I visit your fantastic site almost daily for inspiration and help to enjoy my playing even more. The site seems to be the leading place for learning!
I’m just sending you a quick email of appreciation! I have been a subscriber to WRP for about 3 years now. Almost exactly a year ago my church began to ask me to assist by playing the organ once very month. With this in mind, I have found your videos very helpful, especially the current series including three of your transcriptions from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein (In dulci jubilo, Jesu meine Freude, and Puer natus in Bethlehem). Seasonally appropriate as well, which doubles their usefulness! I have found the way you present your videos, and the clarity of the explanations you give, most helpful in actually playing the pieces — one small example — that “In dulci jubilo” is actually a canon. I hadn’t spotted that, but when you do, the “form” of the piece becomes so much clearer! So, thank you. In addition to studying what you say about playing the various pieces, I have been working at the ABRSM grades here in the UK, and earlier this month tested for “Grade 5 Piano”. I’m pleased to report that I passed with distinction! This is the highest grade possible until you have passed their Theory exams. So, thank you for all you do!
Dr. Hall, I’m starting my last month of my first year as a WRP student. It has truly been amazing. Im so grateful I found your site. My only regret is that all the schooling and lessons I’ve taken before, now seem like a waste of time. You provided me with a detailed 2-hour a day lesson plan for the year and it has provided a structure that I so desperately needed and still enjoy. The vastness of your site is somewhat intimidating when looking for the next step to take. Your slow motion videos of Burgmüller have been so helpful. You also suggested books such as Tschaikowsky, Gurlitt, Clementi. I hope you have plans to record some of these as well. Also, I can’t wait for your upcoming books on improv. I could ramble on all day about the greatness you are doing for people like me, but from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!
A few weeks ago, I ordered “Sight-Reading & Harmony” from your website. I think I have found the Holy Bible of sight-reading! Thank you very much for your dedication of time to develop this book and method. I showed the book to my piano teacher and he was very enthusiastic about your method and system!
Your piano learning site “The Well-Rounded Pianist” is really the best on the internet!
I bought “Sight-Reading & Harmony” and use it daily. It is the most helpful book I have ever used!
Long back I had emailed you mentioning how much the ‘holy trinity’ of piano exercises improved my playing. I was playing them every day for months, and when I revisited previous songs I tried to learn, I found my hands falling into place with ease. That was a milestone for me. I feel I have reached another one. Sometime last year around September or so, I started learning Bach chorales, first with your two part voicing, and now four part. I still have a long way to go but these Bach chorales have improved my playing tremendously; playing, sight reading, and harmonizations. It is incredible. I share the same opinion that these chorales are some of the most beautiful music ever written. I never get tired of playing them and learning new ones. The most fascinating thing I found after playing these chorales for months is, playing other types of music has become easier, I can listen to a song and replicate the melody much faster from ear, I could not do that before. Even when I listen to music now, I hear it differently, my ear has become much better. That being said I don’t care to play much other music now! I am so fulfilled just playing these chorales. I have a family member who recently started playing piano and I am spreading the word, sharing your two and four part voicing for chorales! I do have the famous 371 bach chorale book, but you are right it is difficult for a beginner, text is very small and squashed together. As long as BachScholar is publishing chorales, I will be buying them. Thanks for introducing me to this music, it has changed my life. Cheers!
Looking on the web, I ended up on your YouTube channel and love it. So, I start searching your BachScholar® website and discovered “The Well-Rounded Pianist,” and I signed up right away. The content of the site is amazing and the best part is that is so affordable. Every Monday I look forward to seeing the next videos. Thanks a lot for all your hard work and keep posting!
Thank you, Dr. Hall. You offer the best piano instruction I’ve been apart of. This includes college courses in theory, jazz piano, and classical piano. I really appreciate all you do.
Cory has taken piano learning on the internet to a new level. His inspiring and thoughtful way of presenting theory, exercises, and music is spot on. Even the exercises he presents are pieces of beautiful music which makes them a pleasure to work on. I would recommend anyone looking for a comprehensive method and approach to learning piano to try out “The Well-Rounded Pianist.”
I have really been enjoying watching Cory’s tutorials everyday this summer. Cory is an amazing teacher. I just love the program. It is almost like I am at the lesson. It gives me a lot of teaching ideas as well. I always thought that I wanted my ARCT and maybe someday. But I’m just happy studying and working at it everyday. As long as I can study and learn for the rest of my life. Thanks for everything you do, Cory!
“The Well-Rounded Pianist” is a marvelous course. It opens the door to new ideas, such as keyboard harmony and Bach chorales, valuable piano exercises, and new pieces, such as Scarlatti. Thank you, Dr. Hall!
I love “The Well-Rounded Pianist” and its entire pedagogy. It makes a lot of sense to spend time building sight-reading skills using chorale excerpts and hymns. I’ve been practicing with “Sight-Reading & Harmony” and the accompanying videos for about 8 months, focusing on scales and sight-reading at Grade 1. I feel I am progressing well with both and that in a couple months I will be ready to move on to Grade 2.
I bought “Sight-Reading & Harmony” and I’ve been using it for a few days now and I can already feel that my sight-reading skills are improving and reading has actually become fun.I love the idea of moving to higher grades over time. It would be awesome if I could one day consider myself a Grade 8 student!
I’m an adult learner aged 54. I heard Claudio Arrau could read piano music before words. For this adult it’s a rather arduous process so I purchased “Sight Reading & Harmony” to improve my sight reading, as there are very few if any books that address this topic. I would not have bought the book if I hadn’t seen Cory’s video where he runs through the book for some 12 minutes and explains all the sections. It’s this meticulousness and attention to detail that I love about his teaching and his videos. Little did I know that there were some 1500+ other videos to learn from as well. Cory says “Sight-Reading & Harmony” has a lifetime of material in it. Well for me, probably several lifetimes and when coupled with all the other material on the site I know I’ll never stop learning and improving my piano playing. The sight is called “The Well Rounded Pianist” and it wasn’t until writing this testimonial the I realized why. I have tried some other piano teachers and sites and while they all had their pluses, one big negative was the lack of scope. They all concentrate on one specific area, whether it be simply teaching pieces or running through scales at break neck speed for example. “The Well-Rounded Pianist” coupled with “Sight-Reading & Harmony” covers it all, from theory to drills, to specific exercises that Cory has developed to help your fingers navigate the keyboard, to pieces performed at regular and slow motion, plus much more that I’m not aware of, as I have only scratched the surface of the sight. All of his teaching is practical and musical, he even stresses the musical nature of scales, something I had not considered, usually worrying about speed. I guess I’ve run on long enough, can you guess, I recommend WRP!
(from an email) — It has taken me a bit to find my way around your unbelievably extensive website but I wanted to THANK YOU for the 90 minutes you have given to this piece (Schumann’s “Traümerei”)! This is the ONE piece I took to my piano teacher when I started my lessons 8 months ago and I said, “I want to play this piece in my lifetime!” I could not believe my good fortune of finding this on your website yesterday! I am in awe, Dr. Cory. I have stared at this piece for so long, wondering what to do with it, not knowing where to begin because I know it is above my pay grade. Then I found your videos, I love it!! Your practice plan for me is SO helpful, especially the sight reading every day for Grade 1. It takes me longer than 15 minutes. Finally, I understand why I have struggled so: Note recognition and I couldn’t read vertically; no surprise there, but you have helped me to know what to do about it! This may be a stretch of the imagination, but I WANT to learn ragtime at some point. I’m not sure but did you record every piece in Scott Joplin’s Complete Piano Works? So happy to find you playing them on YouTube. I can just reach octave on white keys, and can use 1 and 4 for black key octaves. I know this is early to have such a dream, but there it is. Please forgive me for getting personal, but your haircut just made you SOOO much younger!! But then I am old enough to be your grandmother!! You are just a God send for me. I thank you so much!