We are a music loving family and it was important to us that all of our (four) children could learn an instrument, starting with piano. Getting individual lessons for four children is not cheap and we were delighted when we found Hoffman Academy online piano lessons. We were so impressed with the quality of the video lessons (they are well made and also funny – not to mention free!) that we decided to pay for the premium option which gives you access to practice sessions, fun music theory printable pages, interactive games to consolidate learning, and music to play along to. It is an excellent investment and is far cheaper than a personal tutor.* Because it’s online, the children can do their lessons whenever it suits (sometimes at 7am!). We also love his unique method which starts with teaching children to play by ear rather than by sight. We also love that he gets the students to improvise and transpose songs into different keys very early on – skills that are traditionally taught much later. The only downside is that as parents we have to keep a track on their progress but Hoffman helps with that too – for each Unit there is a printable sheet which shows what the student should be able to do before they start the next level, so when our children think they are ready to move up, they play for us and we decide if they have completed everything or if they need to practice some more. The children never complain about doing their piano lesson/practice and it has inspired our 8 year old to start composing his own songs which he hopes to record one day. If you want an affordable introduction to music, you can try the video lessons for free before deciding whether to pay for the premium membership. We can’t recommend Hoffman Academy enough!

*Prices for the premium membership are in USD and currently start at $18 per month, with $9 for additional students, or $179 for a full year.