Want to improve your piano playing? Read these blogs! We have hand-picked this selection of prime piano blogs offering you a wealth of information. Don’t miss out on the best the web has to offer in 2022 when it comes to piano-related information and FREE lessons. Meet your new piano pals and profit from the variety of their knowledge, experience, and wisdom!
Your Allround Resource: Very Piano
Megan Desmarais provides a range of resources for every piano player coming across her site: She offers ideas for piano teachers, “piano parents”, but also for adult beginners and advanced students. She gives information on choosing a beginner’s instrument and tells you about all the little gadgets and tools that make every pianist’s life easier. Now to the hands-on part: you can enroll in online classes called “Pianissimo Courses” – the first lesson is free! Among other things, this US piano blogger reviews online piano resources like, you guessed it, OKTAV. Go to Very Piano.
Your Piano Inspiration: Music Matters
Natalie Weber teaches in her own piano studio in the US. She shares with you that when she started out she found teaching boring and horrible (and we’re pretty sure, her students at the time felt the same in return). She could have just kept going on, frustrating herself and her students. But she did not. She took the initiative – talked to other teachers that seemed to enjoy their job, enquired, exchanged info, read, and developed strategies for making learning AND teaching the piano fun. In her blog, she shares what she’s come up with, writes about her teaching ideas, gives tips to other teachers, and offers her ideas on how to keep your interest in piano playing fresh and alive. Make sure to check out her “free resources” section. Go to Music Matters.
Your Piano Networker: The Cross-Eyed Pianist
Frances Wilson, British pianist, writer, and music lover, has created one of the UK’s leading blogs on the piano, pianists, and classical music – and it is branching out into very successful sub-sites, like “Meet the Artist“, where you can read her interviews with a plethora of musicians. Looking for a piano course – not online lessons, but actual physical masterclasses or piano summer schools? Frances knows where, when, and how – across Europe. Check out Fran’s Piano Studio for piano resources. Although she has retired from teaching (and from updating the site) it remains a valuable source of information related to teaching (and studying) the piano. Go to The Cross-Eyed Pianist.
Your Masterclass: Practising the Piano
Graham Fitch, based in London, is an internationally acclaimed pianist, teacher, lecturer, and writer, to name but a few things. He gives workshops and classes all over the world (and has taught cross-eyed pianist Frances, amongst many, many others). His impressive career includes winning several acclaimed prizes, graduation with honors from the Royal College of Music, a Fulbright Scholarship, world tours, scholarly work at Cape Town University, South Africa, and a residency in London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Music. His site is an excellent online resource for advanced piano studies. You will find e-books, video lessons, masterclasses, and more – probably best suited to the rather more advanced player!. In his site’s blog, Graham analyzes music, music theory, and technique. Go to Practising the Piano.
Your Music Theory Resource: Music Theory Academy
Ben Dunnett, the guy behind the Music Theory Academy, teaches you everything you could possibly want to know about music theory for absolutely free! He says the ability to read sheet music acts as a launchpad to greater levels of creativity, and we agree wholeheartedly.
Sheet music is like a language … it needs to be spoken out loud and not just read.
Ben Dunnett
We recommend visiting Ben’s website Music Theory Academy if you want to
- start reading sheet music, or learn more about it – the notes, the clefs, sharps and flats, rhythms, and so on.
- sharpen your music theory skills: chords, circle of fifths, composition, harmony, structure and tonality
- refresh your music history lessons
- have beginner piano lessons – yes, for free!
- take some music theory quizzes. Because testing your knowledge is fun!
Your Perfect Piano: Piano Dreamers
Lucas Welter’s blog aims to make your piano dreams come true. That’s quite a promise – so how does the experienced piano player and piano salesman live up to it? He found there were not enough good piano info websites available, so he founded his own. His mission is to provide his readers with in-depth knowledge when it comes to
- choosing the right (acoustic or digital) piano or keyboard,
- piano learning, and
- music production, among other things.
Lucas knows a lot about digital pianos (and we mean a lot!), so we also recommend reading a few of his articles before buying any new piano gear – from bench to pedal. Oh, and there is more: if you are looking for a guitar, for the best way to record yourself, or for someone to teach you the basics of songwriting, you’ll also find all that on his website. Go to Piano Dreamers.
Eastern Piano Way: Pianodao
Where to start, with Andrew Eales‘ resourceful site? This British pianist and teacher offers articles on every topic you can think of. Need personal advice, lessons, or feedback? You can join his classes in person (in the UK) or online, book a one-off consultation session, or have a flexible subscription (adults). He is classically trained but embraces all musical genres to help you build an active repertoire. One thing that makes his site truly unique is his Eastern philosophy approach to piano playing. In many insightful articles, he applies the teachings of Daoism to connect your piano, your life, and your musical self. Amazing! Go to Pianodao.
Your Dedicated Teacher: Pianoblog
Matt McLaughlin has taught piano for 20 years in Austin, Texas. If you are looking for free video lessons on piano technique, or on how to start out as a total beginner, this is your place. Matt’s mantra is
I cannot teach everyone out there, but I can help anyone understand what path is best to reach their musical goals.
Matt McLaughlin
Articles like “On the Last 10 % of Practice” help you go that extra mile. Matt offers paid courses and private lessons, too. Are you considering buying a piano? He shares his advice on that topic, too. Go to Pianoblog.
Your Guide to Excellence: Color in My Piano
Joy Morin started her blog in 2005, journaling her own piano journey. Now she helps piano teachers to teach effectively, organize their business, and have fun in the process. Want to find 12 piano podcasts to listen to in 2022? Joy’s got you covered. Need to motivate a student (or yourself)? Tons of advice on this website. Planning your own piano studio? Joy has got a word of advice, in addition to valuable articles, printables, and links. She also writes about her favorite sheet music and links piano pedagogy literature. We especially like the music games she features! Go to Color in My Piano.
Your Magic Improv Coach: My Fun Piano Studio
Kristin Jensen’s blog offers fun and “piano magic” (her trademark!) in a threefold way: The “teacher’s playground” offers fun and innovative resources for extraordinary piano lessons. Structuring your piano business effectively is definitely more fun than wasting your energy and missing out on income, so she gives a lot of insight on how she has restructured her business for maximum efficiency and fun. And, thirdly, she teaches piano improvisation. If your ears perk up when they hear “improv” you need to visit her site. She offers video tutorials, simple exercises, composition for beginners, and fun ear training – all for free. Go to My Fun Piano Studio.
Your Elementary Teacher: Mrs. Miracle’s Music Room
Aileen Miracle teaches music (and music teachers) in the USA. She holds a Master’s degree in Music teaching and is an alumna of the Kodaly Institute, Hungary. While her target group is elementary music teachers, she offers various playlists of play-along videos, rhythm practice ideas, ideas for practice during social distancing times. Very interesting: Her thoughts and actions on decolonizing music education in order to challenge the historical dominance of white Western European and American music, narratives, and practices. If you’d rather listen to music ideas, she produces a blog, too. Go to Mrs. Miracle’s Music Room.
I love sharing what has worked in my music room, and hearing from others that it has worked for them
Aileen Miracle
A Growing Piano Community
At OKTAV, we believe in giving you everything you could want when you sit down in front of a piano – we believe in great sheet music, a fantastic experience that lets you discover the musician in you, and lots of options to steer and organize your playing. And we believe in having fun. You, on the other hand, don’t have to believe us anything – see for yourself!
