The Core 4 Piano Method

1. Listening

Listening to great music in styles you love — so your ears learn what “good” actually sounds like.

2. Training the Body (Practice)

Practicing in a way that teaches your body to do what your brain wants — so playing feels natural instead of forced.

3. Understanding (Theory)

Learning the common musical structures that appear in almost all music — so you know what you’re hearing and playing.

4. Repertoire (Application)

Applying everything through real songs — so you’re not just learning music, you’re speaking it.

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Have you ever been deeply moved by a piece of music? Is there a melody, a harmony, or a performance that stayed with you long after it ended?

Most of us have. And when we hear something truly expressive or impressive, it’s natural to wonder: How did they do that?

Through my own experience learning music—an extremely complex and often mysterious craft—I’ve come to understand something important: high-level skill is not acquired by accident. Whether in music, athletics, or any demanding discipline, great ability is the result of thoughtful guidance, sustained effort, and, most importantly, a sound method.

Talent is real. But meaningful skill does not emerge without work, and work without a clear method often leads to frustration, plateaus, or burnout.

Learning music is no different.

Over time, I’ve found that successful musicians, across styles and levels, all engage with music through the same fundamental elements. When any one of these elements is missing, progress slows or stops. When all four are present and working together, learning becomes clearer, faster, fun, and far more rewarding.

This is the foundation of the Core 4 Piano Method.

How the Core 4 Work Together

These four elements are not steps you complete once, nor are they separate skills to master in isolation. They form a continuous learning loop, which is often called a “spiral curriculum.” One is always circling back to previously learned concepts to deepen their knowledge. The Core 4 spiral looks like this:

Listening shapes your taste and expectations.

Understanding gives you orientation and clarity.

Practice teaches your body to execute reliably.

Repertoire brings everything into real musical contexts.

Then the cycle begins again with better ears, deeper understanding, and greater control.

When students struggle, it’s almost always because one or more of these elements is missing or out of balance.

So, how does one learn music?

1. Listening

Listening to great music in styles you love — so your ears learn what “good” actually sounds like.

For the music learner, this is non-negotiable. 

Good inputs create good outputs.

To make meaningful music, we first have to know what meaningful music sounds like. That knowledge doesn’t come from theory books or exercises; it comes from listening.

Imagine being born on a desert island where no music has ever existed. One day, a perfectly playable guitar washes ashore. You don’t know what it is, but you pick it up and strum the strings. The sound is raw, muddy, and unfamiliar, but interesting. You experiment. You make noise. You might even enjoy it.

But without ever having heard music before, that exploration can only go so far.

What would guide your choices?

What would shape your sense of rhythm, melody, or harmony?

What would tell you when something sounds finished, expressive, or beautiful?

Lesson: Listen for what moves you.

Listening gives us that internal compass.

When we spend time listening to great music — especially in styles we love — our ears begin to recognize patterns, sounds, and shapes. We develop an intuitive sense of what works, what feels satisfying, and what feels unresolved. Over time, that listening – somewhat ironically – quietly informs everything we play. 

In short: When we listen to good music, we give ourselves the raw materials to make good music.

2.  Training the Body (Practice)

Practicing in a way that teaches your body to do what your brain wants — so playing feels natural instead of forced.

The body is an intelligent system in its own right.

Great musicians learn to offload the cognitive work of music into the body, so the hands can move automatically while the mind and emotions stay present with the sound. When this happens, playing no longer feels tense or effortful, it feels responsive and alive.

This doesn’t happen by accident.

Musicians become experts not just at playing, but at learning. They understand how the body acquires complex movements, and they practice in ways that align with how motor learning actually works. Thanks to modern research in learning science and neuroscience, we now know that effective practice is less about brute repetition and more about clarity, specificity, and feedback.

Many students work incredibly hard and still feel stuck. They repeat the same passages over and over, hoping that effort alone will solve the problem. Sometimes it helps, but often it reinforces the very mistakes they’re trying to fix.

Efficient practice doesn’t always look impressive from the outside. It’s focused. It’s intentional. And it’s designed to make correct movements automatic.

That’s the goal: automation.

When your body knows what to do — supported by your understanding of harmony and your developed musical ear — you’re no longer fighting the instrument. You’re free to listen, react, and express.

And that’s when the piano starts to feel like an extension of you.

3.  Understanding (Theory)

Learning the common musical structures that appear in almost all music — so you know what you’re hearing and playing.

When you look at the piano, what do you see?

At first glance, it can seem like a collection of unrelated keys. But beneath the surface is a world of harmonic possibility and deep interconnectedness. 

That world isn’t random. It’s been mapped and understood over centuries by musicians and composers studying how notes, intervals, and shapes relate to one another across the keyboard. With time, the piano and its topography can start to feel like home.

Music can feel magical, and a little mysterious. But it doesn’t have to feel confusing.

When you understand the building blocks of music like intervals, chords, scales, rhythm, and form, songs stop feeling like isolated puzzles. You begin to recognize common patterns as familiar tools. In time, you can sit at the piano and play music you’ve heard simply because you understand how music is constructed.

This is what theory is meant to do.

Many students are taught to play notes in the correct order, or copy YouTube tutorials, which is a good starting place. That approach can work in the short term, but it rarely leads to true musical independence. Memorization without understanding doesn’t translate into musical fluency.

Understanding gives you options.

It gives you orientation.

It gives you freedom.

And that’s when your playing becomes expressive, flexible, and most importantly, fun!

Understanding shows us what to do. Practice teaches the body how to do it.

4.  Repetoire (Application)

Applying everything through real songs — so you’re not just learning music, you’re speaking it.

Learning songs is not just an endpoint to learning the piano, they are how musicians learn to speak the language of music.

The real joy of learning music is that we get to learn great songs. Even more than that, we get to share them with others — brightening people’s lives through sound, expression, and connection.

But songs do more than entertain. They teach.

Every song is a living example of the structures we’ve already talked about: harmony, melody, rhythm, and form. When we learn songs thoughtfully, we’re not just memorizing notes — we’re absorbing the musical language that great composers and performers have been developing for generations.

Many students spend years practicing scales, chords, patterns, and technical exercises without fully connecting those ideas to real music. Those tools are important, but without songs or pieces, those tools remain abstract. Learning how music works is not just an intellectual exercise; we must put our bodies through the motions of this beautiful act.

When you learn a song deeply — by listening closely, understanding its structure, and practicing it — you begin to internalize how music actually works. You learn how harmony moves, how melodies unfold, how rhythm creates energy, and how all of it comes together to communicate something real. 

And the best part? There is no shortage of great music to learn from.

From classical composers to jazz, pop, rock, and contemporary artists, every style has something to teach us. Consider some of the greats:

Bach teaches us how awe-striking complexity can be. Miles Davis teaches us how to phrase a melody. The Beatles exemplify how to be oneself through music. Earth, Wind & Fire shows us how to make an audience move. Adele teaches us how to communicate vulnerability through sound. Our source for learning and enjoyment is limitless.

And nothing feels better than playing along with your favorite recordings. In this way, anyone can play with famous musicians and learn from them as well.

Learning repertoire is where everything comes together and what teaches you the language of music.

Bringing It All Together

Learning music isn’t just about accumulating techniques, memorizing songs, or learning the “rules.” It’s about developing a relationship with sound — one that allows you to listen deeply, understand what you hear, train your body to respond, and express yourself.

The Core 4 Piano Method is designed to support that process in a balanced and strategic way. Each element reinforces the others, and none of them stands alone. Together, they create the conditions for independence: the ability to sit at the piano, make musical decisions, and communicate something meaningful without relying on constant instruction.

This is what musicianship looks like when it’s built thoughtfully.

Not rushed.

Not fragmented.

Not accidental.

It’s guided, practiced, and lived through music itself.

And most importantly, it's fun.