Piano Lessons via Skype

Traditional Lessons

In the past four years, my piano skills and overall musicality have improved dramatically by simply hanging out with some concert pianists whom I have the fortune of befriending. I never had regular formal lessons with any of them but they were kind enough to demonstrate sporadically to me some of their secrets of the trade. They also opened the doors for me to perform in a number of reputable venues, for which I will be forever thankful.

However, after mainly going solo on my piano education, I have decided to get myself a teacher. I only have two requirements: 1) he/she must be a concert pianist 2) he/she must be comfortable instructing amateur pianists (such as myself).

These sorts of performer-pedagogues are mostly found in conservatories and music colleges but will only take in students enrolled in those schools. Unfortunately, I am now based in a small town without any advanced music school and all piano teachers (I personally know most of them) are adept in teaching small kids and beginners but not somebody at my level.

The Quest for a Teacher

While randomly watching tutorial videos on Youtube, I stumbled upon a pianist who had both performance and instructional videos. First, I watched, listened, and evaluated intently what the pianist had to say on matter of practice and technique. Is he for real or just bluffing his way with the unsuspecting viewers (like many Youtube tutorial videos out there)?

I know and already do many of his tips but there were some matters that were completely alien to me. His willingness to share them in public is admirable (some performers tend to hold back on their "secrets"). For this, he passed my first test.

Second, I watched, listened, and evaluated closely how the pianist interpreted some pieces. Do I like his musical aesthetic? Is his playing nuanced and balanced? It is not enough for me that my would-be teacher play cleanly. He must be able to connect with me artistically. Nothing turns me more off than a musical mechanicus and somebody who just plays fast and loud.

I really like his interpretations of Chopin, Beethoven, and Mozart. His playing was more on the nuanced side rather the bombastic type. There were some places in his playing where I feel he could be more passionate and "big" but it is really a matter of taste. I know he could do it but perhaps he chose not to.

Online Lesson Trial

So, I contacted him to ask him about lessons. I have heard of online private lessons through video conferencing such as Skype but I was skeptical. How can one learn the piano from somebody half the world away? More than 15 email exchanges later, including an MP3 I sent as an audition, we finally had our first session last night.

A Typical Online Lesson Setup

I am happy to report that my doubts about online private lessons have dissolved.

It is essentially the same as traditional piano lessons. Through videoconferencing (e.g., Skype), I get to interact with my teacher as if he were in the same room. Each of us has a piano. I play on my own piano, which I am used to, and he instructs me using his piano.

In most traditional piano lessons, there is only one piano which the student uses while the teacher watches on the side like a hawk. The teacher would only have access to a portion of the piano to play along. In online private lessons, it is like combining the teacher's studio and the student's home in one, a virtual master class so to speak.

The obvious limitation of this setup is that teacher cannot make "physical" interventions, especially on matters of technique. In online piano lessons, the teacher demonstrates to the best of his ability how to execute a particular technique. In the traditional setting, the teacher sometimes holds the student's hand, wrist, arm, or wherever to demonstrate or reinforce the concept. However, in my case, I am an adult and I am not at all comfortable being held or touched by a stranger. Thus, this non-physical contact actually suits me quite fine.

Another limitation is on the technology itself. More often than not, the built-in laptop mic or off-the-shelf web mic is meant for capturing and streaming voice, hardly adequate for capturing the range of pitches and dynamics of the piano. A lot of nuance could be lost and one may have to play louder to be heard better at the other end. Thus, it may be tricky to execute pianissimos and light touches.

Supposedly Improves Sound Quality

However, this is easily overcome by using a professional condenser mic. My teacher recommends the Yeti USB mic from Blue. I have yet to receive my order so I cannot really say much about it. I did attach a Shure microphone to my laptop and my teacher did not complain thus far.


One thing that my teacher and I are still getting used to is the time difference, a huge 14 hours. By the time he is about to start his day, I will have been ending it and vice versa. Another thing that I'm still trying to get a grip of is the price of the lesson. I'm in a country wherein typical piano lessons start from as little as $5/hour to high end ones (such as in a conservatory extension program) at $30/hour.

Since my teacher is based in the US, his fees are double that. But the alternative would be to go to the US to study with him, a very expensive proposition. A round-trip ticket to his city, not even counting living expenses, would be enough to pay for one year's online lessons.

The Verdict

The bottom line is online private lessons can be as effective as traditional piano lessons. I do not recommend it for total beginners, especially young children. At that level, physical contact is necessary to reinforce some basic technique and musical principles. When the student reaches the late intermediate or early advanced level, then he/she may consider online lessons.

The success of piano lessons, be it traditional or online, largely depends on two factors: the interest and determination of the student and the competence and knowledge of the pianist-teacher. A disinterested student may just be wasting his time and money while an inadequate teacher may just be blindly leading the student to irreparable technical and artistic damage.

I am still astounded by how internet technology has changed the world. Online music lessons was in the realm of science fiction in my teens (many moons ago). Perhaps within this lifetime, saying "beam me to Carnegie hall" is not a ridiculous proposition.

Happy learning!

Top 40 Schaum Piano Course Pieces

My piano teacher was probably the first one to introduce the Piano Course Series by John W. Schaum in our city almost 30 years ago. Before then, pupils mostly progressed through either the Michael Aaron or John Thompson books. She has been producing fairly competent piano players with these method books over the decades, which is probably the strongest argument for their usefulness.

I personally found the Schaum series slightly easier to follow than the Aaron and Thompson books. What attracted me the most were the catchy arrangements of popular classical tunes. Since most of the teaching pieces fit in just two-thirds of a page, it gave me the impression that I was progressing rather quickly. In one minute, I could play three to four pieces!

On the other hand, the Schaum series divides each grade prior to Grade 3 into two parts. Thus, one goes through Grade 1, 1 1/2, 2 1/2, half-steps as it were, with specific colors for each grade (the "Red Book", "Blue Book", etc.). While this gradual approach in piano pedagogy has its merits, I feel that there were a lot of extraneous pieces that were neither appealing, offered new difficulty, nor worth taking the trouble. Why there are no half steps for the higher grades (3-6) is a little strange to me--all the more reason to progress slowly in the upper grades in my opinion.

Another thing I have observed about the series is that it very much emphasizes the skill of sight reading. In the beginning of each book, there are tips, drills, and reminders about the importance of sight reading. I suppose Mr. Schaum himself may have been an excellent sight reader and may have wanted to impart his secrets to the young pianist. However, I do feel that undue emphasis is given to this skill more than technique and artistic development.

Edit: I've decided to expand the list to "Top 40" and replaced some of the pieces based on familiarity to today's listeners. I've also included the composer from whom these pieces were adapted. As you may notice, I'm partial to popular classical music from opera, symphony, and solo works.

I have picked my Top 40 pieces from the Schaum Series (books A to H). Most of them I studied in childhood but the more advanced ones (F to G), I have discovered on my own. I mostly picked two-page pieces but there are a couple of one page piece too:

A - Red Book - 1

1. Brahm's Lullaby (Brahms)
2. Swinging Along (Behr)
3. Snake Dance
4. Bells are Ringing (Beethoven)

B - Blue Book - 1.5

5. The Elevator
6. The Harpsichord Player (Bach)
7. Magic Flute (Mozart)
8. The Spider Dance

C - Purple Book - 2

9. Come On, Rangers (Rossini)
10. Wishing Well (Mozart)
11. AM and PM (Grieg-Chopin)
12. It Was in the Good Old Summertime (Spindler)
13.  From Pole to Pole (Chopin-Paderewski)
14. Estrellita (Ponce)
15. Lilac Time Serenade (Schubert)
16. Gertrude and Elizabeth (Beethoven)
17. Hawaiian Love Song (Truax)
18. Dangerous Journey (Koelling)

D - Orange Book - 2.5

19. A Harvest Melody (Beethoven)
20. El Caballero (Moszkowski)
21. The Masked Horseman (Schumann)
22. In the Hall of the Mountain King (Grieg)
23. Pals of the Saddle (von Suppe)
24. Garden of the Stars (Saint-Saens)
25. The Waltz King (Strauss)
26. Two Military Heroes (Strauss-Berlioz)
27. The Swan (Saint-Saens)
28. In an Eighteenth Century Flower Garden (Mozart)
29. The Cuckoo (Daquin)

E - Violet Book - 3

30. Camp of the Gypsies (Behr)
31. The Bullfighter's March (Bizet)
32. The Crystal Ballroom (Chopin)
33. Purple Sunset (Liszt)
34. Magic Carpet of Dreams (Debussy)
35. 1812 Overture (Tchaikovsky)

F - Brown Book - 4

36. With Love in My Heart (Chopin)
37. The Great Gates of Kiev (Moussorgsky)
38. Clog Dance (Dvorak)

G - Amber Book - 5

39. Norwegian Concerto (Grieg)

H - Grey Book - 6
40. Russian Concerto (Rachmaninoff)

Of these books, my favorite would have to be C, D, and E in that order. These three books could be fully taught to the student. I very much enjoyed studying, practicing, and playing them for family and friends. Some of them sound difficult and sophisticated though they are quite manageable arrangements. In a minute or two, one gets instant applause!

For me, the weakest of the bunch would have to be Book F. Beginning at this level, Schaum seemed to have dispensed with the Baroque and Classical Periods and concentrated on the Romantic repertoire. I feel that this is premature as most students would still be in their teens by this time. They may overcome the technical difficulties but very few would have the level of musical maturity required in these works.

I feel that the student could skip this book without serious impairment. Perhaps the teacher could substitute it with Thompson or Aaron Grade 3 and 4 which have much better piece selection appropriate for the adolescent students in my opinion.

Books G and H are not bad. My problem with them is that many of the pieces in these books are almost exactly the same as the original but often shortened or the ending simplified. The level of difficulty of the original pieces and the Schaum-edited pieces are almost the same in these grades, so why not just study the original?

I wish that Schaum had focused more concert transcriptions of popular ensembles, operas, concertos, and symphonies at these levels, just as he did with the Norwegian Concerto (based on Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor) and the Russian Concerto (based on Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto). These are wonderful concerto transcriptions for the advancing pianists who are not quite ready for the real version but good enough to sound majestic and virtuosic among the general audience. They make excellent party pieces for the non-classical crowd too.

Suggestions to the teacher: After the student learns any primer piano book, you may follow the list above in assigning pieces. The assigned piece must be played very well before advancing to the next piece. It does not only mean zero wrong notes but more importantly, artistic playing--beautiful tone, engaging tempo, "color", etc. Each piece must be learned and played as if it were the recital piece.

I recommend supplementing the lessons with A Dozen A Day by Edna-Mae Burnam. I've never studied these books but many teachers and performers swear by them and use them in tandem with method books. When taught properly, the series should address basic technical needs and enhance sight reading.


Suggestions to intermediate and advanced students: If you are using Aaron, Thompson, or any other method book and have reached Grade 3 or higher, the Schaum series is still very useful for sight reading. As I have mentioned above, it seems that the Schaum was designed for sight reading more than performance. Try the exercises, drills, and tips mentioned in the books. Gradually read through the pieces in Books A to F. Many of the pieces in Book G and H are too hard to sight read but if you can do it, then so much the better.

Happy practicing!