Classics By Ear – Erik Satie – Gnossiennes – Reviews

“I’ve mostly completed the first Gnossienne. This is such a brilliant course that is well-organized, very thorough and detailed. I used to learn to play piano but I really like this new way of learning. I’m looking forward to other courses like this one. Thank you Robin for making these great lessons.”

“I am a 70 year old advanced beginner who has never tried to learn anything on my own without an instructor by my side. This was also my first attempt to play classical music. I had a great time, enjoyed every minute of it and felt like I did have someone to guide me through all of the pieces. I thought the presentations were very well organized and easily understood. I would definitely sign up for more of these. A great way to enjoy sheltering in place. Thanks again.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed this course.
I had heard Satie’s Gymnopédies before, but not the Gnossiènes, and didn’t really know what to expect. I initially found the musical scores a little overwhelming and intimidating when I first downloaded and looked at them, and doubted that I would be able to play them without a LOT of effort.
Although I am not a complete beginner anymore and have been playing the piano for about a year now, Satie’s pieces are not exactly easy!
But Robin has structured this course extremely well, breaking down each of the three pieces into logical sections. I loved learning these pieces in such a manageable, step-by-step way.
Although I have finished the course now, I realise that I will need to put in a lot more practice to feel really comfortable with the left hand jumps and chords and the strange-sounding right hand melodies, and to be able to bring it all together in a moving, expressive way – and to do so consistently, without errors.
Robin, thank you so much for guiding us through these beautiful pieces. I hope you’ll offer more courses like this in the future.”

“Sounds daunting at first but is broken down in such a way as to make it do-able. The combination of sheet music, cheat sheets plus the verbal instruction and video is very effective. If I can play the whole thing in two weeks anyone can as I am definitely a novice.”

“Just completed this course.
I don’t think anybody make the lessons easier than this lecturer. Simply awesome and I think it’s a kind of psychological approach from the lecturer.
If you learn to play classical piano, please go dive into this right away!”

“A great course of quickly and effectively pickup these 3 cool classics. I only intended to go 1st piece but the instructor has put together the course so well and I did 2nd piece as well and have plans to do the 3rd one too. Nice material, video and above all instructor have done a great job is walking me through the different section. I had about 6 months experience of learning/playing piano (all online) and was able to play first 2 pieces in this course pretty much in two weeks.
If the instructor is reading this comment…. Sir – Thanks for this great course and please create more such courses covering popular classics.”

“This play-by-ear method is a good way to teach piano instead of the old fashioned, boring and difficult method. Divide and conquer, right hand first, then left hand, then play both hands. This method breaks it down to its simplest form and even beginners can play. Practice, practice, practice. Thank you Mr. Robin Hall.
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“I am completely amazed by this course. Not only did I learn to play the three beautiful Gnossiennes, which took me roughly 4 weeks to master each of them technically, but even better: on the way, this course taught me by example how to conquer any piece of music: by separating hands, figuring out the fingering, dividing the piece into smaller parts, practicing all of this slowly over and over and over again, to put it back together in the end.

At times I didn’t believe I’d ever be able to play the next section, but Robin explained clearly how to practice all the difficult parts. And the method works. I’m still working on adding more expression to some parts, but I play the Gnossiennes so easily now that I can actually listen to myself playing and enjoy the experience. Thank you Robin, I’ve enjoyed this course so much!”

“Just completed this course.
I don’t think anybody make the lessons easier than this lecturer. Simply awesome and I think it’s a kind of psychological approach from the lecturer.
If you learn to play classical piano, please go dive into this right away!
”

“Great course and very good instructor, videos, resources. As far as I can tell this course also works for beginners if you are patient. I started learning piano six months ago (practicing 30-60 minutes per day) and started this course two months ago. Now I am already able to play Gnossienne no.1 quite well and just started learning number 2.”

“I want to thank you for this course!
I started to learn as a novice using old 61-keys synth with squeaking plastic keys. In three months I started thinking on buying a good piano and in eight months I recorded my performance using my own perfect instrument which I love so much and which, I believe, will help me to learn my favorite pieces. You can listen to me playing the “Trois Gnossiennes” if you want  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPva4d9vNa1lgZhDRSjbekaWYfTz8Jueh

I am an amator and do not take real music lessons with a teacher. Robin’s course helped me not only to learn to play three beautiful pieces but also pointed out many important things which you need to pay attention and this helps me to proceed with my studying as an amator.
I havent got rid of performance fear completely (do you think it is possible?), – even when just recording (alone) I perform worse then without recording. However some of Robin’s practics helps to be prepared to perform even when nervous from the beginning to the end with reasonable amount of mistakes.”

I’ve been working on other pieces and just getting back to the Gnossiennes again. The courses are so consistent and well thought out, it’s easy to resume learning.

“I’ve only been playing the piano for about a month, and I was able to play the first piece fairly well after just a few days, and had them all down in 3 weeks!
I wish I could learn all new songs with this format”

I am 55, didn’t ever play the piano, however I do know how to read notes and I love classical music. Sati was not new to me. I enrolled to this course 3 weeks ago and so far it’s a pleasure.
At the beginning I thought it is too complicated as a first piece of music, however after practicing 4 time a week for 10-30 minutes i started to see noticeable improvement, like a magic it became easier and easier. Still I have mistakes and need more practice, however the “music” is there.
I highly recommend!
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“This method is absolutely one of the best ones I have ever tried to learn piano with. thank you so much for putting all these lessons together and I can’t wait to learn more songs with this method from you, even the modern songs. thank you”

“Tous les moyens techniques et artistiques sont donnés par Robin Hall, professeur de piano généreux, pour s’approprier les trois premières Gnossiennes d’Erik Satie. Ce cours est pour moi une incroyable expérience que j’ai hâte de renouveler avec le cours “Bach Preludes”. Un très grand merci.”

“Because of its flexibility of use. You can match your own ability and time available that you have. Which means you are in complete control of your own progress. It has never been patronising. In order to gain from the course you do have to be disciplined to carry out regular study. I’ve found all the courses I’ve tried very well paced and logically presented with very clear instruction.

If anything I’ve signed up for more courses than I have time to concentrate on but I find I can drop in and out of your courses and easily pick them up where I left off and so far not been bored by any. They are in fact all related to my interest in becoming better educated about jazz piano.

I have been involved with music most of my life and I feel I’m making more progress than ever before.
One thing my be of interest l’m 87 years old.”

“Robin provides a wide variety of creative and interesting strategies for learning this piece, so if you persist, you can succeed, no matter what your learning style is. It does take a LOT of time, but it is definitely possible to get pretty good at the piece.
I especially appreciate Robin’s motivation and advice for making practice time more effective. I’m using these practice strategies on other pieces, so my playing has become more accurate since taking this class!
I wasn’t too crazy about the Satie piece when I listened to the course preview, but I’m very glad I signed up for this course. I’ve come to quite enjoy this piece, now that I can play it. It’s very soothing. Plus, it’s a confidence booster, because the music actually sounds like it’s harder to play than it is.
I hope Robin will set up some additional classes like this, to help us master a few more fun and impressive pieces.”

“My son, who is 10, has been learning piano through online courses and tutorials for about a year. We got him this one as he has been looking for some beautiful but challenging pieces. He absolutely loves it. It took him a few days to learn each piece. The instruction is clear and helpful, and the music is gorgeous. It’s amazing to see how he has grown with this course and lovely to hear him play these, with increasing confidence and feeling, throughout the day each day. As a course, we couldn’t recommend this highly enough. Our only suggestion would be to offer a follow-up to this one to teach the Gymnopedies. We would be the first to enrol!”

“Just purchased this course too. Couldn’t resist because your courses are absolutely splendid (and to be honest, WELL under-priced – thanks for the absolute BARGAIN!). So I am now the proud owner of all your courses so far, Robin. Looking forward to diving into this one too in the near future! (I might even tackle it along with the Bach if I’m feeling really daring). Yet more splendid tuition – and truly beautiful music – to look forward to… Great stuff indeed! And very addictive…!!! Thanks and God bless, Robin :-)”

“Really enjoyed this course, it’s been so helpful in learning play Satie’s music. Very gentle, clear instructions and demonstrations on how to get the most out of the piece.”

“WOW this instructor teaches in such an easy way to understand. From breaking down the sheet music to how to play expressively, everything seems so easy (because of the instructor). Thank you so much!! I learned the first Gnossienne in less thank a week. Fantastic!”