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What the owner of Capital Music Center has to say about the Music Tutor
Roland Music Tutor MT-90S *Try out the MT-90S for a low monthly fee (Some restrictions apply)
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Roland Music Tutors What is a Roland Music
Tutor? ·
Physically it is a modular stand-alone device that
can work with any acoustic piano, digital piano, keyboard, synthesizer, band
instrument, voice, or any other musical instrument. Or the Music Tutor may be built-in to a Roland Digital
Piano, for example, the Roland KR-Series digital pianos. · Educationally it is a phenomenal learning tool. Please read on… CHALLENGES IN
KEYBOARD STUDY
Learning to play the piano is quite a challenge. Just
reading the notes and rhythms correctly, and then coordinating the hands, is
quite a challenge. Further, this difficult study is frequently done in
isolation. And because it is difficult—keyboard skill doesn’t just
“happen”—sometime parents and other potential musicians are reluctant to
invest the time or money. Actually, print music publishers estimate that up
to 80 percent of beginning music students stop taking lessons after one year.
Probably a number of reasons. Maybe the student wasn’t motivated or maybe the
student wasn’t successful fast enough. However, the use of technology while
learning to play the piano greatly increases the likelihood of success. With
a Music Tutor, piano lessons are more likely to “take.” Many adults recall escaping the discipline of taking
piano lessons with great joy. Almost as many regret that they quit. While the
basic cognitive skills and coordination challenges have remained, the
technology available to today’s music learners has provided quite a number of
new, more fulfilling options. And the likelihood of failure is vastly
reduced. A PERSONAL SUPPORT
SYSTEM
A beginning music student faces many challenges like
making the fingers respond correctly to notes and rhythms and getting both
hands to work together. Quite a complex task, and quite a challenge for a
student to remain motivated. In traditional piano study, this is a big challenge
with high risk and fairly low motivation because so little encouragement is
available between lessons. Plus, the potential for “sour” notes and the
possibility that the teacher will circle the error and re-assign the piece
brings little progress and no motivation. This increases the possibility of repeating the same lack
of success already experienced by many parents contemplating piano study for
their children. Additionally, some music publishers report that up to ten
copies of Book One are sold for every Book Two, indicating a fairly low
success rate. Few parents want to spend the money if their child’s piano
lessons “won’t take.” Also, today’s music study competes with an incredible
number of learning/leisure options and activities. Music study must be
rewarding for kids, in both short-term and long-terms results. The refrain “Ah, Mom, do I have to (practice, make the
bed, do my homework)” will always be present as children develop discipline.
But once the element of “play” is introduced, something quite remarkable
takes place. Parents rarely have to remind any child to go practice a sport, or play with their
PlayStation/Nintendo or go roller-blading, etc. In these situations, practice
is usually replaced by the verb “play.” If the activity is rewarding enough while skills are
being developed, the success is by and large self-perpetuating. Coupled
with the sage advice of a trusted teacher or mentor, the study process
becomes both effective and productive, and intrinsically self-motivating.
Roland’s Music Tutors not only help children learn, but it also motivate them
and gradually instills discipline while they learn to play the keyboard. (passive)
TV vs. (interactive) PC Today, many children pay closer attention to their computer
than to the TV because of its interactive qualities. Your children learn
reading, math, and typing in school, but an intriguingly packaged supplement
(like Reading Rabbit for reading, MathBlasters for math, Mario and Mavis
Beacon for typing) stimulates the learning process and provides positive
intrinsic rewards. Computers have already brought the creative fun of
graphics to the desktop, so now children can experiment with type and art,
creating greeting cards, calendars and “newsletters.” HOW INTERACTIVE
MUSIC TUTORS WORK
Similarly, music students get motivation from “beat the
box,” playing along with the “orchestra” rather than enduring one more day of
solitary playing. But this music technology is fairly new, and it deserves a
bit of explanation. Rather than relying on the exclusive 30-minute private
lesson—where the student is basically unguided and unmotivated during the
rest of the week— there are a few new options. In Learning Music Can Be Fun (click to view a 5-minute video showing the Music Tutor in action), there is a
demonstration of students’ learning being metered in a logical fashion. You also
see how motivating it is when difficult passages are mastered. And this
success can easily be replicated at each lesson, as well as at home. EXTENDED LESSONS
Teachers all across the country are using the “extended
lesson” to motivate and guide students beyond the private lesson time.
Progressive teachers are supplementing the private lesson with a self-guided
“lab time” immediately following the lesson. It works like this: A student takes a 30-minute lesson,
immediately afterwards, the student uses a “tutor-on-disk” to
review/reinforce the lesson. (The teacher starts teaching the next student
during this student’s “lab time.”) This “lab time” gives each student
practical guidance on the new concepts, notes, rhythms, solos or ensembles
introduced at the lesson. This
“tutored” time immediately following the lesson dramatically extends the
effectiveness and the motivation of each lesson. Essentially, the disk-based Music Tutor reinforces, leads
and guides the student during this “lab time.” While still in the teacher’s
studio, a student can have access to the teacher for small difficulties;
normally, the student merely follows the guidance of a professional
model-on-disk to power him/her through the lesson material. This logical
process, starting slowly at “basic beginning speed,” gradually increasing to
“kid’s top speed,” and finally to “grown-up top speed,” guides the learner to
the remarkable mastery of concepts and skills—while the teacher is still
close by, if a small problem should be encountered. The real excitement for today’s piano/keyboard students,
though, is that this same Music Tutor is available for each and every home.
The Music Tutor is inexpensive to buy and is also available for very low monthly rental fee. The Music Tutor provides the between-lesson guidance and motivation, almost ensuring
greater success than previously imaginable. Better than a tape recording or
CD recording, these interactive tutors provide a clear and accurate mentor,
interacting with the student’s needs and skills, and challenging them with an
immediate reward of playing each “solo” with an orchestra. TEACHERS MORE
IMPORTANT THAN EVER
No one is
more helpful or influential than a professional or expert. Piano teachers
have long been the source for guidance and successful learning. In today’s educational
settings, the teacher is still the primary guide, but students need
additional sources for between-the-lesson assistance. This regular lesson
“supplement” is now easily available for every student. With the Music Tutor,
it’s almost like the teacher is there during each practice session, extending
the professional influence. The “assistant teacher-on-disk” is there to
eliminate wrong notes and rhythms, entice students to read ahead in the book
and provide an “ensemble” of musical context. Roland is committed to providing musicians with user-friendly technology (both hardware and software) to help them learn as effectively and rapidly as possible. Typical learning problems like missed notes, inaccurate rhythms, and drudgery of unguided, solitary practice will be lessened, if not eliminated. And the use of “cool” sounds and challenging, efficient practice provides welcome motivation. In the long term, this new breed of Music Tutors provides an on-site mentor to help the students learn this musical language, with fewer errors and greater success! Why every
student at Capital Music Center is required to use a Roland Music Tutor at
home…
The results of our original pilot program using the Roland Music Tutor:
What piano teachers say about the Roland Music Tutor:
What parents say about the Roland Music Tutor:
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