Play Piano in 3 Easy Steps
Play Piano in 3 Easy Steps
I'm Just a Normal Guy
I'm just a regular person like you, but because of people that loved me first, a sacrifice was made so that our family could enjoy music. That purpose has become my purpose with music: I love to see people of all ages learn and enjoy music! Since life has seemed to speed up and get more complicated for most people I know, it has been amazing to see the results over 15 years of developing and teaching this unique Method! It has made a huge Difference in thousands of people's lives. It is different than Traditional Methods, and it helps people learn Theory (Notes, Rhythms, Time Signatures etc.) the easy way. It also helps people find what THEY like about music or piano, and improve their innate learning capacities....Besides, Learning is much easier when it is FUN!
The Music Store and the Gun Shop:
I owned and operated a small music store in Utah for many years. Each year I encountered a repetitive predicament. A husband would drop his wife off at my store and then go off to the gun shop to look at guns. I later saw him reappearat the front door and call to his wife, “Come on honey. I am ready to go.” I felt sorry for these wives who wanted to buy a piano or wanted to learn how to play piano. Then it occurred to me,the way you should eat an elephant is one bite at a time (I have not tried eating an elephant but the principle makes sense.) If I could teach the husband and wife a song while they were in my store, they just might be more interested in buying a piano. I developed a five minute lesson and taught everyone that came into the store how to play a Jazz progression. My hypothesis was right! I sold more pianos. My next thought was, "What if I developed a few lessons and taught adults that have always wanted to play? I could teach them enough piano that they could have a blast, but not take up their precious time to do it. I came up with a program that does this in only 3 lessons. After 6 years, 200 piano teachers and 1700 adults have been through the lesson program. We can thank the gun shop for giving us the shot we needed!
My Special Story:
A True Musical Fairy Tale
It was in the early 1930’s on a small farm where it all began. Henry and Blanch, a newly married couple, were trying their best to keep the bills paid and their few animals fed. The depression was in full swing and hard times were the news of the day. A piano salesman with one piano in the back of his truck slowly drove up the lane to try and sell his piano to anyone who had something to trade.Now it needs to be said that Henry would do anything for Blanch, and Blanch for Henry, but a piano was just too extravagant and costly for the young couple to even think about. Henry knew that Blanch could play the piano and knew that she would be upset with the decision that he was about to make. Henry traded the only cow that Blanch and Henry owned. This cow helped provide them with milk and butter-- and now what were they to do with a Piano?Blanch ended up playing for dances, taking her young kids with her, and making a bed beside the piano in the dance hall. They had six children all who learned to sing and play the piano. Those children grew up and had children of their own and they learned to sing and play the piano. Music filled the lives of not only Henry and Blanch but generations were affected because of a decision the Henry made long ago in the drive-way of his small farm.Henry and Blanch loved their children and grandchildren. Most importantly, they loved each other their entire lives. They never had much in the way of worldly wealth. But, as one of their grandchildren, to me they were rich. They gave us all a gift that will bless us throughout our lives and the lives of our grandchildren. At their funerals (which were only a month apart) their children and grandchildren sang as a choir and I have never heard such a beautiful choir.Now I have taught over 1,600 how to play the piano and I sometimes wonder, “What if Grandpa had not made such a sacrifice?”
Magic Musical Memories and more...
Why I'm so Passionate about Piano & Sharing Musical Successes.
Spider on the Keyboard?
On the first group lesson of one particular group of adults, I sat them down at the digital pianos and watched as they put on their headphones and began the requested exercise of playing a chord with a melody. My eyes rested on a lady that had turned very pale so I walked over to see what her concern might be. She had her hands in the air just above the keyboard and could not bring herself to touch the keyboard. You might say that a similar reaction would have been given if a spider or snake would have been sitting on the keyboard. I have never seen such fear to push the keys down and my first thought was that this lady is never going to learn to play. Step by step I helped her to feel the keys then showed her where to place each finger and I slowly but surely she ended up playing just fine. Cannon in D, Silent Night, and many of her favorite Hymns she could play by the end of the third lesson.
What Have I Done?
At the end of our “Play the Piano in 3 Lessons” course an adult student walked toward me, and I could see tears streaming down her cheeks. What have I done was my first thought, I usually am so careful not to offend anyone. "What is the matter?" I asked, and she threw her arms around me and quietly whispered "Thank-you. I can finally play the Hymns! All my life I have struggled with learning the piano until now."
My curiosity got the best of me and I asked her what had she done in the past to learn to play? Her answer threw me for a bit of a loop. She said, "I took private lessons and the teacher use to slap my hands when I would make a mistake." Looking for a bit of a comic relief, I asked her why she did not slap her teacher back? That was the wrong thing to say, because in all seriousness, she replied, "Because the teacher was my mother!" I will never understand learning to play by force, but I am thrilled that this good lady overcame her fears and is now living the Dream of playing the piano. For most adults, Recreational piano playing is the only way to go... Especially in only 3 lessons.
