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 chord symbols are a staple for guitar players, 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
Hello everyone, we can’t believe fall is here already! We were able to release Unit 8 last month, in large part because Mr. Hoffman is fully recovered and Nick, our videographer, is on the mend as well. We are so grateful for all of your prayers, support and patience. We have all been touched by… Continue Reading
As we said in our recent article, Piano Care, getting your piano tuned every 6-12 months is important for keeping your piano in great shape and ensuring that it gives you and your family many years of enjoyment. With autumn here and the holidays right around the corner, this is a time of year when… Continue Reading
Music holds a unique place in the human brain. Howard Gardner, the psychologist who created the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, named music as one of eight distinct kinds of intelligence. But far from being confined to just one region of the brain, music appears to have a special way of putting the brain in high… Continue Reading
When we ran our Kickstarter campaign last February, we had only just begun to work on Hoffman Academy 2.0. Now after several months of focused effort, we have made a lot of progress, and we also have a much better idea of how much farther we have to go. Because we want Hoffman Academy 2.0… Continue Reading