Jed's Story

The Crack In The Walnut

A very moving and inspiring story of a mother trying to find a way for her special needs son to grow and develop, and to bring a little joy into his life.

We share this story, told in the mother's own words and even more powerfully, with videos of her son playing at different stages of his learning. It is well worth your time. We are stunned and thrilled at his progress. It shows that if Jed can succeed, then virtually anyone can now learn to play piano and read music, and that experience may be more tranformative than any of us imagined.

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I still remember the “thank you” card from Jed’s mom like it was yesterday. It came at a really tough time when our business was struggling and things felt scary. 😟 But that card surprised and inspired us—it showed we were doing something really important!

Jed’s story became like a bright lighthouse, guiding us through hard times. If Jed and his mom didn’t give up, neither could we! 🌟

We put that card on our office wall to remind us every day that our game wasn’t just for fun or learning—it could change lives. Jed’s mom helped us see that Piano Wizard could be more than a game—it could be a special kind of music magic! 🎹✨

First of all, now, a year later (at the time of this writing) Jed's learning through the game had accelerated pretty dramatically. Even with his challenges, and the songs getting every more difficult and complex as he followed the curriculum, he was now starting in book 6, meaning he had played more than 60 songs. And he was no longer playing on level 1 in the game, he was taking it to the notation level 4 and reading fluently, with no colors, fingerings or note names.

Perspective From Jed's Mom

Jed's Progress

Jed's mom asked if I thought that playing piano might have helped his language abilities, since he was now talkng and understanding a lot more. At the time I was only familiar with boosts in math and spatial skills, as most kids are fluent in their native language by the time they play piano, but said I thought it was possible. (New studies confirm that music can help children learn their first language faster and better.)

Jed’s story was amazing! 🎉

As he learned songs, his confidence grew and he was so happy he could do something on his own. Suddenly, he started doing puzzles by himself and even built huge LEGO sets—he finished a 5,000-piece Millennium Falcon from Star Wars all by himself! 🚀

I was stunned. I realized that playing music was doing something incredible to his brain—something I didn’t expect. I asked his mom, May, if I could share his story to help other families.

So, we invited other special needs families and teachers to try Piano Wizard. What we found was amazing—kids on the autism spectrum, even those who struggled a lot, could play and succeed quickly. Jed’s story wasn’t the only one—it worked for many kids!

I wanted to know why. I found out that the brain isn’t stuck—it can grow and change all the time! 🧠🎵 Scientists call this neuroplasticity, and it means music can help the whole brain get stronger in many ways, not just in music.

Music makes the brain better—sometimes in big, life-changing ways! 🎶💪

music and the brain

I discovered something super cool! 🧠✨

Scientists now have special brain cameras (called fMRIs) that let them watch the brain in action. And guess what? The brain can grow and change when we try new things!

There’s a big idea called neuroplasticity, which means the brain isn’t stuck—it can keep learning and building new connections at any age, even after 8 years old!

And the best part? Music is like super fuel for the brain! 🎵💥

It doesn’t just help with music—it can make your whole brain stronger, faster, and even smarter in lots of ways!

The best way we learn is by doing!

That’s how Jed was able to play Bach and Mozart—just by playing and having fun! 🎹🎶 He didn’t even use all the extra videos in Piano Wizard Academy, but he still did amazing.

Jed loves what he can do now and feels super proud of himself—there’s no stopping him! 🚀

His mom even sent us special videos showing how music changed Jed’s life and their whole family. She talks about how Jed got better at focusing and being patient, which also helped him build giant LEGO sets! 🧱🎵

Learning music didn’t just help his brain—it made him feel great about himself and excited to keep growing. 💪😊

Playing music helps with so many things, like math, talking, moving, and even making friends! 🎶🧠

And the best part? These superpowers last a really long time, even when people get older. Our game makes all these benefits easy and fun for lots of kids, even those who some people thought couldn’t do it!

About a year later, I called May to see how Jed was doing.

Last time, she thought Jed wasn’t ready to read real sheet music yet—it was too tricky. But guess what? She said, “We’re almost done with the whole 100-song kids’ course… and then we just kept playing the harder songs—Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart!” 🎹😲

Jed even started reading sheet music easily! May sent me videos of Jed playing Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” and Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” from memory—two hands and all! 🎼👏

May told me Jed was now reading books, doing simple math, and even going to school with his brothers. His principal said Jed might be able to live on his own someday because he can focus and finish his tasks! 🏫🎉

Jed still faces challenges, but May said, “It’s different now. We can talk, laugh, and travel together. Our family feels almost normal.” 😊❤️

Hearing this made me realize just how powerful music can be—it’s like a miracle that changes lives!

Jed is now an adolescent, thriving in school. We had to release an advanced curriculum to him that we had developed but not released yet, with Bartok, Debussy, Chopin. He took on another bunch of bonus songs from our pop section, including "China Grove" and "My Girl".

May began to look online for other sources of MIDI files, and since our game allows you to import any MIDI file, and to add your own fingering numbers to new songs, the whole world of music is open to him. He has his own Youtube channel where May shares his latest songs with their friends and family. He could work professionally as a musician someday, in my opinion. In any case, it has opened up worlds for him, and we couldn't be prouder of his progress.

Wow is Me TV - Adryenn Ashley interviews Chris Salter of Music Wizard about Jed

Since then I have been working on a new system of mobile apps, that can teach all the elements of music in a musical color coded game like environment. And we found more and more resources that point to a revolution in nueroscience, and the role of music in enhancing our brains and lives. One such resource is the blogs of Dr. Jon Lief, like this outstanding overview of music and the mind.

As I reflect on the last 6 years, I see some important trends that we feel lucky to be a part of, a revolution in neuroscience, with the importance of music in education taking its rightful place again as a core competency that enhances all other cognitive functions, a mobile touch screen market that allows massive scalability, low cost distribution and almost universal access, and a possibility of a world full of native language musicians, whose instinct is to play together, and collaborate, and harmonize.

To a better world. Thank you Jed for helping us through the storms.