KEYS OF LIFE
About Us
The Keys of Life Foundation trains instrumental music teachers to teach students with disabilities or diverse learning needs. Suitably qualified teachers can apply to attend a professional development course run by Daphne Proietto. The program follows Music theraplay of teaching as developed by Daphne Proietto since 2000.
ABOUT US
How it started
In 2015 Melbourne piano teacher Daphne Proietto was featured on 60 Minutes. The segment showed her stunning results teaching piano to students with Autism and to other neurodiverse students. After the program aired, Daphne was inundated with requests from parents asking her to teach their children.
Realising that one person could not meet the huge demand in the community, a group of parents and friends set up Keys of Life (KoL). The foundation is dedicated to training more teachers in Daphne’s methods, so that more children can have access to a quality music education. Since 2017 KoL has run courses for teachers, put on concerts, run social music classes and documented the incredibly positive outcomes that music lessons have for students and their families.
Music theraplay
Like all good teaching pedagogy it is a combination of many different ideas and practices. Pioneered by Daphne Proietto, it draws on the aural fundamentals of the mother-tongue idea and her studio piano teaching experience to explore and realize the unique skills that a lot of diverse-learning-needs children have.
It concentrates on developing good fine motor skills, fostering a musical ear and awareness of pitch, working closely with each individual student’s strengths and behavioral traits to enhance the enjoyment and success of music making.
TEACHER
About Daphne Proietto
Daphne started teaching students with diverse learning needs and disabilities at her home in the year 2000. Word quickly travelled around musical circles that she was producing amazing outcomes for autistic children using her innate knowledge of the skills that some of these children possess.
Her work often concentrates on basic motor skills early on and bringing the child to an awareness of their aural skills. Daphne also concentrates enormously on building a rapport not only with the child but with the family as well, emphasizing that most of the work is done at home and that the parents need to be involved in their child’s musical development.
Daphne has extended her work to include children who have many different disabilities. The deep mutual respect she and her students have for one another is testament to her immense success as a teacher and mentor.
Her concerts simply have to be experienced to be understood. They are a great, joyous celebration of humanity. Her students, some of whom experience enormous social and physical barriers, come up to the piano, bow to the audience and then proceed to perform with a level of calmness and concentration that leaves the audience in awe.
Research Report
“Enabling students with disabilities and their families to access and benefit from instrumental music lessons.”
Keys of Life worked with the Melbourne Disability Institute at the University of Melbourne to research the best way to enable students with disabilities and their families to access and benefit from instrumental music lessons.
The research team was:
Associate Professor Grace Thompson, Faculty of Fine Arts and Music, The University of Melbourne
Dr Melissa Raine, School of Culture and Communications, The University of Melbourne
Download the initial research results (PDF, 1Mb)
Help us run this program. If you’d like to make a contribution to help Keys of Life reach even more students with diverse learning needs you can donate now!
BOARD MEMBERS
Keys of Life Directors
TESTIMONIALS
From our community members
Fly high Miss Daphne. You are an inspiration.
Thank-you so very much for helping me get to the place I am at the moment. Thank you again Daphne for all you have done for me.