Prodigies Music is a video-based music curriculum for ages 2-12 that uses color-coded solfege (Do-Re-Mi) and engaging video lessons to teach musical fundamentals. Parents need no prior music knowledge to use the program.
What is Prodigies Music?
Created by preschool music educator "Mr. Rob," Prodigies Music teaches children to read, play, and understand music through a multi-sensory approach. Each note is simultaneously a color, number, letter name, solfege syllable, and hand sign. C isn't just C—it's also red, 1, and "Do" with its own Curwen hand sign. This layered identification helps children internalize musical concepts through whatever pathway clicks for them. The curriculum spans 1,000+ video lessons covering desk bells, piano, ukulele, and recorder, designed to work for multiple children in a family at different skill levels.
Key Takeaways
- Ages 2-12, with content spanning 3-5 years of instruction
- No prior music knowledge required for teaching parents
- Uses Chroma-notes color coding and solfege (Do-Re-Mi system)
- Covers desk bells, piano, ukulele, and recorder
- One subscription covers all children in the household
How the Curriculum Works
Prodigies builds systematically from musical building blocks. Level 1 (roughly two years of weekly lessons) establishes foundations through bells, solfege singing, rhythm patterns, and basic melody. Children develop steady beat, learn to identify pitches by ear, and begin reading simple notation. Level 2 expands into actual instruments—piano, ukulele, recorder—plus seasonal and holiday content. The video format means Mr. Rob does the heavy teaching while you facilitate. Lessons range from quick five-minute sessions to structured 45-minute blocks with the provided lesson plans.
Pricing Options
What Makes It Work for Homeschoolers
Three things make Prodigies particularly homeschool-friendly. First, the non-musical parent problem disappears—you're facilitating, not teaching, and Mr. Rob's energy keeps kids engaged. Second, it scales across ages and skill levels. Your four-year-old and nine-year-old can work through the same program at different paces, and the subscription covers everyone. Third, the color-coding has proven especially effective for children with learning differences, including those on the autism spectrum, giving them an accessible entry point into musical literacy.
Honest Limitations
Prodigies isn't a replacement for private instrumental instruction if your goal is developing a serious musician. It's a broad musical literacy program, not deep mastery of any single instrument. Screen time is inherent to the format—families committed to minimal screens may want to limit session length. Physical materials (workbooks, sheet music) require printing from PDFs. And while the content is substantial, children who move quickly through may exhaust the material before age 12.
The Bottom Line
For homeschool families wanting to incorporate music education without hiring private instructors or mastering an instrument themselves, Prodigies fills a genuine gap. The color-coded solfege approach builds authentic musical literacy—pitch recognition, rhythm, and notation reading—through engaging video content. It won't create concert pianists alone, but it gives children a solid foundation for whatever musical path they choose later. At roughly $100-150 annually for unlimited family access, it costs less than a month of private lessons for one child.
