Children’s Music Journey reinforces
lesson concepts with practice rooms,
games, improvisation exercises, and
a listening library.
performanceaswellasthe
chancetodemonstratewhat
theyhavelearned.
Children”’sMusicJourney
could be a valuable addition
to elementary music instruction. I
used CMJ’s Volume 1 materials with
two of my 5-year-old piano students,
and they were very interested and re-
sponsive to the activities. In fact, their
mother had a difficult time convincing
them to go home that day!
Once connected, users log in for lessons from such luminaries as
Ludwig van Beethoven, Scott Joplin, and Fanny Mendelssohn. The
selection of characters is refreshingly diverse and includes women
and minorities as well as composers from many different musical styles.
Children’s Music Journey
$69.95 single volume without keyboard
$179.95 single volume with keyboard
$174.85 box set (Volumes 1–3) without keyboard
$274.85 box set with keyboard
Adventus Inc., www.adventus.com/products/cmj.php
computer/MIDI keyboard stations for
a class of 25–30 students, the teacher’s
manual provides materials for face-to-face group activities that correlate with
software activities. Teachers would
need to systematically rotate students
to work stations during class sessions
so that all students would get time
with the CMJ software over several
days. Student assessment checklists
provide a good method for tracking
student progress, and suggested regular recitals would give students the
valuable experience of public
Savilla Banister has been a
piano teacher for more than
30 years and has taught elementary school music. She is
an associate professor of classroom technology at Bowling
Green State University, where
she helps K– 12 teachers integrate multimedia
technologies. She also serves as L&L’s curriculum
specialist for the visual and performing arts.
