Students are LOVING the Classics By Ear courses!
Now ANYONE can play their favourite classical pieces.
Jump to a course page on Pianoforall Academy
“Fantastic course. I can read sheet music – but followed the instructions and learned the piece much quicker than if I was just reading alone. Also learned how to pick out particulars in different performances I listened to that I would like to add to my own interpretation. The videos, audio and pdfs are excellent. Really great experience!!!”
“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.”
“Overall really good and enjoyable course, and I learned to play the 1st movement of the Moonlight Sonata never having played piano and not been able to read notes. Love it.”
“Just up to bar 9 so far but it is amazing and I know already that I’ll be through with the whole song soon, but with the required practice on each bar. Feels like ONLY 60 bars to go :)”
“The best course that i have bought. I would like to give 6 stars! Congratulations Robin, great work! l also bought the Preludes of J.S.Bach, very, very good! I never thought to be able to play them by ear – But finally I was successful! I hope there will be more “Classics by ear”! Thanks you!”
“It is an excellent way to teach someone how to play….I love the music and I want to play it. The instructor does a very thorough job of explaining a lot about the piece…from they types of cords, how to read the music, when to press pedals, its pretty amazing. I am very happy to have found this teacher and this course. Worth every penny!”
“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.”
“I am very much enjoying this course, it being well-structured. Although I can read music at a basic level, I find the various ways of remembering the left hand chords extremely useful. The pace of the sessions is perfect for me. I have a friend who plays a banjo and he can’t read a note of music and uses lyrics with chords written above. It shows just how important it is to know the ‘feel’ of the piece by listening carefully to it being played, just as you recommend.Thank you.”
“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.”
“This is exactly the kind of music i was looking for when i stumbled across this course. I like them because they sound classical yet a bit jazzy, which i think would make great background music without attracting attention. I think they are great pieces to learn for a beginner because they are fairly easy to play for the complexity of sound (big bang for the buck!). I took Robin’s ‘Piano for All’ course too which was great so i was immediately sold on this course. Now i can play all three Gnossiennes pretty well.
Nicholas S
I have no words to express to you how good this course is, it’s AMAZING. The videos and PDF and easy to understand. I have learned each song in a matter of 5 days and I can now play them fluently. Wherever it’s a course from Robin hall you can expect to be good. This was such a great investment of my money”
“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!”
“This my second course from Robin. I think he is one of the best in the world in terms of subject matter and also teaching in a way we can easily understand! Highly Recommended!”
“I would buy any course by robin hall. This and others i have bought are great and inspirational”
“This course helped me get started with playing the piece straight away. I don’t have experience playing the piano or reading the sheet music, I only tried a few times with very modest results. This time it’s different. All the information and the commentary is really helpful; looking at the way chord progression is structured from so many angles helps to memorise it quickly. Overall, I’m very satisfied.”
“It is a truly inspirational course for me. I am making progress !!! Just in time I have found the words of encouragement and support. So important to have those. Great teacher. I am really grateful for the clear and easy to follow visual instructions that I needed most as I am studying without a tutor by my side.”
“Awesome course. Helpful even if you have never played the piano but would take some time to get used to it. For those who have been playing for 1 or 2 months, don’t be afraid to tackle a proper piece. Just put in an 15 min on top of your normal practice and you’ll be playing the haunting piece in a few weeks. Playing a piece like this is highly motivating and keeps you going through the simpler pieces that you might be learning”
“I’ve been wanting to play this for years but thinking it was too difficult, not with this way of teaching. its just great. I could play bars 1 to 5 but within days of having this course I am working on bar 10 top marks.”
“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.”
“For someone who tried to learn piano as a child, this class has been a breath of fresh air, as well as a confidence booster. I already had a basic understanding of reading music and playing but had not tried to play the piano for decades. The step-by-step structure of this class and viewing each step as a pattern of notes/finger movements was brilliant for me.
Then, the addition of a final lesson that brought expression into the piece rounded out my experience perfectly. I so enjoyed this class! I would love to see more piano classes like this from Robin that focus on learning individual compositions. Maybe some Vivaldi or The Beatles? 🙂 Thank you for a great class!”
“Great Course – Absolutely Love it. I’m currently taking Robin’s Piano For All course, and I’m in the Classical Section, so this fits right in. Robin’s style and methodology is fantastic. I learned No. 1 in less than a week. Take both courses – you’ll be so glad you did. — A grateful student.”
“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!”
“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.”
“Excellent breakdown technique. This was an excellent match for me. I tend to want to jump ahead before I have mastered a section completely. This kept me on track and I could go back and work on any section I needed too work on.
I am 70 years old and memorization has become difficult but I was able to stay focused and work through each section at my own pace. I realize that this was not a complex piece but I will apply the technique to other songs. Thank you.”
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.