MUSICOLOR

MUSICOLOR
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METHOD

An Introduction to the
Musicolor Method
by Andrew Ingkavet, Founder, Teacher and CEO

Wanted to reiterate how helpful the videos are and how totally comprehensive
your overall approach is. The colors themselves, although great, are like icing -
but your use of solfge to add context, pacing of lessons, and overall thoroughness
for each song is really amazing. The activities are so essential to get these young
kids EXCITED about what theyre doing. Its taught me to slow down a lot and really
dig deep into each and every song, visually, rhythmically, kinesthetically, etc. Its
really quite comprehensive. - A Musicolor Teacher in New York

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The Business of Music Education

There is a huge demand for music education
in North America today. For too long, music
and the arts have been deemed
unnecessary and extra-curricular.

However, many parents recognize the power

of music on growth and brain development
as well as the plethora of life skills
developed in the process: practice, focus,
goal-setting, public performance, problem-
solving and the skill of learning how to learn
towards mastery.

This has led to a surge in demand for private

music instruction.

If you are a private music

instructor, you know you
need to stand out to
attract and retain
students.

We feel that the best way to do this is to

create transformation in your students, then
let the word-of-mouth spread. To do this

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well, you need to have a flexible, effective

and thorough curriculum that produces
consistent results.

The Need for Curricula in Music

Education
All music teachers have the same need. Its
the need for a teaching system. Whether
you run your own private teaching studio out
of your home, or you lease space with
multiple teachers or work at school, you
face the never ending search for curriculum
and materials for your students.

Having a well designed curriculum takes

away the stress and anxiety while retaining
your students for years. By having a system
of teaching, you dont have to reinvent the
wheel everyday.

But as many teachers have

discovered, there arent many
curriculums for young pre-
literate children. And even
older children have a hard time
learning with many traditional

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curricula.

The hardest part is starting an instrument.

We have a proven plan to provide a clear
path to mastery through

playing songs
understanding concepts of music theory building
proper technique
while building life skills of self-esteem, focus,
practice and many more
All this, quickly and easily, while have fun!

Why Do We Need A New Music Teaching

Method?
Traditional methods of teaching music
have existed for hundreds of years. And
they worksomewhat.

And even though the world has changed

with amazing technology and
understanding of human development,
many of these breakthroughs seemed to

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have bypassed the music education

department.

Early childhood education pioneers like

Piaget and Montessori
introduced a child-
centered learning
environment. They
pushed for radical
reforms which have
resulted in preschool
becoming a major part of
childrens lives in the Andrew Ingkavet
developed world.
Children are being taught
with special curriculums designed
specifically for their age group and
conceptual as well as physical
development.

A Natural Order of Growth

Many music methods begin with teaching
how to read music before playing. This does
not follow the natural order of growth.

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Its like expecting a baby to read before

speaking and yet, thats been the norm
for centuries.

What is the Musicolor Method?

A modern music curriculum using
principles of information design aligned with
the stages of human development. It's a
process of teaching that makes everything
easier.

Combining the latest research from the

fields of human development, psychology,
visual and information design, and narrative
storytelling, The Musicolor Method will
allow you to teach effortlessly, attract and
retain eager engaged students and make a
difference in the world AND your business.

So whether you are a 30 year teaching

veteran, or a complete newcomer to
teaching, you will gain new perspectives and
insights into teaching.

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What Makes The Musicolor Method

Different?
A non-traditional approach to music education
Piano keyboard is the foundation, then branch out
from there
Playing first, with reading taught using the proven
principles of information design
Uses universal principles of human growth and
development
Gives a simple 7 step framework to teach any level
Incorporates solfge and singing into the learning
Bridges the gap to traditional reading of music on
the staff
Uses a modern paradigm of child-centered
education
Intuitive and able to be learned and taught by
almost anyone with a minimal amount of musical
experience.
Able to teach pre-literate preschoolers
Able to teach special needs students
Fun!
Passes on vital life skills through the joy of music
Not a franchise - you license the materials and can
use anywhere
Experienced teachers will get a new bag of tricks
and subtle shifts that can make a big impact
New teachers will be given a solid framework for
teaching any age group

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7 Core Principles of The Musicolor

Method
We have broken down the teaching
process into a simple-to-follow 7 step
framework. By filtering our ideas and
lessons plans through this framework, we
can easily determine what each student
needs and when.

1 - The Growth Spiral

The Musicolor Method
uses a metaphor of the
Growth Spiral. This is the
same pattern found
throughout nature and
the Universe. By knowing where one is on
the spiral of growth, a teacher can easily
guide a student to the next level without
stress, anxiety or confusion.

2 - The Importance of Rapport

Teaching is a relationship.
It begins with establishing
an open, trusting and
honest relationship

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before any communication begins to flow.

Without rapport, teachers cannot transfer
the knowledge. In our training we discuss
many ways to build rapport and also how it
differs with young preschoolers as to
grade schoolers, to teens, and adults.

3 - Stepping Stones
There are millions of
videos on YouTube
offering instruction in just
about any subject. So
why doesnt everyone just
watch YouTube to learn?

Having access to content is not the same

as having someone to curate your content
specifically to your needs. Its the same
reason people still buy certain news
media, or read certain blogs or follow
certain DJs. In a world of infinite choice,
curation and organization becomes far
more important to filter the signal from the
noise.

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Our third principle is the stepping stone

concept. A teacher is leading the student
across the river of chaos to mastery by
setting each stone the right distance apart.
Too close, and the student is bored and
may wander off. Too far, and the student
can fall in and get swept away downriver to
the bay of frustration and discontent.

This is too hard and I cant do it.

4 Structure
Having a structured learning environment,
plan, and materials makes everything
easier. Its also about teaching the skills of
organization to any
student regardless of
subject. Our training
materials are structured
in a way that allows for
rapid absorption of
concepts in more than
one learning mode: aural,
visual, and, where possible, kinesthetic.

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5 Notation
One of the biggest challenges as a teacher
of young children is how to send home a
reminder of what to practice. We realized
that the power and concision of traditional
music notation is a wondrous thing, but
requires a long
preparation to use it
fluently. We need to
create a new visual
language to represent
sounds. Music notation is
a visual design challenge!

Parents of music students also need to

know how to explain what to practice.
Without having any prior musical
experience, this used to be extremely
challenging and required much effort, time
and focus by the parents.

We have created a unique proprietary

Musicolor notation method that has 6
distinct phases to help the student move
from complete beginner to reading
traditional music on a staff. It allows

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students (and parents) to instantly know

what to play from the very first lesson!

6 - Story
Human beings seemed to
be innately wired for
story. We crave to know
what happened to such
and such and will sit
through awful television
shows just to find out
what happened to the lead
character.

We recognize this power and harness the

power of story in our lessons wherever
possible. By using story, your lessons
become more sticky and memorable.
Concepts that used to require repeated
lessons are instantly remembered due to a
funny or strange story.

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7 - Life Skills Through Music

Music lessons used to be just for the elite
or those looking to make a profession out
of music. Todays parents now recognize
the importance of the arts, especially
music, can play in the psychological
development of their children.

Skills that are vital to

success in other areas of
school and life can be
found in the process of
learning an instrument.
Focus, perseverance,
goal-setting, problem-
solving, memorization, public performance
and presentation are all a major part of
music instruction. But even more
important is the conscious teaching of
these skills within the lessons. Teachers
who have been trained to accentuate these
skills through the proper use of praise and
recognition know they can do great good or
damage depending how they give
feedback. We discuss this in detail in our
training.

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A Proven Curriculum
The hardest part of starting a new student
on an instrument is the first few months of
lessons. We recommend all students to
begin at the piano/keyboard as it enables
us to clearly explain abstract concepts with
a very logical and visual layout. The
keyboard also doesnt require difficult
technique to produce a pleasing sound.

During the first few months of instruction,

students are learning how to produce
sounds properly, learning how to practice
and how to remember what to practice and
build a routine. Plus, the content of what
they are playing must be compelling.

We have created a 12 - 36 week piano

curriculum that will enable rapid growth
for young children from 3 to 10 years old
and even teens and adults.

From there, teachers can easily move

beyond into any method of their choosing
as all the groundwork of technique and

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music theory has been covered.

Game and Activities

Its no secret that everyone loves games.
And what better way to teach the abstract
and difficult concepts of music theory. We
have many ideas for activities and games
that will make teaching and learning music
theory fun for all.

Are you ready to for another approach to

music education?
Join us in the Musicolor Method Online
Course and see how your students
respond. We think youll be very happy
with the results.

I taught my first lesson using the Musicolor Method to a new student on Wednesday
and it was the best experience I've had teaching up to now. He left actually playing a
song and was SUPER thrilled with himself.
I've gotten off to a slow start in following through with the entire course, but I've
thoroughly enjoyed each step. You bring a new dimension to teaching music that I've
felt, but not known all the details behind it, like the article you just published, to just use
one example. I look forward to finishing the courses, but I hope you keep adding to it as
you have been. The ongoing education you discuss in the office hours videos is exactly

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what I need. It's also nice to see someone's business grow as they launch and become
even more successful.

Thanks for everything

- A Musicolor teacher in Virginia

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