When we launched the first version of Musiah initially for PC back in 2012, early indications were that it would work well — but we didn't know just how well.
For example, prior to that launch, a 10 week case study (using a very rough alpha version of the product) compared the progress of beginner students learning piano via Musiah with that of students learning the same syllabus via traditional piano lessons.
What the study showed was that students who had access to Musiah (whether a traditional teacher was involved or not) progressed on average 5-8 times faster than students who did not have access to Musiah.
But what we didn't know (because the study only ran for 10 weeks) was whether the Musiah software would successfully engage students and take them all the way to the end of the course — a course which normally takes 5-6 years for students to complete via traditional piano lessons.
As I write this, I can't help thinking of a young man named Michael Ortiz from Fullerton CA who, at just 13 years old (at the time), achieved the rank of 'Musiah' by completing the whole course just 18 weeks of lessons with Musiah.
Michael was the first person ever to achieve this rank and to learn the final piece known as 'The Lost Song'. Within the context of the Musiah story (an optional mode which can be turned off), the final performance challenge at the end of Level 13 requires students to play 'The Lost Song' before the mighty Atonal starfleet (the 'Atonals' are the bad guys), and the fate of the entire galaxy hangs on the success or failure of this performance challenge.
As evidence of both Michael's ability and the effectiveness of Musiah's tuition, you might like to check out the above video of him playing 'The Rakes Of Mallow', a tricky piece which is Lesson 61 from the Musiah Online Piano Course. This piece requires great dexterity and accuracy, with lots of passing the thumb under the fingers, or passing fingers over the thumb, as the student plays rapid scale-like passages. Amazingly, Michael learned to play this piece at just 4.5 weeks, and no human teacher was involved. This is a remarkable result.
Since Michael completed the course, we have also had many other 'Musiahs' who have completed the course in a similar timeframe. One student who had never learned piano before even completed the course in just 16 weeks.
To all our students, I hope Michael and those who have followed in his footsteps inspire you to keep up your efforts. Students like Michael are, after all, proof that if you keep up your practice, you will get there!
If you (dear reader) have not yet tried piano lessons online with Musiah for yourself, why not take our 14 Day Free Trial.
It's a great way to get started on the road to discovering your inner musician.
Thanks for reading,
Brendan Hogan L.Mus.A., A.Mus.A.
Piano Teacher & Musiah Inventor
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