Ever wanted to sit at a piano, with no sheet music, and just… play? Do you prefer pop music to classical? Are you bored of a song by the time you've learnt it?
You are not alone.
Most piano courses start with sheet music, scales and simple classical pieces. Reading music is an incredible skill, but if your goal is to be able to hear a song, then sit down and play a version of it, there is a much better way to get there…
The Pop Piano approach
Pop songs revolve around chord progressions. If you listen carefully, you will notice similar patterns used across a huge proportion of songs. Focussing on chords is therefore crucial to understanding and playing pop songs. Think of it like the "guitar" approach to piano.
So how do you get started? There's a lot of content out there about pop piano, and learning specific songs – a lot of it brilliant. However, it's easy to fall into a big trap: spending a long time memorising specific chords or notes for one song.
This is a trap because although it helps you play that one song (great), it doesn't actually help you understand the song, and it doesn't train your ear. This means that if you don't play the song for a couple of weeks, you will lose it. (Sound familiar?)
So what does work? We emphasise:
Numbers, not letters
Once you hear notes and chords as "1-4-5" instead of "C-F-G", you can recognise the same progression in any key. Hearing music as numbers gives a deeper understanding of how each note and chord functions, and makes it much easier to retain and play songs.
Listening to parts of songs
Regular listening to a variety of songs trains your ear, but learning whole songs can take weeks. We focus on helping you figure out a chorus or intro for yourself in 5 minutes. Much more fun and rewarding than grinding through a 30-minute tutorial.
Improvising to build familiarity
This might sound scary – like something only experienced jazz musicians can do. Actually, it's easy for beginners to improvise in a guided way, and a crucial part of playing by ear. Doing small improvisations each day builds familiarity with how different notes function, and makes melodies and "licks" come more naturally.
Bitesize, fun practice
We believe that building a habit is much more important than practising for hours at a time – all our sessions are designed to be done in just 5 minutes.
No long videos
We don't want to get in the way of you, your music and your piano. We try to give you just enough help to guide, without becoming yet another distraction.
To wrap up: 5 minutes a day of improvising or listening is all it takes. Good luck on your journey!