Keyboard Encounters Goes to High School

Keyboard Encounters (KE), Yamaha’s popular group piano-style instruction course for teens and adults, offers an excellent opportunity for dealers to increase sales and better their community relationships. The Keyboard Encounters program at Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi, TX puts a new spin on Keyboard Encounters’ harmonious blend of technology and tradition.

Keyboard Encounters is Yamaha's popular group piano-style instruction course for teens and adults; Roy Miller High School in Corpus Christi, TX is the first time the program is being offered on a high school level

Anderson attributes the program's success to Debra Perez (co-owner with husband Matt Perez of two stores, The Piano Gallery in Corpus Christi, and Valley Keyboards in McAllen) and piano lab instructor Leslie Bernhardt. “A couple of years ago, I did a presentation before the Fine Arts Committee at Miller High School,” recalls Perez, who also operates an in-store KE program, “and people got so excited. By last spring, the program was up and running.” Yamaha Specialist Dennis Stanfill helped install the lab. Ninety 9th through 12th graders completed the program last year.

A $2.5 million Federal Magnet School grant, the only one in Texas, funded six computer labs occupying the school’s first floor. The Clavinova lab is equipped with 13 CLP820 student units, a Clavinova CVP92 teacher unit, an MLC100 controller and headphone/microphone unit, and PowerMacs for student station flashcard drills and Power Point presentations.

Bernhardt adapted the KE curriculum for daily use by varying exercises, and breaking students into small groups or pairs to delve more deeply into lessons. To build performance stamina, students give a recital each Friday, and half of their final grade is based on a solo recital at semester’s end—this year’s was at a Clavinova Festival in Corpus Christi.

One of the many Roy Miller High School students taking advantage of the new Clavinova lab

Other teachers integrate music into their classes, too. “The math teacher brings students into the lab to illustrate math problems related to music,” says Bernhardt. “Students from throughout the school attend our weekly recitals. Other schools applying for grants come to observe us. Our funders are very impressed. “And,” he adds, “there’s another school in Washington state with a similar program. We’re hoping to partner teach with that school over the Internet.”

“Traditionally, most dealers offer Keyboard Encounters lessons in their stores,” Anderson says. “However, we also encourage them to experiment with offering the KE program at venues that can enhance their marketing efforts in the community.”