| | After taking the course, I found it's worth to take though it's a bit expensive. Being an absolute beginner like me without any musical foundations, Derek introduced me the quick startup guide to learn on our own and shared us how fun it is. I can feel his passion. Frankly speaking, it's not easy to get a success within four lessons, but the in-class individual guidance absolutely helpful. There is no magic and you need to spend time practicing it. I know it's still a long way to go but I trust practice makes perfect. Thanks so much for Derek's guidance. | ALAN | |
| | The course was very fun and enjoyable. Derek is very professional and detailed in his explanations. I would highly recommend this course because not only that it will improve our listening skills, it has made piano playing a lot more interesting and fun compared to the traditional method.
I have taken traditional piano lessons before and it takes absolutely ages to progress and perfect a song which I find boring and demotivating.
I can now play songs with less time and get satisfaction from it with less practice. Definitely recommend this course for players who want to play a variation of songs and don't like taking piano exams. | Elaine
 | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I learned the basic accompaniment styles with chords in 4 lessons.
It's a very magical accompaniment method with chords indeed. After practicing varies styles, you can play songs beautifully. Now I mastered both-hands coordination. Although I play quite slowly and unsmoothly, I get the satisfaction!
I enjoy playing the piano. So I determined to keep on practicing every day. I hope I can do better in the future.
Thank you Derek Chan. | Clara Shiu | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I joined this course because I want to play my favorite songs without sheets. With just a short practice every day with the method learned, it takes much shorter time to learn a song than before. Hurray! | Gerry | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
Improvisation is a piano method which you can pick up in a short period of time. It still takes effort before we can play any song effortlessly. As the saying goes: You get out of it what you put into it!
Besides, if you can bravely let the teacher hear what you have practiced, he can give you personal guidance. Thanks for the his guidance, I'll practice hard. | Esther | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
After the first lesson, I could already mastered hands coordination. I wasn't playing smoothly, but I'm already very satisfied!
Even though you missed the chance of learning piano in childhood, don't despair! If you make your first move and persevere, you have a chance to succeed.
Playing the piano is enjoyable. I've taken traditional lessons before. My progress was like snail. Building foundations took too much practice.
Playing by ear is much easier to master. I wish I can play more songs for my family and friends later.
Thanks Derek. | Mika | |
 | The course is very magical, very suitable for adults. At first, I was skeptical too. Now, I discovered that it's easier than traditional piano. In only four lessons, I learned piano skills quickly. It enables me to play my favorite songs in a short period of time.
Thanks, Mr Chan. | Fanny | |
 | To a certain extent, this short program provides me with a new experience on playing piano. Not just to perform a song in a traditional way (i.e. only rely on stave), but to explore a new method to further enhance my piano technique, especially on the listening part.
With experienced tutor - Derek's guidance and encouragement, I've gained more insight on piano performance. I really enjoy this course.
| MANDY | |
| | I've just got Grade 3 in piano. Originally, I need to spend at least one month or even several months to practice a pop song. After attending this pop piano workshop, it takes less than a week to to practice one. It greatly saves my time and I feel satisfied with this result.
Actually, It is an intensive course as it teaches us a lot of skills within 8 hours. Honestly, I still cannot utilize all those skills in short term, especially for those advanced level skills. Fortunately, the DVD materials can refresh my memory continuously, so I can still upgrade my technique through practicing. After some time, I believe I can apply the advanced level skills to play wonderful modern music. | Clarissa | |
| | I think this is the perfect piano course for Adults to learn how to play the piano. The course structure is very well-planned in a very concise and easy to understand manner. Derek is very clear in his presentation. I am totally won over by the way this piano course is conducted.
This course enables us to learn the core techniques of playing piano, in being able to play a piece of music very quickly, along with many syles and variations needed. Most importantly, it teaches us not to rely on the traditional score sheets which we are so used to.
I learned so much useful skills from Derek and team in such short period of time than my 3 years of typical piano lessons with a private teacher. This course truely teaches us how to make music! | CLARA NG
 | |
 | I like to play piano since I was a little kid. Like any other girls at school, I started with a traditional way to learn all the master pieces, and every year simply taking piano exam to show some development and achievement. After a while, I felt a bit lost and not knowing what I was doing. Practicing the exam pieces day and night had worn out my interest in music. I even thought that I maybe lack of musical talent, so I did no good.
After graduated I gave up piano lessons and concentrated on work and family. In balancing the daily hard work, I wonder what would give me a relief. I like to sing and if I have time I would like to play piano. Then I browse through different websites and found POPPiano. In all the testimonials from previous students, they found there's a structured way to play piano and it's very easy to play along with your intuition. It sounds really wonderful. So here I came.
Thank you Derek. He is a really patient teacher, taking good care of all students even they didn't learn music before. He gives guidance in a gentle way and let us know how it goes while you hear the music. The lesson is really as simple as "do re mi fa so la ti", but you will know to play the music even without looking at the musical notes. On the other hand, it enhances your strength in listening and by noticing the intervals in between to create your own piece of work. But of course, you have to practice. Now that the secret formula is given to you, it is YOU to make it happen.
Now, I feel more comfortable playing piano. I learnt the way to play "like a genius", whether it is a LONG or SHORT way. I know I am the one in control. Thanks to Derek and POPPiano for developing a way to let people enjoy playing music, which is a marvelous experience! | Catherine Kwong | |
| | i live in US so i can only buy dvd to learn. This 工作坊 dvd really can teach you how to make your own chord on the songs that you like. Also, the teaching is wonderful, easy to understand the concept on each chord. The most difficult part for me is the listening part, but i believe i can improve it after i hear more songs. Overall this is a good piano course to learn. Highly recommended, thank you 陳 Sir for the teaching. | Jayson
 | |
| | Dear Chan Sir,
Please accept my congratulation for your wonderful course which is very useful to us in enhancing our understanding and appreciation of music.
I can speak for those people who have stopped formal piano study for a long time but still remember a little bit of major scales, minor scales, appegios and broken chords during their childhood.
Your course is very good because
(1) It is designed for people with different musical experience. The course starts from the C major and chord introduction; How to find the suitable chord for your melodies etc.. The numerical chords are very useful. It is better than the alphabetical notation C, Cm, Dm etc.
(2) The numeric notation is particularly helpful when we try to choose our chords in music other than C major.
(3) After your course, I go back and read through some of the 簡譜 with chords. I now understand why the songwriter chooses a particular chord. Now I can UNDERSTAND the music. This can be applied to classical music scores that I have used in my childhood. This makes reading music and practicing more enjoyable.
(4) Being able to play the melody (play by ear) with your right hand and choosing the chord with your left hand makes piano playing any time easier. It helps you to analyze a music score (modern or classical piece) and makes it easier to remember the score.
(5) Consequently, it makes me more eager to practice.
(6) I agree with Chan Sir's aim for all of the students: to play your favorite tune WITHOUT THE EXPENSIVE MUSIC SCORE. I think with practice one can really do it.
Thanks and best wishes
Peter Chan | Peter Chan | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I believe most adults learn piano because they want to play their favorite songs instead of taking exams. But the problem is, they need to spend a lot of time learning to read complicated sheets before they can play a song. It takes too much time to learn this way.
Since I learned to play by ear, I'm surprised that I can learn a new song in short time. Though not yet up to performance standard, at least I can entertain myself. With more practice, it's not hard to be able to perform!
The largest benefit I've got is: it elevated my interest. Goodbye to boring sheet-reading and sheet-finding. | Martin Chan | |
 | It's my dream to learn playing piano since childhood, but it was unaffordable in my young days. When I knew this course from the internet, I immediately took the course without hesitation.
The core theory is easy to learn, and I dare say that you can play your favourite pop songs in a couple of weeks, providing that you have the passion to practise. I really enjoy playing piano now. Thanks, Derek! | Jesmund | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I took piano lessons with my son some years ago. I felt bored and lost confidence because my progress was very slow. Then I came across improvisation in the web. I live overseas, so I took the download version of Workshop.
I attained grade 3. Although I had basic knowledge in piano, I mainly use sheets. It was a pity for me for neglecting on aural training and chord usage.
What I like most in this course is the simple way to play pop songs. Together with chord variations, I can play songs beautifully in a short period. I have high sense of satisfaction. The songs I most are: "Forever Pretty" and "Unchained Melody".
Adults, especially, should take this course and improve their aural skill through piano playing. They should also train their brain with both hands coordiation.
I will continue to take Seminar and Group. Thank you! | Edward | |
 | Although I have gained grade 5 in classical guitar, I always dream that I can play the piano again since I dropped piano at grade 1 when I was young. I am so excited to be able to play the piano again soon after watching the workshop DVDs that I ordered from the poppiano website. I can even apply what I learnt from the DVDs to play some simple hymns that I like.
I am looking forward to receiving the other 14 DVDs on the pop piano skills that I have just ordered from the website, so I can continue to enjoy playing the piano with improved skills. | Amy Leung | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I grew up in a poor family and I was forced to quit after learning for a short time. I didn't have time to realize my childhood dreams thereafter.
Recently, I watched many piano recitals on Youtube, then I enrolled. On completion of the course, using the instructor's simple method, I practiced every day... Now, I can really play my favorite songs with both hands. I'm so glad to have really realized my dream.
Besides, my friend have 3 kids. It would be too costly to pay for all their piano tuitions. So I suggest to them: if they want to play piano in a relaxed and free manner, without much pressure, they could take this course with the DVD (for revision). They can then enjoy piano playing together and save cost. | Monie | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Only after taking the course did I discover that it's my good aural ability which enabled me to play by ear when I was young...but the right hand part only...haha
I can really play by ear now, great!
Thanks to Mr Chan's guidance! Thanks you. But, you need to practice after that. He already showed you the short-cut. Whether you'll succeed depends on yourself.
| Jacqueline | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I already attained grade 5 in piano. In the past, I needed to sheets. I needed to practice for 30 minutes before I could barely play. After some time without practice, I would forget entirely.
When I first came across this course, I was skeptical about improvisation. I believe that every knows, to be able to perform a short as 2 minutes, you need some time to practice.
After taking this lesson, with improvisation, you only need to play the melody with your right hand and the chords with your left hand, and you'll be able to play the songs you know. If you have a good piano background, you can actually play any song people name!! | Martin Chan | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I like music since childhood. I joined school choir in primary and secondary school. So I'm familiar with tunes. As a grown-up, I often sing karaoke with my friends. I thought, I will be able to accompany myself if I can play a musical instument.
I tried to look for the sheet of "Blurred As A Dream" several time but I still couldn't find it. Recently, I found this website. I was delighted and I enrolled.
After taking the course, I undertand sheets are not a neccesity. Practice makes perfect. I believe, with deligence and memory, we can play good songs very soon.
| Amy | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
After watching the DVD, I discovered that I knew how to play by ear since I was young, though the melody (right hand) only. I used to play my favorite tunes on my little electric keyboard and write down note names.
After grown up, I thought I need to meet certain standards in whatever I do.
For example, I need to attain grades in order to prove that I've learn piano. Afterwards, I bought different sheets and tried to perfect my sight-reading.
After watching piano workshop DVDs, I discovered piano playing is not like typing on the computer keyboard. It's unlimited creativity.
Thanks Mr Chan for having inspired me. Playing piano is an enjoyable experience. Improvisation lets me rediscover the joy of music dated back to my childhood. It also brings my skills to a higher level, and enjoy piano playing to the fullest. Thank you.
| kelly | |
| | I have purchased Workshop DVD and I have spent about 1.5 months to complete the workshop.
I feel really grateful to your teaching though I didn't attend your class. You made my dream come true. I couldn't believe I can play piano with both hands before. | Wah | |
| | I really appreciate the workshop course.
It's sound nice to play with chords and the course emphasized "play by ear"
that it is very essential training to be a true musician.
I'm an adult student learning piano for a few years (very slow progress) but
have never been taught this way.
Your course is more suitable for me. It makes playing piano more enjoyable. | Edward Cheng | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
Last month, I came across a demo footage of Yanzi's "Meet". The footage, lasted about 4 minutes, was teaching harmonisation. After watching for ten times, I tried it on the piano.
I practiced for about 30 minutes. Surprisingly, I could play as well as him. I bounced with joy. Their easy piano lesson really worked...
I attained grade 3 ten years ago. Then I stopped playing piano. These years, I thought of picking it again from time to time. But I quit again in less in 3 months because sight-reading is too difficult for me.
I can tell you: playing "Meet" gave me unprecedented satisfation. For one thing, I didn't need the sheet. For the other, the harmonisation was great. My husband encouraged me to enrol...
I took the course with my best friend. We both have stopped playing piano for 10 years but our enthusiam hasn't died. We always wanted to pick it up again.
She introduced me to this course.
Simply put, this couse is terrific! Having stopped playing for 10 years, I couldn't play the simpliest songs. In lesson 1, I learned many harmonisation and chord progression principles. I also learned to harmonise Danny Chan's "Few-minutes Dating".
Having practised for 30 minutes at home, I could already play the whole song. My hasband praised me. I'm so happy to be able to play by ear.
I also tried "He Invited Me To Disney", "Fairy Tale", "Forever Pretty"... Wonderful! Especially for "He Invited Me To Disney", using chords for accompaniment, with variations, the songs sounds very good...
Harmonisation was taught in class. The instructor encouraged us to apply them so that we don't need to buy sheets any more...
... After the 2nd lesson, I called my friend and asked her about her progress. We listened to each other's recital through the telephone and we both thought the other party played well...We could do perfomances...
The instructor was right. We need to enjoy our practice in order to motivate ourselves. It's a great plessure to play the piano without reading sheets...
| [轉載自討論區] | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
Because I live in UK, I couldn't join the seminars. So I bought 3 sets of downloadable seminars. In about a week, I already could play several songs. I have a strong sense of achievement. I never learned piano or music theory before, but I can master a lot after watching the lectures repeatedly (although I'm still yet to master completely). | Vicky
| |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I haven't played piano before and I couldn't read sheets. To play by ear, you only need to understand the principles and practice. I can now play my favorite songs by ear with both hands. I also found some songs to practice harmonisation. A newbies like me can play songs as difficult as grade 3 or 4's. I'm progressing faster than learners of traditional piano. Playing by ear is interesting. This motivates me to improve further. | 陳妙詩 | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
In my opinion, no matter you want to take piano exams or not, you want to be able to play any songs you like without sheets, don't you? Having taken Mr Chan's workshop, I've mastered some improvisation patterns and skills. The course explains the profound in simple language and easy to understand. It greatly inspired and helped me. | 朱橋 | |
 | I'm finally convinced that your technique is an excellent way to learn to play piano by ear. Much better then any of the methods I've tried so far. I've been practicing the Raymond Lam song, which I never thought I'd even come close to learning to play, with amazing results.
I must admit that I was extremely skeptical about your method when I first got the DVD, mainly because I wasn't aware of the So-Fa sheet .pdf that came with it. Up until then, I only knew what you told me in an email before the DVD got here about the do, ra, mi practice . I'm the typical american male who hates to read instructions and because of this, I missed it on the DVD cover. | Don Shonk
| |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Athough it's a 4-lesson short course, I have a new feeling towards piano. In the past, I only follow the musical notes blindly without 'activating' it. I gradually lost interest.
After taking this workshop, I not only understands improvisation, but also gained confidence. Through aural training, I got back my long-lost aural skill. Together with harmonisation technique, I can play the songs I like. My parents and friends wondered why I can play by ear. Now I plan to join the skill group to strength my skills. Thanks Mr Chan! | Katherine Wong | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Music notes notate music; text notates language. Recital with sheets is like learning a foreign language from books. Playing by ear is like learning a foreign language freely without using books. Not depending on sheets is like speaking a mother language. Therefore, it's natural to play any musical instrument by ear. | 馮文健 | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Despite the short 4 lessons, I already can master the basic improvisation techniques. I can play the songs I like freely. I'm very satisfied and I'm more confident in piano play now. Playing by ear is not difficult. | Maisy | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I always think piano playing should be at our free will.
I can't put in words my joy of being able to play by ear.
I'm really grateful to Mr Chan's guidance.
Unfortunately, I have to continue my studeies in Australia.
I hope I can rejoin when I get back at year end, and more people get to know about this course! | Kiki |  |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Before I learned improvisation, I always needed to search for sheets. Some of them weren't available at all. After taking the course, having mastered play-by-ear principles, I can play any songs I like with harmonisation skills now. | Dodo | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
After taking merely 4 lessons, I have stronger confidence in piano playing and more interest in accompaniment. Now I don't need sheets to play songs I like. I'm really happy and satified. Lastly, I'd like to thank Mr Chan and Stanley for their guidance. | Christine | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Although I have attained grade 8, I couldn't play the piano without sheets. So I used to search for sheets...
After taking this course, having mastered improvisation with practice, I no longer need sheets to play the songs I've heard.
Finally, I'm really grateful to Mr Chan and fellow classmates for their guidance. | Edelweiss | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I picked up improvisation out of curiosity at first. In the course, I enjoyed playing by ear, breaking away from the sheets' boundary. Harminisation also helps my learning music composition in the future. | Grace Wong | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I needed sheets to play the piano. I needed to find sheets online or ask somebody to write chords for me. After learning to harmonise in Workshop, I won't need to depend on others now! | Isabel Lai | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Workshop is interesting and practical. You can play your favorite songs by ear if you follow Mr Chan's guidance and practice hard.
We are not a sheet-translation machine. We have to be able to play any songs we like without sheets if we really knows music.
Thanks Mr Chan for his guidance. I met a lot of new friends and I missed them when course ended. I'll keep on learning and improve my skills in skill group. | Irene Tse | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I live in UK and I couldn't come to seminars, etc. So I bought Seminar 1-5 DVDs. I found they're content-rich. I discovered I could play the piano with chord progressions easily. I can really play my favorite songs without sheets.
I wish Mr Chan can make more DVD course so that I can learn from overseas.
P.S. I only attained grade 2 and still can understand. | Sally Au Yeung
| |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I was preparing for grade 7 exam. Practicing was too boring, so I attended the seminar held on March 4th. It was really amazing! After taking workshop, I think playing pop song is so much fun if you know the melody well and apply Mr Chan's accompaniment skills.
One day, while I was practicing "Ask Me" and "Pretty Forever", my sister and her husband just came back home. They said "Who's playing the piano so good?". When they found it was me, he further said "Great skill!". I was bouncing with joy.
I'll keep on practicing improvisation. I wish I can reach a higher level. Thanks Mr Chan. | 周麗華 | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I've taken several months of traditional piano lessons and also played some pop songs. They were really a bit difficult. Having learned to play by ear, playing pop songs really becomes eaiser. My friends are also surprised. I only had a few hours' sleep after work before taking a ferry to lessons (I live in Macau). It's been quite tiring. However, I think it's worthwile ultimately. May be because I only took only 4 lessons, I'm not making fast progress. But, I can play pop songs. Finally, the course really helps... | 張家豪
 | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I am very satisfied with this course. I learned the skills I'd been looking for. My piano skills have dramatically improved. | Yu Ming | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
In the past, it's like being a sheet-reading machine to learn the piano, playing note by note. If I had no piano sheets, I couldn't play at all. I thought I forgot because I didn't have the sheet. After taking the course, I mastered the harmonising principles. I can play the songs I know by ear using even less time than before. Furthermore, I can remember the tune for a long time. This course can absolutely help music lovers relly understand and enjoy music. | Rony Chu | |
 | The course:
i) comprises simple theory
ii) is practical and achievable
iii) can arouse/devlope one's protential in different aspects in music
This course brings out the real meaning of learning music. I admire people who can play the piano. I love to hear and sing than play. I learned more than I had expected from this course and it makes me admire myself more (if I suceeded).
I'm glad to know this course and thank you for promoting it. | Vivian Au | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Thanks Mr Chan for producing the seminars with heart. After watching two seminar DVDs, I already can play "Today" by ear. I'm very happy and will continue to practice. | Crystal Chow | |
| | I found the workshop very useful. The workshop shows me the ways to arrange the music which i haven't learnt it through traditional music lessons. I learned piano for over 8 years but i only play it according to the notes only without any improvisation. Without reading to play music is rare. Only when I am familiar with the music piece or you put all the notes in my memory, then i can play a song without reading. However, it takes really a long time to do this. In this process, I always feel frustrated as it is too difficult to manage a long music piece by memory. However, playing popular music is a little bit different. As the music is quite melodic and it is easy to remember, if you know the chord arrangement skills, you can mostly play it with ease. Despite i will not improvise very good for the first time, after few times' attempt, I can mostly handle it. It gives you high satisfaction. I now can improvise the songs in C major and sometimes G or F major. I hope to continue to learn this improvisation skills and master such skills to all major and minor keys. Thank you for the speaker and tutor which taught me a lot in the talk which I found useful for all my life. | Yannie Li | |
| | Translated from Chinese:
I couldn't play the piano but I like piano music a lot. I didn't have the chance to learn piano when I was young. So I want my kids to realise my dreams. One day, when I noticed poppiano.org had a seminar on improvisation, I joined immediately. After practising for 1 hour at home, I already could play two songs. Now, reciting a pop song is not difficult at all. If you are still enthusiatic about playing the piano, I, Candy, sincerely recommend this course to you. Let's find the joy of playing the piano together! | Candy | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
After taking just a few lessons, not only can I harmonise and accompany, but also do it with many variations. These skills have increased my confidence in improvisation a lot. | Crystal Yiu | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I admire Phoebus Chan's play-by-ear recitals at Harbour City. His skills are terrific. After taking this course, I discovered that I can do it one day too!
The course is concise and practical. Recitals by ear is not difficult for all of us after practice. | Roy To | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Most people aren't familiar with improvisation. I just gave this course a try. Then, I found playing by ear is not that difficult. I've learned many practice skills in the course. | 郭兆康 | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Personally, I don't like reading sheets because it takes too much time to practice. So, I joined this course. Even though I've only attained grade 3, I can apply various skills to play my favorite songs now. Playing the piano is more enjoyable now! | Cat Ng | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
Even having attained grade 8, I could play the piano without sheets. I wish I could play by ear. After learning to play by ear, I can play many songs I like now. | Ckam Tung | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I had taken traditional piano lessons before I took this course. But I quit after grade 6 because the classical music became harder and harder to master. I had an unhappy experience about learning the piano. I had to practice one of Bach's pieces repeatedly before my piano teacher satisfied. It took me over 6 months before she was willing to teach me another song. Gradually, I lost confidence and interest. Later, I downloaded sheets from the web and gradually interested in playing pop songs. But the accompaniment patterns were boring.
After taking this course, I discovered that I can accompany my favourite songs. I don't need to wait for other people's sheets. Besies, I also discovered that I can play classical music like Fur Elise this way too. Play the piano is fun again! | Peggy Leung | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I have attained grade 8 piano, and have also taken part in many competitions and performances. I'm confident about my skills. However, I can't play a note with sheets. After taking this course, I really don't need sheets to play a song. Hurray! | Helena Lam | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I've already attained grade 5. However, I'm not interested in playing classical music. I've spent lots of money to buy sheets but I feel bored having to follow the sheets. After learning to play by ear, I enjoy the freedom to play the piano the way I like. My friends are amazed too! | Winnie Chu | |
 | Translated from Chinese:
I haven't learned piano for a long time. The website on playing piano by ear really attacted me. So I decided to give it a try. In the past, I didn't have any knowledge about harmonisation. I just use whatever chord I feel suitable. In the workshop, I gradually mastered harmonisation. Backed by theory, playing by ear is so enjoyable now! | Janet Lo | |
