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"I Wish I Had Learned Piano as a Child"
As a concert pianist and piano teacher, I can't tell you how often I hear these words.
Well, I wish I had learned piano as a child! I didn't start playing until I was seventeen. It was then that I heard classical music for the first time... its passion, drama, excitement, sadness and elation moved me beyond anything words could ever express. Never before had I heard the full spectrum of human emotions expressed in sound, and with such ineffable beauty! I had met the love of my life.
Since then I've had the privilege of studying with some of the most renowned piano teachers in the world, and their professional guidance and lots of hard work have led me to numerous piano competition victories and the opportunity to share the music I love with audiences in the US and Europe.
I was honored to become the first pianist in nearly a decade to win a Fulbright scholarship to study in Vienna, Austria -- the City of Music that was home to Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and countless other great composers -- and Vienna has since become my home as well.
Can You Learn Piano as an Adult?
My quest has been far from easy. I would read about how it's "impossible" to become a concert pianist unless you start playing by age six at the latest. Famous colleagues would tell interviewers, "Yes, I started very late. I was eight."
I'd read about the child prodigy who dreamed of playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto with a famous conductor:
"How old are you?"
"Seven."
"Too old!"
Yet rather than get discouraged, I became inspired. I sought out some of the world's top teachers, and they taught me that there are critical strategies for maximizing your musical potential.
I discovered that there are hidden advantages to adult piano lessons, and that, contrary to popular misconception, adults are able to learn many things more effectively than children.
I also discovered that there are strategies for failure as well -- and that most piano students unknowingly apply all the wrong strategies! This is the reason for the high failure rate.
The Most Important Thing I Learned
My teachers taught me that there is a difference between being a pianist and being a musician. While most piano students have little musical knowledge beyond the keys they press, true musicians understand the music behind the notes. Paradoxically, just trying to press the keys down at the right time isn't enough. It's so notoriously unreliable, in fact, that it virtually guarantees failure!
Musicians understand music from the inside out, and their hands are guided by their mind's ear. This isn't something magical: it's a learned skill.
What I've noticed over years of teaching piano myself is that while each of us expresses music differently once we have the skills to do so, all musicians can always refine those skills. Literally everyone can not only learn to play piano, they can keep getting better and better, because getting better is a matter of improving the basic skills that we collectively call "piano playing."
You see, piano playing isn't just one thing -- it's a set of skills. The beauty is that these skills synergize with each other, and the whole is greater than the sum of its parts in the same way that beautiful music is more than "just" the notes themselves.
Unleash your musical creativity...
There is no method. There is only the right way.
Mastering the piano means continually refining several essential skills:
The synergy between these musical skills makes for a confident and beautiful performance... together, they will unlock your musical potential!
Bookmark this site and commit to musical excellence! I wish you much musical success.
Your teacher,
P.S. Have a question about piano playing? Ask away! I'd love to hear from you and will be happy to help.
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