Classics By Ear – Moonlight Sonata Reviews

“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.”

“I love this course. Robin makes it so easy to understand and so calm in teaching. Just love all his course so far and want to learn more from him.”

“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.”

“An exceptional course!. I managed to finish the material in about 2 months and can now confidently play the whole movement without sheet music!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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’ve always wanted to learn this piece of beautiful music when I first it when I was young. This course is so easy to follow and with a lot of practise and determination I can now play it through memory. The ability to just sit down at a piano and play this give me so much pleasure. I’m so grateful to you for sharing this. Thank you”

“When the email came through, alerting me to this brand new “Classics By Ear” course by Robin Hall, I didn’t need to think twice about purchasing – indeed I was excited and delighted. Having purchased all of Robin’s previous courses, I was fully aware of just how excellent they are (not to mention very INexpensive) so there was no chance of my hesitating, and I purchased immediately. And from the increasing numbers of students who have also signed up within just the first few days, I am clearly not alone in my opinion.

Robin’s method is superbly in-depth and meticulous, taking things slow but steady, and breaking things down into bite-sized and easy to consume morsels – really zooming in on every note and nuance of every bar, little by little, utilizing sheet music, cheat sheets and also “Memorable Elements”, so that with each and every small step you know exactly what you should be doing, where you are heading, and how you should be playing – the fingering, expression, etc etc. Basically, you know that Robin really cares about teaching you how to play great music on the piano!

I have already made a start and am truly loving playing this haunting yet beautiful piece – a “timeless classic” indeed! After a couple of days I am already practicing the full page 1 (both with and without the splendid alternate mini-ending variation for bar 15 – a nice little touch which gives you the satisfaction of completing, if you will, a “Mini Moonlight Sonata” Prologue (“Op. 27, No. 2A”???) quite early in your endeavors; but which only whets your appetite even more to keep on moving forward – encouraging you to progress on and on to discover the rich beauty of this piece, and the amazing satisfaction that comes with getting it “under the fingers”… and “tantalising the ears”…

And so I am well and truly “juggling” 😉 … as Robin advises in his courses… although perhaps in a different way than he intends; but I hope that’s still okay, as I have several pieces on the go now – including the Bach Preludes (I’m saving the Satie course for now (although I have sampled several videos) so as not to take too much on, but will certainly be working on those pieces too when I’ve made significant progress with the Beethoven and Bach pieces).

The bottom line : I am truly addicted to learning this beautiful piece (quite possibly my favourite of Robin’s “CLASSICS BY EAR” so far); so many many thanks again, Robin, for a wonderful and meticulously planned course. And for those considering it – and especially if you have always wanted to play this timeless piece – do not hesitate. Just buy this course, press play on the first lesson – dive in (and print off the sheet music/cheat sheets etc) … take it slow and steady… and simply enjoy playing beautiful music. The fingering/octave+ stretches can perhaps be a challenge at times, but do persevere, and I promise you that you will be glad that you did, and will have no regrets whatsoever…

A wonderful piece, especially relaxing and therapeutic, and indeed something very worthwhile upon which to focus one’s mind, body and soul in particular as a most welcome respite and distraction during these challenging Covid lockdown times…”

“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.”

“This course may be a life changer for me. I have never played a musical instrument and I have no musical education at all, except for a 2-year education I had 40 years ago at Preparatory School. But after buying my digital Roland FP-30X piano and starting this course (about 2 months ago), I’m now able to play from ear up to section 59!!! I’m almost finishing. My wife and friends are puzzled 🙂 :).

I always thought that these and some other classical works were only attainable by professional pianists, but I’m able to play it!!! What a great achievement I made! Of course, few good things come without effort. I’ve playing almost every single day for the past two months (although only for about 20 minutes each day). Thanks for this wonderful course, Robin Hall and for having me entering the wonderful world of music and piano. I can hardly wait for the next course!! I will probably buy the Bach Preludes. I will also try to learn more about scales and chords and musical theory in general. Best regards, Nuno Guerreiro”

“Robin Hall is a superb teacher. The programme and its accompanying resources are crystal clear and Robin’s presentation of memorable elements makes difficult passages accessible to the learner.”

“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.”

“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 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…”

“Another great course from Robin! I learned this piece very slowly over several months but finally made it to the end of the 69 bars today! Now looking forward to adding expression and playing it for my friends when I finally have them over next month. Thanks!”

“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 !!!!”

“Although this is challenging for me I am in awe regarding Robin’s awesome method of teaching.”

“I always wanted to be able to play this exact piece, but got stuck pretty quickly and gave up. Now I can already play it up to the 2nd page! I would never have thought this! Thank you so much for teaching me this! This method of breaking the piece down into individual pieces, combined with the excellent explanations in the video and the perfect printable documents, is for me the best way to learn piano.

I absolutely recommend this as well as all of Robin’s other courses. I sincerely hope that there will be more courses. I will attend all of them without exception. Thank you again Mr. Hall!”

“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.”

“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.”

“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 !!!!”

“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 would buy any course by robin hall. This and others i have bought are great and inspirational”