What to do after Let's Play Music?

Your students have spent the last three years building a foundation of musical understanding and they are ready for the future! There are so many options for their musical paths! Here are just a few. BRIDGE: The Bridge program was developed by a Let's Play Music teacher specifically for the LPM graduate to "bridge" the distance between LPM classes and private piano lessons. I have taught this curriculum twice and I LOVE it. It really is the next logical step after LPM! You can read more about Bridge at this post or check out the LPM site and video here. Bridge can be presented a few ways. I'll outline them below. BRIDGE GROUP CLASSES: Bridge can be taught in a group setting, similar to LPM.  *There is an amazing Bridge teacher who lives by Capital High. Her name is Erika Gray and she is awesome. She has group lessons that your student would love, and is also an LPM teacher, so she knows how your student has learned so far. Her classes are weekly for 75 minutes and parents do not attend class. The classes go for 8 months (with the school year, just like LPM), and are $90/month, plus a $35 registration fee to Erika. You would purchase the materials separately from the letsplaymusicsite.com webstore. Here is the link to a flyer from Erika (this is the flyer from 2023... she hasn't updated it this year so I don't know if there are any changes). Contact Erika at erikagraylpm@hotmail.com for more information on her classes.  *There is another Bridge teacher who lives by Eagle Road and Floating Feather. Her name is Kandace Riggs and while she doesn't teach LPM, she had enough LPM grads come to her that she became a fan of the program and now teaches Bridge. You can contact her at 208.995.7885 to get more information on her Bridge plans for the fall. *I am willing to teach a Bridge class if I can get enough students who can come during the time my own kids are in school, perhaps on Wednesday morning when West Ada has late-start days. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see what happens. BRIDGE BOOKS: Unlike Let's Play Music materials, you don't have to be registered in a class to buy the books. The Bridge materials are available for anybody to purchase and use. You could buy the Bridge books and ask your favorite private teacher to use them for your musician. This would help the teacher see the flow of how your student has learned and the things they know, adding to their theory understanding in a perfect stair-stepping way. If your teacher is willing to use a different curriculum than what she is used to, this is a great option. BRIDGE CURRICULUM: Also unlike Let's Play Music, the Bridge curriculum is available for anybody to purchase. You (or your student's private piano teacher) can buy the outline of the 30 lessons that show exactly HOW to most effectively use the Bridge materials. The purchase price for the downloadable materials is around $300. One bonus of going this route is that while Bridge is appropriate for LPM grads, it is also appropriate for other music students around the 1A/1B level. Your teacher could use these lessons with any student or group of students regardless of LPM background.  CONNECTIONS BOOK: Whether or not your student does the Bridge program, they will receive a Connections Book, which is an introduction for your new teacher to the skills and concepts they have gained through the LPM program. It does not add to their knowledge like the Bridge books do, but it does give the new teacher a way to see your student's skills.  PRIVATE LESSONS: Click here for a list of teachers that have taken LPM students before and understand what they know. If you have a teacher in mind, give me her contact information and I can send her information on understanding what LPM teaches. RETAKE LPM 3RD YEAR: The 3rd year of Let's Play Music (what your student is enrolled in and experiencing now) is stuffed full of theory, technique, repertoire, etc. Some students can understand the basic concepts but struggle with performing them on the keyboard, or they might play everything hands separately. That is absolutely fine and they are absolutely getting the information in their brains and they are absolutely playing at a developmentally appropriate level. Some of these students would enjoy taking 3rd year LPM again. This can allow the concepts to settle in their brains and give them extra time to cement everything before moving on to the next step. The students I have had retake third year do so with more confidence and joy than they had the first time through. If you're considering retaking 3rd year, let me know so I can include that in my class planning for the fall. SING ACADEMY: If you're looking for a way for your student to stay in music, but not necessarily with piano-only-focused lessons, you can check out Sing Academy. Justin Neilson is an amazing musician and educator. He groups students of similar ages and backgrounds into bands, and helps them work together to make amazing music. He shows them how to play keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, and lead vocals. It is phenomenal and I wish it would have been around when I was younger! Both of my own kids are in bands and private lessons with Justin and they love it. His studio is on Horseshoe Bend Road, close to the bike park. You can contact Justin at singmusicacademy99@gmail.com or 208-794-0007.