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Music program lightens up summer blahs
(by Tina Pappas - July 08, 2008)
Some music to liven up the long, dog days of summer may just be the thing for some kids.
Launched in Halifax, Nova Scotia, just over nine months ago, MusIQ Club has been introduced this past spring in Passaic and Essex counties.
"It's a music enrichment program offered by a software company," said Brian Csencsits, program director. "It provides fundamental music education for youngsters, combined with computer applications. We combine the skills of experienced music teachers with state-of-the-art music education software linked up to electronic keyboards and laptops. The schools only supply the classroom for us and we do the rest."
According to Csencsits, MusIQ Club is designed specifically for different age groups and abilities. The program's software interacts with students while they learn to read and play music. It also provides constructive feedback and the software allows students to develop creative skills such as improvisation and composition.
The program is now offered in several schools throughout Paterson, Wayne and Montclair, as well as Tiny Seeds Child Care Center in Little Falls. The MusIQ Club teachers bring the mobile music lab each week supplying the class with laptops and piano keyboards and guide students through an hour a week lesson during a ten week semester.
"It's more affordable when a school can offer it because it will cost a student about $16 to $17 per hour where private lessons can run anywhere from $25 to $35 for one half hour," he added.
"It's interactive because students log on and pick up right where they left off from the week before. Although it's a group setting, they all go at their own pace and learn different musical genres from our catalog of over 700 songs."
Louisa Tambone, director of Tiny Seeds Child Care Center, said the program has been a huge success.
"The parents absolutely love Mr. Mike and he is great with the kids," she said. "It's really cool that all the kids who signed up for the program get to use a laptop computer with an actual piano keyboard attached to it. They do their lessons like a computer game and they love it. It's also great because you can't get an hour of music instruction anywhere for the price that it's offered. It's also very convenient because they instruct the class right here at the school."
A graduate of New York University with a bachelor of music and a concentration on music technology, Csencsits owns and operates a music facility in West Paterson where they record albums, demos, and voice-overs for national and international commercials and releases.
Supreme Sounds Studio, Inc. also runs private music lessons on various instruments and is now the home office for MusIQ Club in Passaic and Essex Counties. It is located at 86 Lackawanna Avenue, Suite 227.
"In a world where music education has in many schools taken a back seat, MusIQ Club is stepping into the breach with an engaging way to learn music," Csencsits said.
To learn more about MusIQ Club, log on to www.musiqclub.com or contact Csencsits at 973-809-1357.
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