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! [10-minute video]

my mission

PIANO PICNIC’S PURPOSE IS TO PUT CREATIVITY AT THE HEART OF PIANO LEARNING.

Our mission is to teach pianists to embrace their creativity and curiosity. We serve those who have been put off by and want to resist the traditional method and are seeking a more accessible alternative.

We develop independent musicians who can learn songs by ear, improvise, riff from a lead-sheet and compose. These are the skills of musical freedom.

traditional vs. creative!

Traditional = learning to read sheet music and play exactly what’s on the page.

Creative = learning by rote, by ear and by theory to understand the way music works in order to play off-page.

Babies don’t learn to read before they can talk. They learn to listen, feel and understand and then they make some cute noises and eventually can speak the language!

It’s the same with learning the language of music!

We open our ears, hearts, minds, - to listen, to feel, to understand music - then we are able to speak our own ‘sentences’ with our own meaning and expression using that language of music.

BITE BY BITE / SNACKABLE CONTENT

All Piano Picnic course video lessons are an average duration of just 2 minutes. This is to encourage a habit of daily practice.

Not only does it provide better results to practice daily in short focussed bursts, it’s also a lot easier to commit to a 2-minute lesson once a day than it is to somehow make room for a marathon 1-2 hour practice once a week (even if it did help your progress!).

The thing is - marathon sessions don’t help as much as short, daily practice!

You put in all that work, but by the time you come to practice again, most of that work is gone - dissipated in the mists of time!

This is based on the concept of micro-training which has been harnessed within e-learning as well as athlete training! Studies have shown that small developments each day gain more meaningful results than the occasional mega training.

The benefits of this unique approach include:

Avoiding burnout
Retaining new information
Build your knowledge upon knowledge
Convenient & easy-to-fit-into your daily routine!

GRADES VS. CURIOSITY

We’ve done away with the grades you might be used to with traditional piano training!

In traditional training, you won’t get to explore your creativity or curiosity! You must learn how to read & interpret sheet music and the skills required to perform it well from Grade 1 - to Grade 8. One method from Beginner to Advanced.

The Piano Picnic method is based on topics not levels because you can be a top level classical pianist and still not know how music works or have even tried to play piano creatively!

Instead, our courses are divided into topics like Riffing, playing Songs By Ear, Improvising, & play from Leadsheets so you can go in the direction that is most calling to you right now.

Grades are irrelevant in the Piano Picnic universe.

SOUNDS FAMILIAR

Because of the topic-based approach, each course covers the basic foundational theory to prepare you for learning this new creative skill - no more and no less.

If you’ve had lessons before, some material may be familiar to you – don’t panic! This is to make the course achievable for pianists of ALL different capabilities so that no one is left behind.

If something is already familiar to you, think of it as a refresher and continue along through.

It pays to be open minded when it comes to familiar content, often I hear from students that something they thought they knew in theory, will finally click into place after putting it into action in a creative setting.

So give it a go, you may find a smidgen of something new in what you thought was familiar!

BINGING VS. ACTION

You can’t just stream the videos and expect to download a skill like they do in the film ‘The Matrix’.

Theory has to be understood, skills have to be practised.

‘Clarity comes from engagement’ - the theory sinks in better when you put it into action!

The more you do it, the more it will become ‘natural’ - so that you can become that ‘natural pianist’ you’ve always wanted to be.

It won’t happen without the action, but lucky for you I’ve made it easy with the 2-minute lessons so that you can do this daily!

I can only show you how to do it, you have to actually put in the practise and get it under your fingers!

FADING VS. CELEBRATING!

Celebrate when you finish a module, a course, a coaching replay, or a week of daily practises - and we will celebrate with you!

If you do not celebrate the small wins and just hold on for those big milestones, you’re going to be disheartened and you run the risk of losing focus and motivation.

This is the DANGER ZONE!

We’ve got to keep that energy up, the motivation & inspiration at 150% so you can keep that daily progress, continue the momentum and achieve your piano goals!

…THAT IS PIANO PICNIC IN A NUTSHELL!

That’s what you need to know about learning creative piano with Piano Picnic. If you can follow this advice and take it on board - you really have some wonderful piano pay-offs coming your way.

READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP?

If you are ready to dive in and get started, the best way of doing that is joining the Creative Pianist membership.

As a Creative Pianist member you get EVERYTHING -

all courses,
all monthly coaching replays,
live group coaching,
THE VAULT of other fun tutorials that aren’t available anywhere else
and our fun community!

You have the option to join the membership with a monthly payment, or yearly (and get 2 months free!).