Welcome to ThePianoLearner.com! I am so glad you stopped by. Since this is the first post I have written for the site, I will start by defining what I mean by the term “piano learner”.

A piano learner is anyone who uses (or wants to use) the piano (or electric keyboard) as a means of music learning, experimentation, or creative expression to enrich their life. Maybe you long to read piano sheet music or play songs with lead sheets at the piano. Maybe you already do one of these but wish to improve. Maybe you wish to compose music with a MIDI keyboard hooked up to the computer or learn songs by ear.

You may be currently taking piano lessons for the first time, or you may be thinking about taking them for the first time since childhood. Maybe you are self-taught or learned another instrument as a child, as in school band. You may be a professional musician, or maybe you’re a passionate hobbyist seeking personal enrichment. You may want to play music with or for others, or you may not.

Either way, if you value learning piano-playing skills or being creative at the piano, you are a piano learner.

The term “piano learner” puts the emphasis on the learning process. There is inherent satisfaction in learning for its own sake. Recently I found a binder of college assignments from a class I took on sixteenth-century musical counterpoint. It could probably be argued that I have had limited practical use for such a class as a piano teacher and performer.* Nonetheless, I loved the class. I remember finding the content fascinating, the exercises satisfying. That’s good enough for me.

As a piano teacher, I encourage my students to approach their piano learning in a way that is satisfying and enjoyable. My intention with ThePianoLearner.com is to create a resource for people who are enthusiastic about learning to play piano, no matter where they are in the process.

Welcome aboard!

*Though taking two college counterpoint classes certainly hasn’t hurt me as a composer or as someone who appreciates classical music.