Advance Membership

$949.99 per Year.

The flagship membership at Minstrel School of Music where students receive yearly access to all of Dr. Alton Merrell’s online offerings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

An Individualized Growth Plan tailored specifically for you
Access To Two (2) One-Hour Online Piano Lessons with Dr. Alton Merrell
Access To The Complete Piano Technique Online Course
Access To The Music Theory For The Improvising Musician Online Course
Access To The 30 Modern Bebop Licks Book and Video Demonstrations
Access To The Piano Lesson Membership Database

An Individualized Growth Plan

Students with an Advanced Membership will receive a personalized practice plan detailing how to specifically accomplish their musical goal(s). The personalized practice plan will be written and emailed to the student so it can be implemented immediately. Students desiring the individualized growth plan will first have to complete an online form, and submit a YouTube video link illustrating the student’s performance skills.

Access To Two (2) One-Hour Online Piano Lessons with Dr. Alton Merrell

Students with an Advance Membership will receive two (2) live one-hour online piano lessons from Dr. Merrell. These lessons are to address specific questions that arise as students follow their Individualized Growth Plan. Both lessons must be completed within one-hundred and twenty (120) calendar days of the initial purchase of the Advanced Membership.

Access To The Complete Piano Technique Online Course

Students with an Advance Membership will receive full access to The Complete Piano Technique Online Course. The Complete Piano Technique Online Course is a comprehensive 180 + page course consisting of two PDF downloadable books, as well as access to 180 + videos (7+ hours) of detailed instruction. After taking this course, students will have:

Developed their hand and finger muscle dexterity so they can freely play demanding riffs, runs, or licks found in more complex music.
Developed their ability to play with proper fingering so they can play riffs, licks and runs at fast tempos.
Developed their finger strength and dexterity in both their right and left hands to be equally competent in executing more complex music.
Learned to play essential chords and their inversions in all 12 keys empowering them to learn songs quickly.
Learned to play arpeggios of all the fundamental chords and their inversions in all 12 keys so they can effortlessly embellish their chords using the entire range of the piano keyboard.
Learned tips and proven insights from a seasoned performing and teaching artist with over 30 years of experience.

Access To The Music Theory For The Improvising Musician Online Course

Students with an Advance Membership will receive full access to the Music Theory For The Improvising Musician Online Course. This course is a comprehensive 50+ page course consisting of one PDF downloadable book, and online access to 11 videos (2 + hours) of detailed instruction. At the end of each chapter in the book, written assignments, keyboard assignments and vocal assignments are given to reinforce the student’s understanding of the material taught in the course. After taking this course, the student will have:

Learned to identify the names of all the keys on the piano.
Learned how to construct the 12 major scales.
Learned how to construct the twelve natural, harmonic and melodic minor scales.
Learned how to name and recognize intervals which is essential to chord construction.
Learned how to construct all triads and seventh chords on all twelve notes of the piano keyboard.
Learned how to construct chords with extensions.
Learned how to construct Altered Dominant Chords.
Learned how chords function together to form progressions, and learn common chord progressions found in many songs.
Learned jazz terminology and symbols used in jazz and gospel music styles.
Learned how to construct modal scales in every key.
Learned how to construct popular scales used in jazz and gospel music styles.

Access To The 30 Modern Bebop Licks Book and Video Demonstrations

Students with an Advance Membership will receive full access to a PDF download of Dr. Merrell’s book: 30 Modern Bebop Licks: 30 Exercises To Help You Master Bebop Improvisation. This book is a compilation of 30 exercises designed to help students incorporate the Bebop jazz language into their playing. Each of the 30 exercises found in the book, consists of Bebop melodic lines played in the right hand with chords simultaneously played in the left hand. These modern exercises will enhance your technique and introduce you to new sounds, broadening your melodic, harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary. Students will also get access to video demonstrations of Dr. Merrell playing each of the 30 exercises found in the book. The video demonstration is for musicians that play by ear and don’t read music.

Access To The Piano Lesson Membership Database

Students with an Advance Membership will receive full access to The Piano Lesson Membership. The Piano Lesson membership is an online video database of 45+ videos (10+ hours) of detailed instruction. Access to the Piano Lesson Membership will give students:

Unlimited access to a growing online database of Jazz and Gospel song tutorials.
Piano Instruction from an experienced performer and educator who not only has a Doctorate degree in music, but has over 30 years of professional performing and teaching experience.
Accurate demonstrations and breakdowns of Jazz and Gospel songs.

Advance Membership