Earlier this year, I reviewed KinderBach and I have been given another opportunity to review it. KinderBach at Home is a wonderful music curriculum for 3-7 year olds that teaches them music through playing the piano (or keyboard). The last time we reviewed this Ellie (4) just loved it and she never stopped talking about it even when we no longer had a subscription. We are very excited to be able to have a new subscription!
KinderBach does not color, sticker or number keys or turn the keyboard sideways. It teaches the children where the notes are using ANY piano or keyboard. One of the first concepts the children are introduced to is that the piano has groups of 2 black keys and 3 black keys. They learn to identify the 2 black keys with a cute story about a donkey named Dodi that lives in a house built over the two black keys. There is video instruction, worksheets and even cards that the kids (or adult) can color and laminate to put on the keyboard as shown here:
Ellie placing the cards
a close up of the cards
Children are also simultaneously taught rhythm, dynamics, and tone. Everything is taught using cute stories, songs, games and fun worksheets. One of the early worksheets, has an apple tree with apples in the tree and on the ground. When children hear a low sound (in the video or a parent can do the sounds) they color an apple on the ground. When they hear a high sound they color an apple in the tree. There are similar activities with loud and soft sounds.
The kids coloring the apples.
As they meet each piano pal they learn more about the keyboard and progress to playing real songs in a pretty short time using special notation. Eventually, they progress to reading music. You can read more about each piano pal here.
Here is a short video sample of one of the lessons.
All of my younger children LOVE KinderBach. Sometimes we watch more than one lesson in a day (most of the time) and they are free to watch them as often as they like. KinderBach currently has 6 levels. Each level has 10 weeks of lessons. Each week has 4 lessons. By the end of level 5 students will be reading music. This is a wonderful way to bring music education to younger students.
Each level looks like the picture above. You just click on the appropriate circle to access your lesson. Lessons are the perfect length for little ones (short!) At the bottom of the screen there is a link to the pdf workbook that goes along with all of the lessons from the level you are on. This is very handy if you want to print out the whole book at one time. You can also access worksheets one at a time in the actual lessons. Note that the first 2 weeks of Level 1 are free.
I can't speak highly enough about how much the kids enjoy this. I can't think of anything negative to say about it. If you have young children, you should definitely give it a try. It's cute, it's fun and educational. Who could ask for more?
I'm also happy to offer a coupon code to my readers for 30% off any order - homeschool, classroom, online or DVDs.
Coupon Code: TOS_crew2012 Expires: 12/31/2012
Creator and "star" of the show, Karri Gregor
The crew is also reviewing the new KinderBach app for iPad and iPod that normally sells for $26.99 but is going to be on sale 50% off next Friday (October 19). I plan to get it. We already have the free Simply Discover Piano FREE app (gives you the first lessons and then you can purchase future lessons in app.) The kids really love it.
Like KinderBach on Facebook to be sure not to miss out on any specials.
disclaimer: I received a 6-month subscription to KinderBachin exchange for an honest review. (I also received free downloads of 2 of the pdf coloring books.)
For the past several weeks we have been given the opportunity to try online piano lessons for young children by Kinderbach. It is absolutely adorable and my 4 and 6 year olds are enjoying watching the lessons and doing the accompanying worksheets. Ellie (4) is especially a fan of this. She will talk about Dodie's house throughout the day even on days when we aren't doing Kinderbach.
Kinderbach uses videos and pdf worksheets which can be purchased on DVD or you can buy an online version either by the month or by subscription. (pricing details are found at the end of this post.) Kinderbach teaches more than just music. A variety of additional skills are introduced such as counting, matching and even some phonics.
Each lesson has a worksheet that goes along with the video.
These are easy enough for young children. Many are just coloring pages.
My kids love them. You can print them out one at a time or print out the sheets that
go with each level all at once.
A sample worksheet from one of the later lessons.
Each key has a piano pal. Dodie (donkey) is the first character you meet.
The hardest part of using Kinderbach is printing out the worksheets. (In other words...not hard!) If I am prepared and set it up for the girls they are happy to do it. The creator, Karri Gregor, is a lot of fun for little kids. It is obvious that she works with children of this age group and talks to them at their level. My 9 and 6 year olds are currently working through a lesson and have been laughing and having a great time the entire time. (My 9 year old takes piano lessons and doesn't "need" Kinderbach but still can benefit from it and have a good time. I probably wouldn't buy this for a child that old but if you have a younger child with an older sibling they might still enjoy parts of it.)
Watch a sample of the video:
and this:
I truly believe that music is an important part of a good education. I highly recommend Kinderbach for families with young children. You can give it a try for free. The first 2 lessons are available on the website along with free coloring pages and song download.
There are 6 levels of Kinderbach and each level is designed to take 10 weeks. There are 4 sections to each weekly lesson. You need a piano or keyboard in order to use Kinderbach. A simple keyboard is fine.
Kinderbach is the creation of Karri Gregor a professional musician and artist with decades of teaching experience.
You can purchase 6 levels of Kinderbach on DVD for $40.45 each. Each level comes with a DVD, audio CD, and a CD with a pdf Activity Book and Parent Guide or click here for specially priced packages. Kinderbach is also available as a subscription. You can pay $95.88 for a one year subscription (which works out to $7.99 a month) or pay month to month at $19.99 a month. I think this is a great option and MUCH cheaper than private lessons, especially if you have more than one child.
They are running a 40% off deal until January 31 with coupon code KBclear2012 and I am seriously considering buying the entire package or the set pictured above which includes the first 3 DVDs, pdfs and extra songbooks. So, if you think you might be interested don't delay in checking it out!
The sale mentioned above is over, however I just received a coupon code to offer here for 30% off ANY order and it's good for one year! TOScrew2012 Let me know if you decide to order and what you think!
Kinderbach has a 30 day no hassle money back guarantee
Read what others are saying about Kinderbach on the TOS crew blog. I do read the comments on my blog so please feel free to ask questions if you have any!
disclaimer: I received a free 3 month subscription to Kinderbach in exchange for an honest review.
