I founded Piano Picnic in late 2016, so we recently celebrated it’s 4th birthday with a LIVE virtual party celebration! Piano Picnic is about joy, vibrancy and beautiful music so we injected some of that into the celebration with games, 60-second tutorials, spin-the-wheel, spot-prizes, birthday telegrams from students and industry leaders and a grand prize draw ($600 of music training!).
We had so much fun hanging out together for almost an hour!
Here’s a 3-minute highlights reel:
When I started Piano Picnic, I knew that I wanted to teach the creative piano skills that seldom are taught. These skills that I had to fight to develop – by seeking out small bits of information from different sources, different teachers, from watching performers closely and studying their style and approach. Developing into a creative pianist was something I felt very much on my own with and took a long time to feel confident about.
These creative skills are playing by ear, from a lead-sheet, comping, improvising, composing & arranging. These are not the standard fare of traditional piano teachers –if you want to learn these skills you have a long road ahead of you– prior to Piano Picnic that is.
I always wondered why I couldn’t find a teacher to teach me these skills.
Those pianists I knew that could play creatively seemed to hold their secrets close to their chest. They’d gone on the long journey to develop those skills and therefore I must undertake this arduous journey too…
So I did - but I don’t think you should have to.
I’m unlocking the secret door - to the secret passage way - opening up to the secret library of creative pianist knowledge.
Because unlike other schools of thought, I don’t think you should have to study traditional piano for a decade before you’re given the opportunity to develop creative skills.
Creative training is not exclusive to advanced pianists.
Creative training must be approached like any other training – from a beginner level.
So I teach creative piano skills from the beginning, so that you can develop as a creative pianist NOW, not in 10 years time after you’re bored out of your mind from endless scales & dull repertoire from a traditional curriculum.
I have had the pleasure of instructing thousands of pianists who are passionate about playing freely and creatively.
I have wild dreams that Piano Picnic will be the primary source of creative piano lessons online and we’re right on track.
If you haven’t already joined the movement of creative piano playing, start here with Piano Picnic. Creative pianists require creative training – and that’s exactly what we do here.
![Am I too old to start playing piano? [Student story]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/598feec015d5db6d7e409176/1647402950192-R49L48S0PZILF5V9WO1M/_FB+LIVE+_thumb_impossible.png)
With so many pianists starting their journey in childhood, it can feel like as adult beginners that we’ve missed the boat already. Is learning something new best left to the young? I talk to one of my students, Mike Clarke–a retired engineer in Australia–about his experience.
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.
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!
Discover how yoga can benefit your body as a pianist & performer through prep, maintenance and recovery routines.
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!
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.
Learn how to play the main riff from the classic 80s rock song ‘Africa’ by Toto on the piano in just a few minutes!
If you're in the market for a digital piano, these terms will definitely come up - what's the difference between weighted keys, semi-weighted keys, hammer action & graded hammer action? And which one is more desirable?
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!
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!
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.
Free stuff! We love it! I’m something of a serial bargain hunter myself, but some things are just not a good idea to get for free: tattoos, candy from strangers and… learning piano.
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.
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!