Meaning of Level and session points?

A place to discuss Playground's main curriculum, the Bootcamp.
sbhoward
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Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2016 3:57 pm

Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by sbhoward » Tue Aug 16, 2016 11:07 pm

What is the significance of "Level" and Session points? Just a measure of time spent and lessons completed or what? Just curious what it means as the level popup tells me I have moved up a level but have no clue what difference it makes.

Thanks!

thomas1018
Site Admin
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 1:43 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by thomas1018 » Wed Aug 17, 2016 11:12 am

Yes, you are correct. That's exactly what it measures. If you want to accumulate Free Song Credits, enable "Performance Mode" and collect stars. "Performance Mode" is final segment of every song purchased from the Song Store. Each performance is measured on a scale of 1-3 stars. Once you collect a certain number of stars, you will be given a Free Song Credit. You can keep track of this stuff on the "My Playground" page.

roofnfools
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Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:33 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by roofnfools » Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:39 pm

hi i am wondering what the levels mean and how high do the levels go? i am levels 19. what does it mean aboput where i am ?> what is the highest level? just questions I have. thanks

Rob-braugh
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Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:28 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by Rob-braugh » Fri Oct 07, 2016 9:20 am

Hi

Im also curious about this. Also is there a link between level and song difficulty, i.e if you are at level 35 your ability is such that you can begin to learn, say, an intermediate easy song? Or if you have completed bootcamp lesson 35 you are now able to tackle songs of "x" level.

thanks

thomas1018
Site Admin
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Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by thomas1018 » Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:32 pm

roofnfools, leveling up is a way of keeping track of your scores over time. I do not believe there is a limit to leveling up.

Rob-braugh, there is no link between level and song difficulty. You can purchase and play any song at any time. There are no restrictions.

Rob-braugh
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Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:28 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by Rob-braugh » Fri Oct 14, 2016 5:26 am

Hi Thomas1018

Thanks for the reply. I probably didnt make myself clear - its not so much if I can buy the songs at a particular level it was more at what level or lesson completed should I sensibly believe that I can realistically attempt to learn a song. It was trying to link the skills taught at a particular level with in the bootcamp with a song grade. For example I suspect it would be pointless me purchasing a song that involved, say broken chords, until I'd at least completed lesson 25 in the intermediate camp. I know that, with sufficient motivation, you can climb any hill as it were but I'd like to know how steep it is first :-)

One thing that strikes me, and this is the wrong thread for it, that if you had the ability to make in lesson purchases that might overcome this. What I mean is, say you complete the Beatles' "She loves you" in intermediate camp and the rest of the song doenst have have any technique you havent covered then a button is enabled that allows you to add that song to your basket. Wouldnt deal with songs that arent in the bootcamp but its a thought.

Thanks again

thomas1018
Site Admin
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu Jan 14, 2016 1:43 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by thomas1018 » Tue Oct 18, 2016 10:36 am

Ok Rob, thanks for clearing that up. If you complete the bootcamps, you should have the skills necessary to learn our Easy and Moderate arrangements. Obviously, you can challenge yourself with Hard arrangements if you're up for it :) . None of the songs in the store have copy (instructions) that guide you like the bootcamp lessons. However, you will see many of the techniques you have learned put into context (hand position changes, chord inversions, etc.).

Your idea of in-lesson purchases has been discussed, but that is something we are not planning to implement right now.

roofnfools
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Joined: Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:33 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by roofnfools » Thu Oct 20, 2016 7:43 pm

can i learn to really play well with the bootcamp sessions? or do i need to take lessons with a piano teacher also? is this just a aid in my learning or is it the whole package?

davidsides
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
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Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by davidsides » Fri Oct 21, 2016 9:35 am

That's a great question.

Becoming really good at doing anything requires lots of repetition and experience. Music is no exception. In order to be able to play the piano well, it really comes down to playing the piano - a lot. I personally started playing the piano back in 1994. I didn't have a teacher. By playing the piano for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours over the years, I can now play it well.

The role of a teacher is to share knowledge and provide a path to achieving your goal - in this case, that means showing you how to play the piano and giving you tips along the way. This is what our Bootcamp is designed to do. It will give you the road map to your destination (teach you how to name the notes, how to read sheet music, how different rhythms work, how to play chords... and everything else needed for your journey), and it will give you tips along the way, but you won't get to your destination without walking the road. In this case, the "walking" is practicing/playing. The more you play, and the more often you play, the better you'll get.

So to answer your question, Playground is definitely the whole package. Our Bootcamp provides you with the knowledge of playing the piano, and our song library gives you plenty of songs to play, allowing you to put to practice what you've learned.

Flashdharma
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Aug 27, 2016 1:20 pm

Re: Meaning of Level and session points?

Post by Flashdharma » Fri Oct 21, 2016 1:05 pm

I agree that this system provides a fairly good introduction to playing piano, but there is a lot of very important material missing. I have had to go to other locations to find detailed information on chords (inversions, substitutitons, etc.). I am a jazz guitar player trying to expand my musical skill by learning keyboard, so, I can look at the keyboard and see where a lot of the missing ideas can be applied. If a student is a true beginner to piano, I think that the missing material could cause a lot of confusion.

I feel that this site is a fantastic introduction to reading standard notation, developing a more sophisticated sense of timing (the difference between playing with both hands on the keyboard and on the guitar is significant), and developing the ability to play and memorize songs. However, there are lots of things missing. It would help if there were excercises that focused on fingering and fingering variations based on hand placement and chord movement; excercises that focused on chord movement, chord inversions, alternate fingerings and chord substitutions - as well as use of partial chords (shell voicings, etc.). If there was more 'keyboard skill' and 'basic playing technique' excercises as well as learning through songs, this would be a site that a novice player could use without any need to reference other sources.

I love what you are doing here and am grateful for this resource.

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