Eleanor Gummer has made piano lessons fun for children with her Pianokids Method. The books are bright, colourful and cheery, easy to read and most importantly appeal to young children. Eleanor Gummer offers a tried and true method that works with children. The piano course, activity and ear training and fun books work together in a way that allows children to learn the fundamentals while having a great time too. My education in music from my bachelors in music performance and a masters in music criticism gives me the credentials to mark Eleanors books with an A+. My experience in working through these books with my own daughter allows me to confidently say that this is the 21st century solution to piano lessons for children.
Melissa West, Ph.D.
Three months ago, I signed up my son, Basym, for the Pianokids course. At first I wasn't too sure if a four year old would be able to gain anything from music lessons.However, I am amazed at how much Basym has progressed in the last three months. Mrs Gummer has managed to ingrain musical concepts and notes in him that even I have a problem keeping up with. He looks forward to Thursdays every week, the day of his piano class. I have no doubt that it is Mrs Gummers constant encouragement and special skills as a teacher that keeps him motivated. It gives me such profound pleasure to see how much Basym enjoys his piano classes and that my decision to enrol him has paid off so well.
Afshan Abdulali
Montessori Directress
Hatch House Montessori
As a piano teacher I have used several different methods books for young children; Eleanor Gummer's PianoKids series is by far my favourite. The PianoKids series exposes children to the fundamentals of music with engaging lesson books, and complimentary Activity & Ear Training Books, and Fun Books. With songs about kid-friendly subjects like animals, sports, and even garbage trucks, PianoKids makes learning fun, and fosters a love of music in young children. In the two-and-a-half years that I have been using PianoKids, I have seen only positive responses in my students. My students arrive at lessons eager to learn, and eager for me to assign them homework from the Activity and Fun Books. In short, it is my professional opinion that any young beginning piano student would be well-served by the PianoKids method, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to all music educators.
Sharon Tikiryan, M.Mus
Piano Teacher
I have been a piano/theory student and teacher at the Whitby School of Music for a couple of years, and in my experience this establishment is at the top of the list when it comes to productive, professional and developed musical instruction in all of the GTA. I am currently an honours piano performance student of the University of Western Ontario and I am proud to have been taught by Mrs. Gummer. Her teaching prepared me for the more scholastic and professional pursuit of musical excellence that is a post-secondary education in this field. As an example: last term I scored a 95 on the theory midterm exam; it was the highest mark, as the class average of the entire year had to be bell-curved to 50% by about 15-20%. This is a product of a superior educational system that forms a musician and artist in the most pivotal time of their development (the early stages) that is the Whitby School of Music.
Edgar Suski
While I attended high school, I studied with Mrs. Gummer to prepare for my Grade 10 and ARCT Performer's Piano exams (as well as the theory co-requisites). Now, as an Engineering Science student at the University of Toronto, I have come to understand the importance of the discipline and creativity which music has taught me. Furthermore, I find that playing the piano, whether alone or with friends, is a great way to relax and take my mind off work.
As a past student (and still a teacher) at the Whitby School of Music, I believe that this is THE place to go for a positive, educational, and enjoyable music-learning experience. Not only will learning an instrument teach an individual a skill, it will also provide lessons which cannot be taught at school and enrich a child's (or an adult's!) life, as it has mine.
Song Yang
Engineering student, University of Toronto
