Real notes from learners of Classics By Ear — Moonlight Sonata: the timeless classic made doable, clear next steps, and a finished piece that sounds sophisticated.
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“An exceptional course!. I managed to finish the material in about 2 months and can now confidently play the whole movement without sheet music!”
“This is the second piano course I’ve taken with Robin Hall, and I have been very pleased with the content of the courses. Robin clearly understands how to convey his knowledge of the piano to his students. Whether someone is a beginner or intermediate student, Robin addresses the course content for all. I am impressed with the level of information, which includes video content and pdf music sheets, that Robin includes with the courses. Clearly a lot of work for him! Thanks for offering these piano courses, great value for the money and time spent. Thanks to Robin, I am back to playing piano and staying with it, and very pleased with my progress.”
“This is an incredible course for a self taught hobby and though it’s difficult to begin with and has to be learnt in piece meal chunks first before putting together when you get to end of sheet one which you don’t think you will ever accomplish at first it really is a gratifying feeling. Just to be able to learn to play a tune you like for yourself in your own time by following along to the guidance this course musician provides aligned with the detailed sheet music has, imo made this a worthwhile hobby I enjoy returning to, so from me it’s a thumbs up.
I have a ways to go yet as I took this up alongside my academic studies which are also a completely new field and this course helps give me that much needed break and escapism all in the comfort of my own home and, not having to worry about being frowned upon by a tutor for hitting those wrong chords or missing that note when practising to string a row of bars together lol. Well worth purchasing in my opinion and presented by someone who has put such effort into their online course to help others interested in and wanting to learn and study at the own pace and, who is worthy of much more praise than I could ever offer up.”
“An amazing way to learn playing a piece of music. Before I tried to learn how to read notes, but I’ve never been able to play from a sheet, especially long tunes. Now I realized how easy it is to put letters near notes and be able to concentrate on playing and learning the music, not on reading the notes. After 2 months of everyday practice I now can play the Moonlight sonata and enjoy it. Certainly I have a long way ahead to practice it, but the reading of notes is not a blocker any more. Many thanks for the course.”
“I never thought I would be able to play this piece, or anything as complex as this. But the way Robin Hall takes you literally by the hand and guides you step by step, it’s just amazing, I mean it works, all it takes is persistence and the results will come.
Of course, this is a complex and fairly difficult piece, it is not for novices but with Robin Halls’ guidance, someone with a few years experience, (let’s say, someone like me who has competed most of Robin Halls “Piano For All” course) can give it a go and with practice, the results will come.
Also, a suggestion: if you try this score/course and you find it difficult, do Robin Halls’ Bach Preludes course first or even his Satie course, both courses follow the same method with well written scores, keyboard diagrams and step by step guidance, and Bach’s Prelude No. 1 in C major (BWV 846) and Satie’s Gnossienne No 1 are much simpler than the Moonlight Sonata Mov 1, this is what I did and as I said, the results have been above my expectations…”
“Clear & informative. I teach piano improvisation & musicality. I create my own material as Piano books give the student too much information in one go, making them stressed out and confused. This type of teaching is exactly what adult beginners need.”
“I am 48 yrs old and started learning piano during my late 30s, taking overall 10-15 hours of private courses. I had this sheet music book gifted with my electronic piano when I bought it. I always stared at the notes of Moonlight Sonata and tried to play, but I decided I needed 3 hands to play this song, which meant it was impossible for me! Till I met this course.
I appreciate the efforts of Robin Hall. I have little knowledge of reading notes. I usually unwillingly memorize each song I play while studying, and this is not good as far as I know. Therefore, this course is invaluable for people like me. It took me about 2 months to complete the course (studying only on weekends and in the evenings) and finally today I could play the whole song without mistake. I need to practice more, in order to play in front of my friends and family and to add more expressions. Thank you.”
“I bought this on july 16, never played piano before and I managed to finish this course and learn the whole piece by the time I’m writing this review, which is approximately 3 months. I have to admit there where a few weeks a didn’t practice at all x) but the course is great and now I’m gonna continue with his next course =)”
“Really enjoying the logical instructions and methods together with the clarity of the diagrams with keys and finger positions- it makes learning a pleasure”
“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.”
“Another excellent course and a piece of music that I have wanted to learn for a very long time. Robin’s skill in breaking each piece into manageable sections and his calm, patient and logical approach to teaching inspires confidence and makes learning an absolute joy.
I loved the Erik Satie and Bach courses and Moonlight Sonata is, in my mind, even better. I had tried learning piano on and off over the years with very limited success but am now building up a repertoire of beautiful pieces that I can play from memory every day. Thanks Robin 🙂”
“Best course on not only learning one of the greatest classical songs of all time but also incredible for learning to play the piano. As someone who has only a few months of piano experience, this course was excellent in guiding, explaining, and illustrating how to correctly play each cord. There will be frustration on your end because of inevitable struggle but if you stick through with it, your future self will thank you. Don’t give up!”
“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.”
“I just finished my course, Moonlight sonata… I am very happy. Robin Hall is an excellent teacher. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to learn the whole sonata, but I did. My husband and children are very surprised with the results. I feel very happy because playing the piano was my dream since I was a child and even though I am now an adult, I succeeded. I love classical music dearly. THANK YOU VERY MUCH PROFESSOR ROBIN HALL !!!!”
“The best-ever method to learn a song. it took me a while to finish this course but it absolutely worth it. I learned 3 more pieces of Classics By Ear – Erik Satie from Robin too and I’m happy that I chose Robin to be my teacher. I’m really looking forward to learning more from him. Wish you the best.”
“I really appreciate the approach you take – learning to play by ear is just so so rewarding but I now realise the 10,000 hours factor is so true -I need to practice productively everyday -which I am yet to achieve but will get there -I have purchased your previous 2 courses and found them most helpful(Classic/Eric Sate )-the courses are so accessible – many thanks much appreciated -I dream of playing Moonlight Sonata to my family -lets see if i can achieve that !!!!”
“This was the most challenging piano piece I have learned so far. I have wanted to learn how to play this for a long time, and honestly wondered whether it was beyond my ability. Robin’s course, which broke it down into small manageable, logical chunks, showed me that it was indeed possible for me to learn this – with perseverance and lots and lots of repetition and practice! Thank you so much, Robin, for another excellent course.”
“I love your soothing, calming voice. This course has helped me to fill in the gaps. Thank you for breaking it all down in bite size pieces.”
“This is a very good match for me. I think that I am going to learn a lot. I like the red dots and sheet music. I was never told to learn the C notes and then use them for a guide to other notes.
I am at the midpoint now and I’m enjoying the lessons. I’ve never stayed with a lesson as long as I have with this. I really enjoy it. You have such great lesson structure and pacing.”
“Thank you so much Mr. Hall. I am really excited about learning to play a movement from a Beethoven sonata. I have derived hours of pleasure from your Bach’s Prelude in C major, and am continuing to work on the Prelude in C minor. Your courses are just wonderful, especially for older people like me who have always wanted to play classical music on the piano.”
“This course is wonderful. The instructions are detailed and clear, with easy-to-follow demonstrations. I could always get useful tips when I needed them.
I couldn’t possibly manage to learn this beautiful piece without this course, in only 28 days. (last time I wanted to learn it from sheet music and gave up at bar 5…) I played this piece in front of my family and got loads of praise 😀
Thank you, dear instructor. Learning piano has never been this engaging and fun.”
“This is great course! I never thought I could play this piece and understand it in such an easy to follow instruction. Excellent instructor!”
“I’ve wanted to learn how to play all my life and I’ve finally taken the plunge at 63! Moonlight Sonata is the 1st song I’m learning to play and the journey with Robin is fantastic so far! I’m still on the first page but everyday is a victory! Between the video, the sheet music (which I’m reading by the way) and Robin’s great voice, I’m on my way. I’m also learning with the entire Pianoforall course, which is also fantastic and deserves it’s own separate review. Bravo Robin, Bravo!!!”
“It’s the best piano course I’ve taken. I’m currently working on pianoforall as well. Would recommend to anyone that wants to play a classic and inadvertently learn some music theory along the way.”