Hi @Hayden, hope you’re well. I have been offline for a while, but am still practicing a lot, and wanted to ask if you’re considering offering a PianoGroove Mentorship programme in the future, like a paid personalised programme, with assignments and feedback ?
Cheers, Natasha
Hi Natasha 
Please excuse the tardiness in my reply… I’ve been preoccupied with our new gospel course and teaching/coordinating the live seminars.
Glad to hear you are still practicing a lot 
Yes I think a mentorship program is a fantastic idea.
Coincidentally I’ve been chatting with @Tuomo over the last few months about a somewhat related idea that he had for adding quizzes and personalised 1 on 1 sessions.
I was chatting with the tech guy who is helping to improve our email communications, and he had a bunch of great ideas too. The basic premise is that we could cohort students into a group program that would perhaps last a few months. This could be based on the time that the student joined the PianoGroove community, the level/ability that they are, or simply that they have registered for a group learning/mentorship program.
I think it’s a fantastic idea. Perhaps a split of group and individual mentoring would be a good combination to reap the rewards of group accountability/collaborative learning, as well as an individual coaching and feedback aspect.
From a website development standpoint it would also make sense to create and build something that delivers a learning experience to a group of students at the same time.
It would be great to incorporate all aspects of the website including the lessons/courses, the live seminars, and tie that into a program with assignments, quizzes, and personal 1-to-1 feedback and mentoring.
I know @Tuomo has some ideas on assignments, quizzes, and feedback session.
If anyone else has any ideas, or just to say you would be interested in this kind of thing do let us know.
This is a great idea! For somebody who would want to go the extra mile on the existing curriculum and not only.
Getting feedback from time to time from experienced players can be very rewarding. Also, being part of a group full of dedicated players having similar mindsets and targets can be one of those pivotal moments that pushes you to the next level.
I’m definitely interested in hearing more about this.
Hi guys,
this is an awesome idea!
Maybe we could create online classes, where students are given a “study package” consisting of tutorial videos, masterclasses, transcription exercises, ear training exercises and live seminars related to the topic.
Then maybe a Q & A thread on the forum about the class where we can share our questions and thoughts, just like it would be in a class room.
Then, after student has finished the tutorials and feels ready, a quiz, or (I hate the word but still haha) exam can take place, which could be then talked through, either 1 to 1, or maybe even a collective group of students. This way we all could share ideas and perspectives on the topic.
Everyone let us know what you think, and feel free to throw in ideas/ feedback!
-Tuomo
This would be great! Looking forward to what becomes of this!
Great idea and keen to be involved will add another level to what is currently being offered 
I was thinking about this topic earlier and I thought a good thing to include in this individual program would be covering a certain topic like, for example, “So What” voicings.
An exercise could be something like taking the B section of Misty and reharmonizing with the aforementioned voicings. That would be pretty cool since it can encourage us to actually apply what we learn on Jazz Standards and not just mimic the arrangements that are taught here in the website.
The “So what” voicing and Misty thing are merely examples. It could start off simple like that and get more advanced such as improvising on the first A section of a certain jazz standard among other things.
Just thought it was a good input to this thread lol.
Thanks for the ideas here @natasha0412 @paul1523727 @eugene @jose2 
All really great suggestions.
Tuomo and myself will chat this week and work out the next steps for this initiative.
Great ideas guys, keep them coming!
This would cover lessons, songs, ear training, and other topics that will give a student a strong foundation to go further with studies.
From basic understanding of scale/ chord connection to different ways how to start creating melodies to transcriptions and how to use them as the best source for improvisation material.
The evolution of a chord voicing from the simplest to the most complex; how to detect the foundational similarities of any voicing, and how to apply them into any chosen situation.
This together with the things mentioned earlier;
These are just some ideas where we can start to build an entire curriculum of classes!
Let me know what you think,
-Tuomo
hi Tuomo - regarding the study package.
It maybe useful to link this with the “Live Seminar” series as well or as a separate series. That way you could link everything together (including the other bits and pieces on pianogroove) rather than adding a further set of theories, etc… that may become overwhelming - not sure as I’m still working this through myself.
The other aspect I was going to add was the level of commitment and time required in addition to perhaps one’s normal routine of learning tunes, ear training, etc, on pianogroove, unless this is integrated somehow into this program.
Taking another view of what you and Hayden are offering…may be this could some bring everything together (so to speak) under the “beginner”, “intermediate” and “advanced” areas linking the theory, tunes, etc, together…its almost like trying to throw a lasso (rope) around a collection of topics,
The site has grown so much in a relatively short time (years) which is commendable to everyone involved including the students, and in terms of the next stage of evolution, be good to stand back and look at something like this (like a music curriculum of sorts).
My two cents!
Great ideas @paul1523727,
I agree, I think too the new “class room” or “study package” should be a consisting of all the material already on the website, only new thing would be the Q & A thread and the end exam.
Also you mentioned the level of commitment/time needed, that should definitely be added to the new thing.
-T
I like the “class room” name @Tuomo
For each “class room” we could create a private forum section just for the students who enrolled on that “class room” session. That way it won’t annoy students who aren’t interested and also it gives a non-public place to share performances and ask questions.
We mentioned a 1:1 aspect to each “class room” program. These 1:1 sessions could be recorded and then posted in the private class room forum thread so that the participants get the benefit of their own 1 on 1 session and also the other recordings as it’s the same topic that everyone is studying. That seems like a good way to maximise the benefit for everyone.
We have a forum section called “Testing” which is just visible to me and the developer of the website. This allows us to test things without annoying everyone else
It would be the same idea, but we would call it “Feb 2021 Class Room” or something to do with the topic/theme. This would be the place where the assignments, quizzes and study materials (courses, lessons, seminars, audio exercises etc…) are posted. This would also be the place for asking the teacher questions and posting videos/audio/performances for feedback.
All of the above is simple to implement from a tech/website standpoint.
The following 2 aspects of the initiative would need some consideration:
We already use a service called TypeForm for student feedback and new student orientation. This is really great software that can be embedded into both the forum and the website. Here are some example of TypeForm quizzes:
Tuomo and I will create an example quizz this week and post it in this thread.
What i like about TypeForm quizzes is that they have “conditional logic”, so based on the answers the student gives, the quizz can recommend the next steps, ie. specific lessons to watch to improve on the areas that were answered incorrectly.
Tuomo and myself have the equipment to set up an overhead camera shot of our piano for these 1 on 1 sessions.
I’m unsure what software we would use for to connect the student and the teacher, and record it. Perhaps Zoom or something along those lines.
It would be great for the discussion and questions between the student/teacher to be captured in the recording and that way when it’s posted in the private thread, all students on that class room program can benefit.
I will do some research this week for some suitable software 
Any comments or ideas welcome!
I’m looking forward to pianogroove class rooms; it seems like a great way to broaden the existing set of resources in a creative and effective way.
In my opinion the major advantages will be opportunities to (1) pursue an area more intensively (motivated by expectations, quizzes, and camaraderie); and (2) use a network of student-student interactions to explore and learn from different learning styles and approaches. I’m less sanguine about the value of 1:1 student-instructor interactions. Those are already available to anyone who is interested, and, frankly, if I have extra time, I would rather spend it interacting with a small group of students in a facilitated discussion (“what works for you and why”) than listening to extended 1:1 student-instructor sessions. Potential examples: a small group analysis of a solo or reharm moderated and led by an instructor, or a recital-like session where each student would develop and play their own arrangement of a section, followed by discussion of responses and suggestions.
Oh, one more suggestion: Tuomo should get a raise!
Greg
Brilliant, I agree with all of your points Greg.
I will find a software to facilitate group discussion led by the teacher.
Perhaps Zoom would be the best solution as many of us already know and use it.
More to follow.
This all sounds great!
Hi Everyone here’s a quick update on this:
Tuomo and myself are aiming to start our first class room programs next week.
There are still a few details we need to figure out such as the registration/scheduling process, and also what happens to the quizzes and video content afterwards.
We would like the class rooms programs to run for at least 6 weeks with a group video session once per week, as well as other exercises, assignments and quizzes throughout the program.
Perhaps once a class room program is created, this same topic/theme would then be repeated every X weeks, or on some kind of schedule like that. That way we can reuse the assets such as quizzes and assignments and keep developing them each time the program starts again.
We will evaluate the first class room programs, with feedback from the teachers and students, and then we can fine tune certain details and features of the programs to ensure that participants get the most benefit and enjoyment.
I also think it would be nice if the weekly video sessions could be archived so that other students can benefit from the teacher led group discussion.
Finally, we will have to cohort students based on time zones with is one of the additional elements needed for the registration process.
More to follow.
