The Best Music Programs for Homeschoolers
Live, in-person, apps and online lessons for Music, Music Appreciation, Music Theory, Music History and Culture, Composition, and Instruments including Piano, Drums, Ukelele and Guitar.
In this post, we explore the multi-faceted benefits of learning music, the pros and cons of online music learning (it’s gotten better than you think), how to participate in bands and orchestras as a homeschooler and our top recommendations for families learning music at home as a supplement or alternative to traditional school. For instruments, I focused on piano, because that’s what people overwhelmingly asked me about (and fortunately also the instrument I play). However, if there are other instruments you’re interested in having your kids learn, just reach out and I’ll do some research for you.
Outline of this Post
🎶 The State of Music Education
🌐 Online Learning and Music (is it effective?)
👨🏫 Finding In-Person Instructors
🎷 What about band? Homeschooling Music
🏆 The Recommendations
👍 Best Overall
🎹 Instruments: Piano
📚 Music Appreciation and Theory
🏢 In-Person Classes
🌍 Music History and Culture
✨ Weird and Wonderful
My Background in Music
As a young child, I was immersed in a musical world. Whenever I studied, my mom put on classical music (typically Mozart or opera) and often New York Public Radio’s “New Sounds.” My mom cared (and cares) passionately about my education. She was like a scientist/DJ for my studies. And she noticed through trial and error that these were the “tunes” that helped me focus.
Though my mother never had the privilege of learning an instrument herself, she worked five jobs so I could afford private piano lessons, chorus and ballet. When it came to practicing piano between lessons, I was not self-motivated and my mom was not a disciplinarian. While frustrating to my piano teacher, I still seemed to come through right before competitions, and ended up winning several local and county piano competitions. Later, I studied piano (as a minor) at Interlochen Center for the Arts (as a major at camp and minor at the academy), and eventually gave up when my mom stopped footing the bill for lessons and my nomadic lifestyle prevented me from carrying a piano around with me.
Music had a profound influence in my life, beyond just rounding out my resumé helping me get a full scholarship to college. Playing piano helped me calm my mind and cultivate my focus. It taught me rhythm and gave me a mode of self-expression.
When I attended boarding school at Interlochen Arts Academy, the music practice rooms were located below the dorms, so we almost constantly heard music flooding up from the floor below. In my dreams, I would compose classical music in my head, and for many years after. It was a lovely time.
The State of Music Education
Through a strange series of events, I became the music teacher for three months at P.S. 29 in Brooklyn, a lovely elementary school in the heart of the Cobble Hill neighborhood (the connections I made there and my learnings still make this one of the fondest memories and transformative times in my life). I was far from qualified to teach music, but they’d gone through a string of substitute teachers getting sick or going on maternity leave, so this enthusiastic new sub/startup entrepreneur who played piano 10 years before was their best bet. I was placed there to teach music once a week to their PreK-5th grade students (which amounted to teaching nearly 1000 different kids every week). This incredible school, run by a woman who is surely one of the best principals in the NYC public school system is located in an affluent neighborhood and receives additional support from a highly involved parent community and active PTA. And we had no speaker to play music from the computer. Yet, even in this haven, I arrived in a classroom in a school where every single musical instrument had been donated by the PTA. Music, like science was offered once a week (twice for preschoolers), certainly not enough time to get any deep appreciation or cultivate skill in an instrument.
I also received a large binder with very boring-seeming music theory lessons. I barely understood them myself, much less how to teach them to preschoolers, so I essentially put the binder in a drawer and left it there. So often, the love of music gets subverted into a repetitive, stressful, compulsory task - and the joy of music, the beauty of creative self-expression is lost in the search for mastery. Yet, we forget those elements are inseparable from mastery. I ended up turning the class into a boisterous music appreciation course where we listened to music, danced, learned and re-enacted the lives of famous composers, and wrote our own songs from scratch (expression trumped any type of quest for mastery). Kids got to take turns playing at the piano where they could pound out whatever they liked until the teacher next store stopped by to tell us to tune it down.
If children are to learn music and learn music well, they need time to teach themselves, play, enjoy, cultivate skills. It can be rigorous, but it should still remain joyful. And it needs to be not only consistent but immersive. Many cultures have music all the time, all around them, playing in the house at all moments. We can create this culture too in our own homes, whether we play music or not.
Online learning and music
During the pandemic, a wealth of online music resources became popular. Many families were skeptical about their children’s capacity to learn a musical instrument online, but found that the best tools were much more effective than they imagined. In this post, we’ll review some of the best teaching tools that can be used as a substitute or enhancement for lessons with a teacher.
In the curriculum wizard, I ask families what subjects I’ve left out they’d like to see me include. Music, and piano in particular was requested the most, so that’s what I’ve focused on here. I’ve also included resources on music theory and composition. If there’s another instrument you would like to see included, feel free to reach out and I’ll do some research to find you what you need.
In-Person Instructors
When it comes to music, I still recommend working with a qualified instructor. While a private teacher can be expensive, there are always ways to find lower cost or pro bono teachers near you. Sometimes a trade with another family can be a great option (You teach their child writing, for example, and they teach your child piano) . Our guide to finding homeschooling teachers will help you find the teacher that’s right for you.
This is a more complex topic that we don’t have the bandwidth to go into in this post, but keep in mind that many famous musicians have taught themselves, and that banging on the piano could turn into the most popular, modern, eclectic new music category. So, while formal training benefits many kids, it’s not the only answer. On the other hand, sometimes your child does need structure and guidance to encourage them to practice and push past challenges and meet their goals, so a completely laissez-faire attitude isn’t always the most generous approach. Explore, research, listen to your gut, follow your child, find out what’s right for you.
But what about band? Homeschooling and Music
Homeschooling offers many opportunities to learn music that are offered in traditional school. There are homeschool bands, homeschool orchestras and musical groups formed by homeschooling kids. These all exist in big cities, but in smaller areas too. If you don’t see one, consider starting your own. Furthermore, just because you’re a homeschooler doesn’t mean you can’t participate in school activities like band. In some states, public schools are legally required to allow your child to participate. It’s always good to ask.
Homeschoolers can also benefit from free educational programs offered by cultural institutions like orchestras or jazz festivals. Many cultural organizations are eager to expand their education programs during the day and serve homeschoolers. It’s always a good idea to ask, and you never know when you’ll meet an innovative person who is excited to create something just for you and your friends.
And now the recs!
Enough blabber. I’ve been researching this topic for three years and done a deep dive that included dissecting thousands of reviews from parents and teachers. Here are my top picks for music.
Best Overall
