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.
I think that 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.
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!
I have been playing digital keyboard for a few years and start playing piano for fun through u-tube. This is a good course and I truly believe this course can teach student to play by ears...but practice is still the key to success. If anyone wish to play pop songs, simple piano, this is a good course. But practice, practice, practice and like to practice....is the most important!
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.
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
it was very fun and derek is very professional. i will recommend it to others.
katie
我從來沒有學過彈琴, 對於沒有樂理根底人來說要長大後才從新學習, 說實在沒有太大的信心。 但是, 陳 Sir 教的方法對於一張白紙的我覺得很易明白。 至重要係興趣為本, 可以彈奏簡單的樂曲慢慢地練習, 我覺得比傳統學習的方法有趣味得多了。
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.
I enjoy playing popular music and have always wanted to learn to play the piano using chords. I find Derek's instructions effective and easy to follow. I would, however, like to see more Engish songs included in the teaching and demonstration repertoire.
Betty Chan
Now it is time to believe in just 8 hours of workshop you can play piano, also can play without the music notes. It is worth to give it a go!
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 learnt 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.
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.
但在參加這個工作坊以後，我不但知道原來沒有琴譜都可以彈奏，就連自信心也能慢慢的建立，通過聆聽的訓練，把我久遺違了的「聽力」找回來，而且運用配弦法，我還可以把我喜歡的流行曲目彈出來，就連我的父母、朋友也很好奇，為什麼我現在不用到處找琴譜也能彈奏了！現在我亦打算繼續參加小組來強化技巧喔！謝謝陳 Sir ^___^！
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, I think 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.
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!
It's a very useful course for those who doesn't have strong music background. I learned piano 20 years ago and thought it would take me 3 months to practise a pop song but this course teaches me the skills and techniques that enable me to pick it up fairly easily. And most importantly, my interest in piano comes back, I am now feeling like I would love to play a song (and enjoy) rather than "forced" to play one and take exams.
The course is:
i) simple theory;
ii) practical and achievable
iii) can arouse/devlope one's protential in different aspects in music;
I would say, this course is the real meaning of learning music. I admire people who can play piano, I love to hear and sing than play, this course for me is more than enough and it make me admire myself more (if I suceeded).
I glad to know this course and thank you for your promotion.
It is quite interesting to learn another method besides the traditional learning process. It's suitable for someone who has passion to play piano. But of course, you still need time to practise & match with left and right hands. Once you can breakthrough you can play without difficulties. Try & enjoy !
Aphis
The idea of learning music by ear is really helpful to piano learners and music lovers. The notes you provided for students are clear and well-organized, and very beneficial for self-study. The lessons and learning materials are well-prepared.
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
感謝陳 sir 悉心的教導，令我對鋼琴重拾興趣! 簡單的技巧能令我在上完第一課後，便能利用雙手合奏彈出<<我願意>>，感覺真的奇妙!
本身我並不是一個很有音樂感及音樂細胞的人，只是喜歡聽到琴的悅耳聲。一直希望自己亦能彈奏出自己喜歡的歌曲。一次機會下看到網上的影片，認識到這課程，為我多年的夢想注入希望與動力。
在過去的三週課堂裏，對我這初哥來說，可以說是有效。由一個一直都不懂，亦不想理解及分別 do re mi 的人，現在略可以聽得出，彈得到。對我來說，是一個很大的進步。老實話，在彈奏方面，我仍然是停留在很初哥的階段，可能不合乎課程預設的進度。但我知道這是我付出時間多少的問題。因為確實有同學可以做到。假以時日，我相信我亦做得到。
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 and thank you Stanley for playing the piano in the dvd. i wish i can play piano as good as Stanley in the future.
I am an adult learner. It's so lucky to find "POPPIANO". I have no time to join the course or seminar either. That's why I bought DVDs of seminar and group teaching!
You know, it's amazing and splendid! According to the DVD, even first time & first 30 minutes, you can achieve the skill to playing chord with melody. It is really clear and easy to understand even A STARTER!!!
I have learnt for a year at a one of the big piano company already but can't gain as much as the DVD. If you are a shift worker or busy guy, try to find the magic in the DVD, You must have a great improvement shortly. Thanks for me to share my expression here, bye
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.
I love piano but music notes are all Greek to me. My son introduced me the websites on poppiano, pianohk and the youtube demo which aroused my interest in learning how to play piano. I attended 4 lessons only, started playing the songs though not very smoothly and kept practising it every one or two nights. The better I play, the happier I am. I tried not to be aggressive as what Derek had advised the class, just practised two sentences at a time and added on bit by bit. Miraculously, I could play the whole song within a month. Self entertainment is my goal for this course. The course did help me and inspired me to learn by myself. A four-lesson course is rather short for a layman but it is an important key for self-learner to realize their dreams and achieve contentment. I understand that Rome was not built in a day, therefore, I bought all the DVDs and started the journey on my own. Hope that some day I may enroll other courses to enhance my skills. Thank you.
