What learners say about Classics By Ear â Erik Satie (Trois Gnossiennes): clear, bar-by-bar videos, simple practice notes, and an elegant sound that feels doable. Excerpts are lightly trimmed for length.
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“As an adult piano learner, I’ve studied playing piano with all kinds of methods for years. Yet I can only play two simple pieces. Following this course though, I learned the Gnossienne No 1 over a weekend(less than 10 hours).
It feels great! And I get more interested in music theory now (tried to study the chords and inversions once, but it hadn’t make much sense to me) as I can see how the chords work in action. Amazing course. Thank you for putting it together.”
“Just starting the course, but so far fantastic. Well organized, pleasing voice and just the right pace. I also have his pianoforall course on Bach’s Preludes which I can highly recommend if you enjoy the piano. Thank you Mr. Hall.”
“Really good, finished 1st gnossienne. The lessons are well structured and easy to follow! I hope Robin will do more music pieces from different composers in the future! I highly recommend his “pianoforall” course as well, that is truly an incredible value for money where you will learn, rythm, blues, ballad, classic, sight reading and get plenty of practice improvising.
Robin also has a fantastic way of teaching where you both learn to play AND understand what you play as you follow.”
“Course Creator and Presenter, Robin Hall: Genius Piano Teacher!â¨A winning formula for teaching the piano with video, audio, and full written notes.â¨The course of three classical pieces by Erik Satie is well thought out. It Builds on earlier sessions. Essential skills are introduced, nothing is assumed.
It includes well designed camera work showing video of keyboard, music staff, hands, and fingering: with a second keyboard clearly showing (and naming) every note struck.â¨By knowing his subject thoroughly, Robin has structured his course from beginning to end to progress systematically until he reached his objectives.
Insights he has gained in his own studies enables him to teach ⌠simply.â¨Resource downloads include the fullest PDF transcripts of material taught in video sessions with all music sheets available for printing. So, I was able to learn by watching, listening, reading, by making my own summary notes, and of course – by practicing daily.
A Brilliant Course Robin,â¨Thank you so much, John J”
“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 donnĂŠs par Robin Hall, professeur de piano gĂŠnĂŠreux, pour s’approprier les trois premières Gnossiennes d’Erik Satie. Ce cours est pour moi une incroyable expĂŠrience que j’ai hâte de renouveler avec le cours “Bach Preludes”. Un très grand merci.”
“This is an excellent course. I’ve finished Gnossienne #1 and am working on #2. Not sure if I will do #3 as I am a bit sated on Satie. But the techniques taught enable you to learn the pieces step by step until you perfect it to whatever standard you wish. For me, my playing of #1 is still a bit mechanical, but I can play it without looking at the music and really enjoy being able to. I don’t like to sound like the old guy but I’m 68 and have never played piano (or keyboard in my case) before.
NB I would recommend a piano if you have access. Electronic keyboards don’t do the piece justice. Although I’m a bit over Satie I hope there will some new pieces by different composers in the future. I would definitely want to do those. Highly Recommended.”
“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!”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this course.â¨I had heard Satie’s GymnopĂŠdies 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!â¨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.â¨Robin, thank you so much for guiding us through these beautiful pieces. I hope you’ll offer more courses like this in the future.”
“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 want to thank you for this course!â¨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.”
“Fantastic course to take a beginner like me through three beautiful classical pieces to the point that I can enjoy them from the perspective of a pianist (albeit a novice!) Thank you.”
“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.”
“I’m quite impressed how an online course can be actually better than a presenting course. I didn’t expect much of this, but I’m 100% satisfied and do believe is one of the best courses out there. At least is working really well for me.â¨Also, my aunt is taking another course from this teacher and she’s enjoying a lot.â¨Thank you”
“Robin is a great instructor. He breaks down these beautiful classical pieces into very digestible bits. His hierarchy of sheet music is also fantastically organized and useful, depending on where you are in your mastery of the song. He even adds good tips on how to take the songs to the next level. If you enjoy Satie, this video will certainly help you play his pieces, even if you’re just a beginner like me.”
“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 loved this course and the way the three musical pieces were divided into small easily digestible sections. You could quickly get a sense of achievement. The instructor’s calm voice, explanations and encouragements worked well for me too. I learned to play the pieces much faster than I expected for a beginner!”
“I enjoyed this course as much as any course I’ve taken. It is a good length and very focused–it teaches one thing and teaches it really well. It provides a step-by-step walkthrough for playing Erik Satie’s Trois Gnossienes on Piano. These are beautiful pieces and not too difficult to play, and Robin’s method makes learning them really straightforward. I can now play through these pieces consistently, more or less by memory. My ability to read sheet music for piano improved significantly, though that is only a secondary emphasis in the course. Highly recommended for an adult learner with a tiny bit of piano who wants to master one piece. I’m already moving on to Robin’s Bach course and looking forward to it.”
“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.⨔
“I am incredibly happy with this course itâs changed the way I look at Music. I was completely overwhelmed with the Satie sheet music, 4flats! Now when I approach a piece Iâm looking for patterns, for how the whole thing is structured. I listen more and better as well because I understand more. Thank you!”