Little Muso’s began as the answer to a long-standing question…”How do you teach a young child to play the guitar?”
Visual references and the ease of playing individual notes have always drawn young children and parents to the piano. We realised that it wasn’t that kids couldn’t pick up other contemporary instruments, It was the way they were being taught.
Our program began with Group Classes. We had 25 students aged between 5 and 11 in our first group! We needed to re-invent how we taught music from the ground up.
Our highly skilled and experienced teachers developed the ‘LITTLE MUSO’s Guitar Method‘. These books became the key to teaching large and multi-aged groups. They helped our students grasp concepts including music theory, written notation, practical application, and most importantly… technique! We experienced some outstanding results, teaching children as young as 4 to read and play music on the guitar!
Our ‘LITTLE MUSOS‘ program was so successful, that we applied the same method to our ‘big kids’ and adult students as well. And yes! We saw the same results. We’ve made learning a musical instrument easy for all!
The guitar was the first step. Since the inception of our Little Muso’s program, we’ve expanded our range to include Drums, Bass and Singing! Further research and development are underway to expand the range further.
Our mission is to make any musical instrument easy to learn regardless of age or experience.
One-on-One Instrumental Program
One-on-One Lessons are held as both ON-LINE and Face2Face lessons. Regardless of wether, the student is in the studio or via a virtual connection, the lesson structure remains the same.
Lessons are separated into Sightreading, Technique and Songs. The ratio of how much time is spent on each section changes as the student progresses through the syllabus.
1. SIGHTREADING: All students start here. This gives each child the foundations they will need to progress on their instrument. Lessons in notation, rhythm and counting and specially written pieces in our LITTLE MUSOS exercise books ensure that the kids progress with a complete understanding of their new skills. We treat reading music the same as learning a new language. Repetition is a key ingredient as well as consistent re-enforcement of musical terminology and symbols.
2. TECHNIQUE: We keep a close eye on how our students approach playing their instrument. Little things like how they hold their Pic or Drum stick or even posture, play a huge role in how their overall style will develop. Very early on we begin targeted speed & accuracy exercises that not only empower the kids to practice more but force correct technique.
3. SONGS: We begin songs very early on with our specially composed pieces in our LITTLE MUSOS exercise books. But we do aim to get the students picking songs they love as quickly as possible! Every song that student picks is charted and broken down into bite-sized pieces to ensure the student not only plays it correctly and quickly but understands the correlation between the song and individual skills and techniques. This enables them to turn over songs a lot faster than just learning the song ‘note for note’.
GRADING & TESTING
Students partake in a grading system similar to those in martial arts classes. Students earn physical guitar pics. Advancing through the colour grades with each competency test. Gradings happen once a student has completed the Chapter in their workbook. Each book contains two chapters. Once a student attains their ‘Black Pic’, they move onto Advanced playing techniques & improvisation. The colour grades are White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown & Black.
Home Practice
Each student is given access to our LITTLE MUSOS website. Online they have access to our play-along videos, Kahoot games and additional worksheets. We also have a huge range of target exercises & explanations to assist students in developing technique and learning songs. Our online assets are used to assign and track weekly homework.
In-School Group instrumental Program
Our in-school group instrumental lessons consist of weekly 1hr lessons during school terms. The classes are split into four groups that mix ages and skill levels. Each group takes part in a single activity rotating through all the activities every lesson. Each of the four activities are:
1. Games: This portion of the lesson involves using games adapted for musical learning to teach music theory concepts and instrument-specific execution. This includes concepts like rhythmic values, musical symbols and note placement. Custom board games have been based on common popular games to ensure there is no additional learning curve for the children.
2. Online Practice: Students use devices to access the Little Musos website. Online they have access to play-along videos, Kahoot games and additional worksheets. Students use this time to become familiar with the site and to develop a home practise routines.
3. One-on-one: Students get one-on-one time with the class teacher. During this time their technique is checked and homework songs are tested. Advanced students are also tested for playing in Duos and small ensembles preparing them for individual performances.
4. Jam time: Performance has a large focus on our syllabus. The jam time is where all the kids work on a song together. As an ‘orchestra’ the class learns to collectively keep time, develop listening skills and begin to understand the theory and application of ‘harmonising’.
GRADING & TESTING
Students partake in a grading system similar to those in martial arts classes. Students earn physical guitar pics. Advancing through the colour grades with each competency test. Gradings happen once a student has completed the Chapter in their workbook. Each book contains two chapters. Once a student attains their ‘Black Pic’, they move onto Advanced playing techniques & improvisation. The colour grades are White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Red, Brown & Black.
PERFORMANCE
We want the kids to play! Church, assemblies, open & orientation days, constant performance is vital in developing confidence in themselves and their abilities. We get the kids ready to play and have them up on stage at every available opportunity.
