounds and learned to love her instrument during this free time and during the Poetic Knowledge portions of the lessons.

When your child is ready you can purchase an assessment appointment to have a one-on-one meeting to see if your child is ready to move on to the next level. This is great is your child is in a beginning Level. You are not stuck for a period of time, but are only in a Level until your child has mastered the skills necessary to move to the next Level.

An assessment is necessary when they are ready to move forward, BUT you can purchase an assessment any time you would like individual feedback. This can help identify areas to focus on the maximize learning effectively, saving time in the long run.

If you need help there is always a way to contact Sarah immediately. There is even a HELP class most Saturdays at 10:30 eastern. Sarah is a great communicator and sends out regular email updates and notes about schedules and assessments.

Classes are on a True Schedule

I loved the program and will be continuing lessons for my daughter. The only trouble I had was the time frame of the live classes. Just a week after I received the opportunity to review Practice Monkeys I started a new job unexpectedly and the review period ran into wrestling season. Five days a week I pack up the younger kids to take the boys to practice at 3:00. The live lessons are scheduled for 3:15. We were a few weeks into our review and there was no way for us to be able to attend the live portion of the lessons. Violin lessons in the car, not cool at all?

If it is truly not possible for your child to attend the live classes, I still think you get more than the value of the program. I don’t feel like my child missed out on any instruction, but I know my daughter missed the inspiration of preforming for a teacher. She is a child who thrives on praise, for her it is a real motivation. We missed that with the replay; especially when she watched other students get praised for their work and participation.

This could be remedied by adding a few more assessments that a regular student might have to make up for the lack of connection in the live class.

My scheduling conflict was no fault of the program, but I feel like it is important to note that the LIVE classes are on a hard schedule, which I did not know. I would not have taken the course during wrestling season, when we have a constant conflict. If you have a younger child that cannot navigate a live linkup on the computer then you should be aware of the class time before committing.

Overall, Practice Monkeys is a great program for a rural family like myself or any family that has multiple kids interested in the same instrument. The Family Subscription Plan makes playing an instrument an affordable choice for every family.

Check out the site and read the FAQ page to answer your questions. you can also learn more on FB and YouTube

https://www.facebook.com/PracticeMonkeys/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7wOO7WqC5Yk-nID8fhVaiA