Piano Detectives Club is the ideal way to attract young beginners to your piano studio. Designed to give 5- and 6-year-old beginners the best start at the piano, this program equips teachers with a thoughtful curriculum, unique teaching supplies, easy-to-use online resources, and personalized online training. As a result, Piano Detectives Club teachers can streamline their time and energy towards being present with students and strategically involving them in the learning activities.
5- and 6-year-old children are full of wonder and enthusiasm, making these the best years to begin piano study. However, it takes a special kind of teacher energy to work with students of this age in a group setting. They are at different stages of development in mastering the alphabet and learning to read and write words and numbers. The Piano Detectives Club curriculum is written with these challenges in mind. Student activities require minimal reading and use energetic bodies and brief attention spans as advantages rather than limitations.
The detective theme intentionally guides the pedagogy as well as the materials. It encourages students to embark on their own musical journies, surrounding the students in an atmosphere of adventure and discovery as they explore musical elements up close, gather clues, ask questions and organize information to unlock the mystery of music.
To see how this works in practice, here’s a sample lesson from the Teacher’s Manual along with an accompanying demonstration video:
If you’re interested in becoming a Piano Detectives Club instructor, we offer two levels of participation.
- *NEW* Summer Camp Edition
- Full Program (includes Summer Camp) – Choice of Studio or Institutional License
*NEW* Summer Camp Edition
Just released in early 2024, the Piano Detectives Club Summer Camp Edition is a weeklong summer program (5 half-days) for young beginners to learn piano fundamentals. The camp covers similar subject matter as the first 5 weeks of the original program, but it is complemented by additional crafts and recreational activities that kids will love. It’s a great, low-cost way to get students and parents excited about your piano curriculum and to give yourself a summer income boost as well.
In the Summer Camp Edition, detectives will explore basics such as how the musical alphabet differs from the alphabet they know. Exercises and activities will reinforce identification of right and left sides of the body as well as finger numbers. Discovery of the keyboard will guide them to easily identify groups of white keys, CDE and FGAB, anywhere on the keyboard. Rhythm games are integral throughout the program, helping detectives experience steady beat and read rhythms. They will have opportunities to play music specially designed for the skills they acquire each day of camp. By the end of the five-day camp, they will be ready to display their new knowledge to their families and/or caregivers in a special presentation.
The crafts and recreation are structured to reinforce the class time work. The students will create artwork of their piano hands and make their own keyboards. Recreation is built around classic kids games like Hokey-Pokey and Red Light/Green Light, again reinforcing concepts like left and right. The daily recreation activities focus on both gross motor skill and fine motor skill development.
Each part of the curriculum has been tested with 5- and 6-year-olds to assure the program is age-appropriate and moves at a reasonable pace. The program even gives suggestions for complementary snacks and ideas to keep active campers occupied while waiting in line for restroom breaks. For a closer look at how a day of the camp is structured, here’s a sample day from the Summer Camp Teacher’s Manual.
If you already have an active license, you automatically get access to the Summer Camp Edition content and you already have the items in the Summer Camp Edition Teacher Kit! All you will need to order are Summer Camp Edition Detective Kits for each student that enrolls.
If you don’t have a license, check out the Summer Camp Edition Starter Pack, which includes the Summer Camp License, corresponding Teacher Kit, and up to 6 Detective Kits.
Licensees of the Summer Camp Edition have the option to upgrade to the full program if they decide it is a fit for their studio or institution.
Full Program
Instructors will need these supplies for a thriving program in their private studios:
- Annual license for access to Piano Detectives Club Members Area online; two license options are available 1) Studio license for a single primary teacher log-in and 2) Institutional license for multiple primary teacher log-ins
- Classroom space with piano and adequate space for up to 6 students and 2 teachers to move around comfortably
- Additional classroom or studio with piano for mini private lessons (recommended, but not required)
- An assistant teacher (this can be another instructor, or one of your older private students)
- Teacher Kit
- Detective Kit for each student
- Access to printer for PDF files (some color-printing is required)
Your initial license entitles you to first-year teacher online training, as well as access to the full Piano Detectives Club library of reference videos and PDF worksheets, visuals, and handouts.