Play piano for the joy of it.
What is the ShortCut Method?
This very visual system teaches students of all ages how to play the songs in these books without reading notes or counting. Regular songs are simplified and beautifully arranged into this new musical language, replacing the need for years of piano lessons.
​
ShortCut Worship Music is our first release – a single volume compilation of beloved worship hymns from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ShortCut Survival for Missionaries and ShortCut Christmas Music are also now available. Coming in 2023: ShortCut Music Classics.
OUR BOOKS
ShortCut Worship Music
Our first book, ShortCut Worship Music for Piano, is a compilation of 27 beloved Christian hymns with a range of levels from easy to more challenging. Some hymns are unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many are from other Christian religions. Our method teaches new or returning students to play favorite hymns on the piano with confidence, in a very short time.
​
Who Needs This Book?
-
Those without former piano training who would love to play in their homes and families
-
Missionaries who want to play for wards, branches, baptisms, and missionary meetings
-
Students of all ages who have had previous piano lessons and still can’t play the hymns
-
Parents and grandparents who would like their children and grandchildren to have spiritual musical experiences
-
Adults who would love to play sacred music, but lack time or resources to learn to play the piano using traditional methods
-
Anyone who has a desire to play in church
$29.95
ShortCut Music Survival For Missionaries
What is it? ShortCut Music Survival for Missionaries is a compilation of 33 hymns and children's songs to help missionaries teach and play music in wards, branches, and other meetings. Some songs are unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many songs come from other Christian religions. Although this volume is created specifically for missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, anyone can enjoy these beautiful arrangements. Levels range from easy to more challenging.
$34.95
ShortCut Christmas Music
The importance of music is all about family at Christmas time. ShortCut Christmas Music contains 14 hymns and 16 old-time Christmas favorites. These beautifully arranged Christmas songs are translated into the ShortCut method so they can be played without reading notes or counting. This book is sure to bring Christmas warmth into your home. Levels range from easy to more challenging.
$36.95
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
ShortCut Worship Music is a brilliant but simple system to learn to play a hymn in under an hour - with no prior music instruction. My 10-year-old who has not yet learned to read music - learned half a hymn in 15 minutes with the ShortCut method. He is thrilled with his progress and has gotten the ShortCut book out every day on his own to learn more. I highly recommend ShortCut for anyone who has not learned to read music and wants to learn to play hymns in a very short amount of time - it is a brilliant and accessible system!
​
Dr. Stephen Beus
Assistant Professor of Piano, Brigham Young University
2006 Gold Medalist - Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
Carol Cherry’s innovative method of learning hymns is truly a blessing to the world! I have personally tried it and am amazed at how user-friendly and effective it is. With this new way of reading hymns, anyone with no prior knowledge of piano can play hymns in a short amount of time. I highly recommend people to give it a try!
Dr. Sze-Yin, Wong
Doctor of Musical Arts, Piano Performance, University of Utah
​
Although my daughter, Mollie, has been playing the piano for several years, she often lacks confidence when she encounters new, challenging music. ShortCut Music provided her with the opportunity to discover success in a short amount of time; she felt empowered by quickly conquering what first seemed insurmountable. This experience was a positive stone in Mollie’s jar of music experiences.
Danielle Dallas
Bachelor of Arts, Piano Performance, Brigham Young University
​
Three of my grandchildren had the opportunity to work with Carol and her ShortCut Worship Music once a week, for three weeks, as the system was being tested. It was very exciting for them to be able to play a song so quickly. My fourteen-year-old played “How Great Thou Art,” my twelve-year-old did “We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet,” and my nine-year-old chose a primary song. All three were able to play their songs through in less than an hour. My nine-year-old boy had no musical experience prior to this. They have learned other songs also. The great thing is that they all are playing now, a year later—looking forward to more ShortCut Music.
Beth Merrill
Thrilled Grandma
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Carol Mortimer Cherry was born in Oregon and raised in Idaho. She began her love affair with the piano at age three, when she would sit for hours on the piano bench and play one note at a time, listening to its tonal quality. She remembers trying to figure out which key on the piano was the most beautiful. Finally, after several months of this, she told her mother that the keys were all wonderful and each key had its own special beauty.
​
She started piano lessons at age four. She enjoyed concerto competitions and soloed with her first symphony at age nine. At fourteen she began teaching piano students. She was a piano performance major at BYU and studied with the famous Paul Pollei.
​
She learned to understand and teach students with different learning styles while her husband was in the military. When the military moved them every two years, she would create a new piano studio with additional knowledge acquired from her previous studios. Carol has the gift of discernment for how a student learns, or does not learn, to read piano music.
​
She was the creator and owner of the Olympia Piano Academy with 180 students, and the Provo Piano Academy with 108 students. She was a member of the Music Teachers National Association and adjudicated hundreds of piano students in competitions. She recently retired after teaching piano lessons for fifty-five years. She thinks it is ironic, that in her retirement, her goal has changed from helping students to read music, to helping them play without reading notes or counting.
​
Carol currently lives with her husband, Tom Cherry, in Provo, Utah. They are a combined family of thirteen children and thirty-seven grandchildren. Her hobbies include cooking healthy foods, reading, gardening, exercising, and enjoying her family.
CONTACT
Questions? Feedback? Special requests?
Reach us by email at contact@shortcutmusic.com or use the form below.