Discover effective techniques to develop your ear for music and improve your piano playing skills. This comprehensive guide offers valuable insights and strategies to help you learn songs by ear and includes audio examples.

Here at Piano Picnic, we believe in teaching adults to play the piano freely, without the constraints of traditional sheet music.

With our step-by-step curriculum of 2-minute lessons, even total beginners can quickly unlock their musical potential and embark on an exciting journey of self-discovery. Join us as we explore the vibrant world of Piano Picnic and learn to play it like you mean it!

Do you forget songs you've learned as soon as you stop playing them? Do you find it difficult to recognise motifs when playing by ear? Don't settle for poor memory! Discover how training to improve your memory can improve your skill as a pianist!

Ear training is a funny thing - most people seem to think it is about training our actual ears to do all the work. But it’s not really about the ears at all. In order to ‘play by ear’, we’re actually learning to play by brain! We are taking the information that our ears send us and deciphering that information in different ways.

Perfect pitch is a rare ability of a person to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. It helps them to play fluently by ear almost without trying. So how do those of us who weren’t so blessed with this trait, learn to play by ear?

You’re already beautifully equipped to hear all the details you need to hear in order to play by ear, you simply need to know what it is your hearing! Here’s my journey to developing my musical ear and how you can do the same.

If you desire to play the piano by ear, your first step is to develop your musical ears to be active. Use these tips to strengthen the connection between your ear and your brain to listen like a musician and train you hearing to work better for you!

Finding your voice is about learning to listen to the things that get your blood pumping - those are the things that create emotional reactions in you, and those are the things that will feel so incredible to express in a lyrical way.

The best way to learn how to write a song, is to learn what makes a ‘strong song’. This is essentially learning the rules of songwriting - as evidenced by the strong songs of history, so that you can choose which to follow and which to break.

Learning something new isn’t easy and even with an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher like myself, you still need to foster a decent amount of inner-motivation in order to put in the effort required to achieve your piano goals.

Let’s address some of the most common excuses for why pianists (& musicians in general) think they can’t, shouldn’t or won’t write their own original songs (and why they definitely should!)

Even if you’ve never even thought about writing your own songs - today we’re going to look at how the act of songwriting benefits you as a musician, in a way that few other processes can.

The ability to effortlessly flow across the piano keys without stopping is a technique that requires practise, patience and a couple secrets.

Are you enjoying what you’re playing? Are you getting that *𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖈* feeling that we all chase in our musical journey? Here’s how to purposefully find that feeling for yourself.

This is a much-requested topic from students who know how to play chords and scales, but struggle to sound confident and convincing. Discover the secrets to sounding cool, calm & collected gathered from 25+ years of performing experience!

What is meditative piano? Learn what it is, where it came from, what it sounds like and why it’s the perfect way to begin improvising on piano!

Many pianists don’t even take a moment to think about this and it worries me because without steering the ship someone will steer it for you.

The one mantra that has FOUR different meanings that you can repeat to yourself whenever you lack the motivation to practise at the piano.

Learn what makes the Piano Picnic style of learning different to the rest. If you haven’t done a course with me yet, this is the perfect introduction to what to expect, who’s suited to my courses, and the ethos behind my unique teaching style!

Want to start playing the blues on the piano just for fun? This irresistibly fun & quick-fire tutorial will get you jamming the blues immediately!

I began to feel more confident in ‘free-playing’ situations - more confident than I’d ever felt trying to play perfectly from sheet music. My riffing ability became my new strength and it got me through so many nail-biting situations…

If you want to play freely, you've got to practise playing freely! Makes sense when you think about it, right? And how does one practise playing freely? I have 5 activities for you to start doing that will draw that 'natural talent' for playing freely dramatically closer!

Riffing is a term that guitarists use a lot, but not so much with pianists. But what do you call it when pianists can add their own style to a chord and create a catchy motif? Yeh... we're riffing! Here's why it's important that you start developing this skill.

When I started Piano Picnic, I knew that I wanted to teach the creative piano skills that seldom are taught… I always wondered why I couldn’t find a teacher to teach me these skills – the old school of thought being that you should train for a decade with the traditional method before branching out. But creative training is not exclusive to advanced pianists…

I'm reflecting on 4 years of being a piano coach online, how I NEVER wanted to be a piano teacher and what I’ve learned about today's piano students (that shocked me!).

You've admired professional musicians for this skill and believe or not, you can begin practising to develop this skill right now!

Chords sounding a little undead? Learn tricks to turn your chords into heavenly treats!

There are factors working against you when it comes to your quest to play piano creatively - let’s look at what they are and how to SQUASH them!

If you've been disappointed with traditional piano methods you're not alone. Here's why I believe the traditional methods of the past no longer fit today's amateur pianists.

Discover 10 ways chord progressions can benefit your piano skills & overall musicianship!

The ability to effortlessly flow across the piano keys without stopping is a technique that requires practise, patience and a couple secrets.

Are you enjoying what you’re playing? Are you getting that *𝖒𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖈* feeling that we all chase in our musical journey? Here’s how to purposefully find that feeling for yourself.

This is a much-requested topic from students who know how to play chords and scales, but struggle to sound confident and convincing. Discover the secrets to sounding cool, calm & collected gathered from 25+ years of performing experience!

What is meditative piano? Learn what it is, where it came from, what it sounds like and why it’s the perfect way to begin improvising on piano!

Discover how yoga can benefit your body as a pianist & performer through prep, maintenance and recovery routines.

If you've experienced any strain or pain as a result of playing piano – or maybe as a result of something else in your life but certainly exacerbated by playing piano, please know that it is normal! But just because it’s normal, that doesn’t mean you have to put up with it. Stretching into those forgotten corners of the body can do wonders for your energy, motivation and creativity too!

Playing rhythms is particularly difficult for pianists because we often play different rhythms in each hand! These exercises will help ANY musician (not just pianists) to feel rhythm internally and play as ONE cohesive rhythm, but with two limbs. [suitable for beginners and non-music readers!]

When you first decided to learn piano you probably didn't imagine you'd need to learn rhythmic skills, but once you get into creative playing that's exactly what you need to develop! So why is it so difficult to get our hands playing different things?

Revealing the benefits & steps to sticking with learning your scales to get your creative piano skills to the next level!

Feeling lost in the jungle of piano learning? This one is for you. In this free training I answer that I get asked all the time from beginner, intermediate & advanced pianists.

Discover the correct technique for playing scales with minimum strain and maximum warmup & exercise value!

Just the word 'scales' conjures up memories of dry, boring, regimented exercises - on this journey toward becoming a creative pianist, you might have imagined we'd be leaving scales in the dust, right? In this article you'll discover how creative pianists can use scales to their advantage!

Learn how to play the main riff from the classic 80s rock song ‘Africa’ by Toto on the piano in just a few minutes!

The one mantra that has FOUR different meanings that you can repeat to yourself whenever you lack the motivation to practise at the piano.

There comes a point in any creative pianists life where they want to go BEYOND the basic triads and explore the satisfying texture of a CRUNCHY CHORD! But where do you start? Here.

Learn how to play the main riff from the Mandalorian theme tune on piano! Carefully arranged for solo piano (from the original orchestral work) by Ruth Power of Piano Picnic. This casual tutorial will get you showing-off for all your Star-Wars obsessed friends!

Today I’m going to show you my favourite finger exercise - it’s starts very simply and gets progressively more difficult each time you go up a level.

I'm reflecting on 4 years of being a piano coach online, how I NEVER wanted to be a piano teacher and what I’ve learned about today's piano students (that shocked me!).

In these strange times, many of us may be feeling like we have more time but less motivation to play the piano. Here are 5 tips to help you continue to progress even when you don’t feel like it.