Hoffman Academy
Bringing free, quality music lessons to users worldwide. Follow us for more content and tips! Super-fun piano lessons that work.
Start playing songs from your very first lesson! With our groundbreaking method, you’ll learn to read, understand, and create music. It’s a complete education that’s affordable and packed with fun for every age.
09/26/2026
What is a piano étude, and which one fits your student right now? 🎹
✔️ Beginner: Simple pentascale études like Unit 2's "Stepping & Skipping," which build finger independence and posture with no finger extension required.
✔️ Early Intermediate: Burgmüller's "Arabesque," which you can learn with Mr. Hoffman
✔️ Advanced: Chopin, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff
Find the right étude for every stage: https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/what-is-an-etude
Sometimes rhythms that look complicated are not at all. This 6/8 rhythm with eighth rests between barred eighth notes can look complicated, and when you tap it out, it has a nice feel to it.
one two three four five six
CLAP rest clap CLAP rest clap
The piano is a set of the same 12 keys over and over. You'll see patterns of two black keys and three black keys. In between every set of two black keys, is the note D. Even if it's higher or lower on the piano, it's always D. In the middle of a set of three black keys are G and A. Every set = G and A.
Whenever you write a song, you're really working with 12 notes, and decided what to make higher or lower on the piano.
Follow for more simple explanations of the piano :)
09/19/2026
Piano gives kids a uniquely broad foundation. They read treble and bass clef, play different parts with each hand, and learn chords—skills that carry straight over to guitar, singing, and even drumming. Our guide covers where piano fits among musical instruments for kids, along with recorder, ukulele, violin, and more.
🎵 https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/best-musical-instruments-for-kids
The beginning of Fur Elise sounds elegant and almost complex, but when you break it down, it's the oldest, most simple chord progression in the book.
Am - E - Am
i - V - i
Tonic - Dominant - Tonic
09/17/2026
Scales, arpeggios, and chords are the building blocks of music. Mr. Hoffman introduces them one at a time across our video tutorials, and now there's one place to look them all up as your student moves forward. 263 scales, 84 arpeggios, and 144 chords, with fingerings and keyboard diagrams for each.
📖 Find it on Amazon (affiliate link): https://amzn.to/3VbCR2P
You could say things are different today.
Follow for more lessons, tips, and fun facts!
09/15/2026
The muscles that control your fingers live in your palm and forearm, rather than in the fingers themselves. That's why speed comes from control and evenness instead of strength. Our guide to how to improve piano finger speed and dexterity for beginners and experienced players explains what actually builds agility.
✋ https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/how-to-improve-piano-finger-speed-and-dexterity
The entire feel can change based if we fit two sounds into a beat, or three. The difference between eighth notes and a triplet side-by-side so you can hear that difference in feel.
Can you go back and forth between the two rhythms on your own while keeping a steady beat?
View the entire video on our youtube channel!
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515 NW Saltzman Road #816
Portland, OR
97229
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