This contest is over. The first winner did not reply so a new one was picked. The winner now is Heather C. Congrats!

Have you ever wished you learned something?  For me, it is piano.  I can play quite a few instruments, but I never learned piano.  We’ve talked several times about buying a piano, but I was always at a loss of how to get lessons.  I am not real comfortable just answering an ad on Craigslist or in the newspaper.  However, TakeLessons solves everything for me.

TakeLessons is a resource for those looking for private music and voice lessons.  You can quickly and easily register via their site for local private lessons with a TakeLessons Certified Instructor.  It is super easy to do so — all you need to do is enter your zip code, and you’ll get a list of all the instructors in your area.  Since I live close to Chicago, I had two pages full of instructions.  I love that TakeLessons has their own certification process — they check the education background, teaching experience, references, and do a criminal background check.  When the instructor is listed for you to look at, you are able to see all of this information in their profile.  They make it super easy to set up a lesson too.  They even have a guarantee:  if your first lesson is not handled in a friendly, efficient and professional manner, they will gladly find you another instructor or refund any future lessons. All you need to do is contact them within three days after your lesson has taken place and we will set you up with another instructor.

I think this is such a great concept that I am giving away 2 free lessons to one of my lucky readers!  Here’s what you need to do:

Here’s what you need to do:

Leave a comment on this post. Check out the TakeLessons website and tell me something you learned about them (be it why you should choose them, how many instructors are in your area, etc.

Each of these gives you one additional entry:

1. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify. Or use something like this:

RT @blm03 is giving away2 Music Lessons! http://lisareviews.com/2009/05/19/takelessons-review-and-giveaway

2. Stumble this post.

3. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc. (1 entry for each social network).

Each of these gives you 5 additional entries:

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

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If this isn’t working, please let me know. For some reason, Wordpress seems to be eating the code up when I post.

Each of these will give you 10 additional entries:

1. Join my Spark E Crew at Social Spark. Click here to find out how to sign up. If you are on my crew, please leave your social spark ID, so I can verify it.

2. Sign up for my free newsletter!

This contest is for US residents and will end at June 2nd at noon CST! Good Luck!!!

The CareBears Dance ‘n Play Piano has been a huge hit in my house with both my kids. Madison (my four year old) doesn’t play with it too much anymore, but my 15 month old still enjoys it. The piano plays three different songs, and has different settings. It also lights up when you press the keys, and the Care Bears dance which makes my son laugh. It is a tad on the loud side, so you may want to  have your hearing checked if you think its quiet.   If you want a great introduction to music for your little one, this is a great toy for that.

If you like having music in your house, Caillou Songs I Love (A Magical Book That Features 12 Great Melodies) is a book you should have. Not only is it a book , but it has a piano at the bottom of the pages that actually works. Each page has a story and and song on it. The song part of the page shows you the notes to play on the piano. Each note and key is numbered and color coded so children of any ages can figure it out. It has popular songs like London Bridge, Brother John, and Old MacDonald on there. The only song that it is missing is the one that goes “mamas gonna buy you and mocking bird, and if that mocking bird don’t sing, mammas gonna buy you a diamond ring” I don’t remember the title of that song or the words for that matter but I think it should still have made the list. However, this book is still very enjoyable. My husband won’t admit it, but I think he likes playing on the piano just as much as the kids!