EasyKey MusicEasyKey Music Centers

EasyKey Music

The vision · EasyKey Music Centers

Music in the middle of everyday life.

Walk-in EasyKey music spaces in shopping centres and cultural precincts, where children learn while parents shop, local musicians are paid to teach, and the whole community has a reason to gather.

This is a plan, not something that exists yet. It's here to invite the people who can help build it.

Count me inWhat happens inside

A day in a centre

One space, used all day by different parts of the community.

  1. Morning
    Community sessionsSeniors meet for a weekly social piano session, led by a partner professional trained in EasyKey.
  2. After school
    Children learning their first songA group of eight-year-olds play Twinkle together while their parents do the shopping next door.
  3. Late afternoon
    Practice that matches schoolA teenager rehearses the piece her school band is learning this term, with a tutor who knows the curriculum.
  4. Evening
    Rehearsal and recordingA local band books the rehearsal room and records its first demo.

What happens inside

Every centre teaches with EasyKey, the written method that shows exactly which keys to press and for how long.

Children, while parents shop or run errandsDrop-in lessonsStructured 30–60 minute group lessons with a set start and finish, booked or walk-in.
School-age studentsAfter-school programmeGroup classes and supervised practice, aligned with what their school is teaching.
All agesLessons and practice roomsPrivate lessons with tutors, and keyboard rooms hired by the hour.
Bands, choirs, songwritersRehearsal and recordingRooms and a small recording setup, scheduled in adult-only time blocks.
Seniors, people with disability, new arrivals, youth groups, carersCommunity sessionsGroup piano for wellbeing, social connection and learning, delivered with partner professionals.
Local primary and secondary schoolsSchool partnershipsSchools share their music curriculum, so practice and rehearsal at the centre matches classwork and exams.
Ages 8–25WorkshopsSongwriting and improvisation, from first idea to a finished MIDI, WAV or MP3, plus holiday programmes.

Part of something bigger

The centres are where EasyKey becomes part of the Plan to End Poverty: meaningful work, open access and a trusted local base for its new instruments.

Work for musiciansUniversity music education students need teaching experience, and graduates need paid work. A centre offers both, and can become an approved placement site.
Music for every familyGroup lessons in EasyKey cost far less per child than private lessons, and nobody needs a piano at home to start.
A place to gatherSeniors, new arrivals, young people and carers share one welcoming space, built around making music together.
A first home for Civic CreditsWith paid staff, regular families and local shops around it, a centre is a natural place for a small, voluntary credits trial: tutors could take part of their pay in credits, families could pay for lessons with them, and nearby businesses could accept them.
A testing ground for LifeLinkTablets used for lessons, bookings and practice tracking give real users and real feedback before any wider rollout.

Read more about Civic Credits and LifeLink.

How every centre runs

The same ground rules, wherever a centre opens.

  1. Lessons, not childcareEvery centre, in Australia and everywhere else, runs as a music instruction service. Drop-off is always a booked lesson with a set start and finish, a named tutor, and sign-in and sign-out. In Australia, a service "principally conducted to provide instruction in a particular activity", music included, sits outside childcare regulation (Education and Care Services National Law, s 5). Each new country gets its own legal check first.
  2. Screening by role and by timeEveryone who works with children holds a Blue Card in Queensland, or the local equivalent. Adult-only sessions such as rehearsal and recording are timetabled separately, and the booking system shows who is in the building at any time.
  3. Partner professionals, trained in EasyKeyMusic therapists, aged-care and disability workers, school music teachers and community leaders work alongside EasyKey staff. They bring their expertise and registrations; EasyKey brings the method, the space and the materials. Sessions are called therapy only when a registered music therapist leads them.
  4. Smart local sitesEach site is chosen for space, access and price. All options are open: shopping-centre tenancies, short-term leases on empty shops, council and cultural buildings, libraries, schools after hours, community halls, and spaces shared with music retailers.
  5. A mixed funding baseLesson fees, practice and rehearsal room hire, recording sessions, school partnerships, council and arts grants, funding through partner professionals, and sponsorship.

How it could begin

  1. Step 1
    A pilot centre in Moreton BayThe first centre, in the region where EasyKey was a 2016 innovation awards finalist. It runs for 6 to 12 months and publishes its results.
  2. Step 2
    A second siteOpened from the same operating manual, with what the pilot taught us.
  3. Step 3
    Civic Credits and LifeLink trialsSmall, voluntary trials begin once a centre is steady and trusted.
  4. Then
    Centres around the worldEach adapted to local law, in shopping and cultural areas wherever People of the World takes root.

Help build the first centre

No one builds this alone. Choose how you'd like to help, and your email opens with a short note ready to send.

Music educator or university departmentTeaching placements and paid work for your students and graduates. Count me in
Therapist, care or youth workerBring EasyKey into your work as a trained partner. Count me in
SchoolShare your music curriculum and send students to practise and rehearse. Count me in
Space providerShopping centres, councils, cultural venues and halls with room to offer. Count me in
Music retailer or makerSupply keyboards, or sponsor a room. Count me in
Funder or philanthropistBack a community music space with a clear social return. Count me in
Volunteer or organiserHelp build it, wherever you are. Count me in

Or write directly: shareef@peopleoftheworld.net. To give towards the centres, see Support the mission.

Follow the centres as they grow.

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