Reminds me of my journey a little bit. I had one teacher that made everything click theory wise, loved her, only saw her for two years and then my husband was transferred for work. But everything she taught me I still go back to today.
Your improvisation course coming out sounds very good.
I want to ask your recommendation for finding a teacher/guidance for this kind of progress. I sense you will suggest I check your courses 😂 and I will. I feel like I’ve been floundering with my piano for the last ten years, struggling to find a direction/not knowing where to start. Never really taught how to practice an instrument or the fundamentals of these things. I learnt woodwind, piano and singing as a teenager and feel like so many music teachers do a disservice to kids by delivering only the bare minimum. Give me a sheet of music each week and watch me play it back the next. Anyway I really enjoyed reading this. I definitely needed to hear this story.
I honestly don’t know… I tried to start a business that helped pair people up with tutors/mentors for this sort of thing but we couldn’t get enough students to make it work. You can definitely check out the piano courses I made with Kiefer but they are pre-recorded and specifically jazz/soul-oriented. To be Frank, my rec is to ask around in your area and try to find a local piano teacher who will offer what you specifically want to learn. There’s a little luck involved for sure in finding the right person!
7 times eh. I am always wondering about that sweet spot. My violin teacher had us do whatever number of reps our age was, with the result that we would sneakily not tell her when we had a birthday. In my teaching that is usually a first step - the next step is stitching it into context, which presents its own challenges. But maybe I am kinda lenient and if we actually drilled 7x perfect reps, the re-stitching would be less challenging. Maybe I will do a study.
Fluency on the piano is the most tantalizing thing ever to me, do you happen to have a recommendation for a particular resource for it other than your late teacher? Like a killer online program or something, I think I could even just work a syllabus that was laid out specifically
What sort of piano? I think I mentioned in the article but I’ve made 6 online courses with the pianist Kiefer that I think are all very good. They are specifically for people interested in neo-soul, jazz, and improvised music, so if that’s not your area of interest, they might not be the right fit. But if so, check them out… courses.Kiefermusic.com
This is a great, inspiring story, so thank you! Subscribing as soon as I get out of my no-money hole to keep me on track in "I-want-to-learn-how-to-music". :)
Also - so sorry you got hate comments on your latest piece. I thought substack was better than that.
You’re the best. Excited to hear about your new job!
Most of my email list was imported, people who signed up for Soundfly over the years, so it wasn’t a “substacker,” so to speak — it was a reply to my email.
Loved reading your story.
Reminds me of my journey a little bit. I had one teacher that made everything click theory wise, loved her, only saw her for two years and then my husband was transferred for work. But everything she taught me I still go back to today.
Your improvisation course coming out sounds very good.
Thanks Raelene! A great teacher can make such a life-long difference
Also: I so love the drawing for this piece. :D
I want to ask your recommendation for finding a teacher/guidance for this kind of progress. I sense you will suggest I check your courses 😂 and I will. I feel like I’ve been floundering with my piano for the last ten years, struggling to find a direction/not knowing where to start. Never really taught how to practice an instrument or the fundamentals of these things. I learnt woodwind, piano and singing as a teenager and feel like so many music teachers do a disservice to kids by delivering only the bare minimum. Give me a sheet of music each week and watch me play it back the next. Anyway I really enjoyed reading this. I definitely needed to hear this story.
I honestly don’t know… I tried to start a business that helped pair people up with tutors/mentors for this sort of thing but we couldn’t get enough students to make it work. You can definitely check out the piano courses I made with Kiefer but they are pre-recorded and specifically jazz/soul-oriented. To be Frank, my rec is to ask around in your area and try to find a local piano teacher who will offer what you specifically want to learn. There’s a little luck involved for sure in finding the right person!
7 times eh. I am always wondering about that sweet spot. My violin teacher had us do whatever number of reps our age was, with the result that we would sneakily not tell her when we had a birthday. In my teaching that is usually a first step - the next step is stitching it into context, which presents its own challenges. But maybe I am kinda lenient and if we actually drilled 7x perfect reps, the re-stitching would be less challenging. Maybe I will do a study.
Fluency on the piano is the most tantalizing thing ever to me, do you happen to have a recommendation for a particular resource for it other than your late teacher? Like a killer online program or something, I think I could even just work a syllabus that was laid out specifically
What sort of piano? I think I mentioned in the article but I’ve made 6 online courses with the pianist Kiefer that I think are all very good. They are specifically for people interested in neo-soul, jazz, and improvised music, so if that’s not your area of interest, they might not be the right fit. But if so, check them out… courses.Kiefermusic.com
This is a great, inspiring story, so thank you! Subscribing as soon as I get out of my no-money hole to keep me on track in "I-want-to-learn-how-to-music". :)
Also - so sorry you got hate comments on your latest piece. I thought substack was better than that.
You’re the best. Excited to hear about your new job!
Most of my email list was imported, people who signed up for Soundfly over the years, so it wasn’t a “substacker,” so to speak — it was a reply to my email.