Below are videos of original compositions by two students. These students have taken the 10 Essential Lessons, and have never studied with another teacher. It's pretty safe to say that what they know and what they are able to do is due in large part to the 10 Essential Lessons, the foundation of their music education. Here's a brief introduction:
It has been a pleasure to teach my two sons, Alex and Roman. My wife and I have always wanted our boys to be well-rounded: do well in school, play sports and be able to do something in the arts. Having a parent who is a musician and teacher, we decided they'd learn music from me.
So, from an early age, I introduced Alex and Roman to the content of the 10 Essential Lessons. They have always learned in a relaxed fashion and taken breaks along the way. But when they return to learning, I always have them pick up where they left off. The sequence and organization of the 10 Essential Lessons have been crucial to their understanding of music and thus to their ability to create in a meaningful way.
Alex and Roman play music on a regular basis, different songs in different keys, individually and together. With an understanding of music now a part of them, they will be able to explore, create and collaborate for their entire life.
The first two videos are performances on the keyboard and melodica and the second two are work they did on their computer. It is important to note that Alex and Roman are entirely responsible for everything they've made. They wrote the music and lyrics and created the arrangements. Their understanding of music, acquired through the 10 Essential Lessons, allowed them to do this all themselves.
Roman has begun teaching himself the guitar and bass. In this video, Roman layered different guitar tracks into GarageBand. He ran his electric guitar into a converter box, with the signal traveling from the box to his computer. The drum track is part of GarageBand but all other work Roman did on his own.
In this video, Alex also used GarageBand for his composition but in a different way. Instead of playing the keyboard and using a converter box, Alex chose to use no instruments. He knew in his head what the composition would sound like, and used the keyboard in the center bottom of the screen to input all the information. The drum track is part of GarageBand but all other work Alex did on his own.
