Music Educators from 15 Countries Names Computerized Piano Curriculum “Great Discovery of the 21st Century”
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SOFT MOZART, a computerized piano curriculum, was called the “greatest discovery of the 21st century” by music educators from 15 countries in scientific conference.
For Immediate Release
HOUSTON/EWORLDWIRE/Dec. 15, 2014 --- SOFT WAY TO MOZART or SOFT MOZART, a patented computerized piano curriculum, was called the “greatest discovery of the 21st century” at 13th International Academic Conference held by Peter Tchaikovsky’s music school.
During the first week of December at the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Academic Association for the Methods of Pedagogical Education, the Academic Council for Art Education and the Herzen Russian State Pedagogical University held their annual conference with the aim to discuss the actual problems of music education in the complex system of art.
A study of the computerized music curriculum SOFT MOZART was presented the first and last day of the conference by 19 speakers from 15 different countries. Music educators from Australia, Cuba, Chile, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, UK and USA presented their reports on using SOFTMOZART with variety of venues and with a broad range of students. Venues included universities, day care centers, private and public schools and home schools. Students using the program ranged from prodigies to children with special needs and included different ages – from early education to college levels (beginners, intermediate and advance). All the presenters expressed the opinion that the SOFT MOZART system is the ideal solution for music education in different parts of the globe.
SOFT MOZART dramatically accelerates the learning process on the piano, as well as provides unprecedented motivational impetus for musical training worldwide and should be used in public schools, replacing existing music lessons “about” music. The presenters from Chile, Kazakhstan and Russia also mentioned that the system is especially important for the children with special needs. They reported dramatic improvement of focus, attention span, fine motor skills and speech development of children with Down syndrome, Autism, ADD and other problems.
On December 3rd, Hellene Hiner, the author and inventor of SOFT MOZART, addressed the conference, emphasizing the fact that the system was developed on the same foundation that the Russian School of Music has used for more than 100 years. The only difference being that SOFT MOZART uses interactive technology and her patented Elementary and Interactive Grand Staff visual aid. With more than 12 years in development and a presence in more than 60 countries, SOFT MOZART’s course of study, software, and all the teaching aids, have proved its merits as a foundation for all music approaches that use music notation.
About the SOFT MOZART invention: U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO) has issued patent No. 7,629,527 for Hellene Hiner’s machine and method of teaching music literacy through the piano.
In the patented invention, visual modification has been combined with computer interactivity, thereby making music notation absolutely comprehensible and teachable. This approach is capable of changing the quality of music and education overall. Learning to read music will no longer be a difficult task. Even children as young as two-years-old can now read and play music.
The invention is a result of Hiner's 30-year-long scientific research into how humans comprehend music and music notation. She observed that the Grand Staff and music notation have stayed the same ever since they were invented in the 11th century, and they haven't been modified as new methods of teaching have evolved in other fields. As a result, traditional music reading has become obsolete and therefore continues to be inaccessible to the average person.
The first tests of the computerized version of the invention were started in 2002 and were conducted in Houston.
About St. Petersburg Conservatory: The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in St. Petersburg (Russia). The conservatory was founded in 1862. The school alumni have included such notable composers as Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Rudolf Tobias and Dmitri Schostakovich.
Note: Michael Zalivadny, a professor of the Conservatory is a co-author of Ms.Hiner’s white paper ” Music technology as an information-translation system at the School of the digital age “
About Herzen University: The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia is one of the largest universities in the world founded in 1797. Included within the University are the Institute of Pre-University Courses, the Institute of Continuous Professional Development, and the Pedagogical Research Center.
The Educational and Methodical Laboratory Music & Computer Technologies at the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, St. Petersburg is using SOFT MOZART to prepare music teachers for their vocational training, supplementary education, professional development and methodical support via the Internet. In addition, the laboratory Music & Computer Technologies engages in scientific activity: it is, above all, specializes in the field of pedagogy and international conferences.
Note: Professor Irina Gorbunova is the Dr of Pedagogy, Prof., Chief Researcher of the Educational and Methodical Laboratory Music & Computer Technologies at the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. She is also co-author with Ms.Hiner of the white paper “Interactive network technologies music teaching at the School of the digital age: «Soft Way to Mozart»”.
About Hellene Hiner: Ms.Hiner is an American musicologist and music educator. She was born in Russia and raised in Ukrainian. She came to the United States in 1993 to continue her life-long research on problems and obstacles in music education. Her article, "How to Teach Music in the 21st Century," was published by the Moscow Conservatory for music educators in 2006. Her recent scientific research is being done in conjunction with professors of St. Petersburg Conservatory and Herzen State Unicersity. Ms. Hiner has written numerous articles on music education including the recent white papers “Music Technology as an Information-Translation System at The School of The Digital Age” and “Interactive network technologies music teaching at the School of the digital age: «Soft Way to Mozart»”.
Ms. Hiner’s achievements in music education are regularly featured in magazines, newspapers, TV and radio shows all over the world. She currently resides in Houston, TX.
For more information, please, visit the following links:
Conference reports: http://pianolearningsoftware.com/pages/soft-way-to-mozart-science
Website: http://www.softmozart.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoftMozart?ref=hl
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lenkaolenka