My first experience as an accompanist came when my middle school choir director invited me to accompany for the choir. At the time I only had about five or six years of piano lessons under my belt, and so I really had a lot of growing to do in order to be equal to the… Continue Reading
In piano practice, as well as anything you want to accomplish in life, consistency is absolutely essential for success. I’ve found that consistency is the make-or-break issue that determines whether or not a student is going to succeed in piano. It isn’t how good they are when they start, it isn’t about talent. It boils… Continue Reading
What do you do if your child says they want to be a professional musician when they grow up? If you don’t personally know anyone with a successful career in music, your impulse may be to warn your child away from what you see as a risky career choice. Let me assure you that there… Continue Reading
In Music, what do we mean by dynamics? Dynamics are the volume level at which music is performed. They’re the louds, and softs, and everything in between. Musicians use a variety of dynamics to add excitement and emotion to songs. Even early beginners can use dynamics in their piano playing to make it more fun to… Continue Reading
Hello, Kelly Hoffman here. Last month my AM Northwest segment was on “Parenting Hacks” for a more positive family life. It was a topic I passionately feel needs more discussion, mainly because most people feel like relationships just happen to them, and that people with great kids, marriages, and careers just got lucky somehow. It… Continue Reading
Meet the Zebroff family from British Colombia, and find out how learning piano with Hoffman Academy led their girls to an exciting public performance opportunity! Hello Hoffman Academy community, I’d like you to meet the Zebroff family from British Colombia, Canada. They have three children, Alexey, Alexandra, and Valentina, who will be turning 4, 6,… Continue Reading
Are You Ready for the Summer Challenge? Summer is a great time to enjoy learning music without the pressures of the regular school year routine. To help you make piano part of your summer, We’ve created a fun, free downloadable 90 Day Summer Challenge practice chart to track your summer time practice. Click here to… Continue Reading
Four months ago we launched Hoffman Academy 2.0, and since that time we’ve been thrilled with the enthusiastic response. We continue to grow and now have over 80,000 Hoffman Academy members, 50,000 likes on Facebook, and our lessons have a total of over 9 million views. We are so happy to be able to bring piano… Continue Reading
Have you ever thought about how amazing a piano is? It can play loud, it can play soft, it has a huge range from low notes to high notes, and pianos are fantastic for playing with everything from a symphony orchestra to a jazz ensemble, or even just solo! And have you taken a look… Continue Reading
A beginning piano student needs a good instrument. Think about it. If you wanted your child to play soccer, would you send your child out on the field in a pair of cheap flip-flops, or would you make sure your child had a good pair of shoes? Shoes, of course! On the other hand, does… Continue Reading
Have you ever seen those letters up above the staff in your sheet music and wondered what they are? Those letters are chord symbols. Although guitar players use chord symbols all the time, for many piano students chords are a mysterious art. Some piano teachers never cover them at all (none of my teachers I… Continue Reading
If you have two or more piano students in your household, your piano may be getting quite the work-out. Here are some tips for making sure everyone gets the time on the piano that they need. Make a Plan It is important to choose a consistent time of day for music practice even when there’s… Continue Reading
If you’re new to Hoffman Academy and your child has already had some piano experience, you may be wondering where to begin. In general, our Units 1-4 cover what could be considered “Primer” or “Preparatory” material, while Units 5-8 cover what is typically considered Level 1 skills. We would generally expect an absolute beginner to… Continue Reading