Get FULL ACCESS to this course, ALL upcoming courses AND private discord channel access for just $25/mo or, if you prefer, you can make a one-time payment of $199 for just this course on its own.
Thank you for considering the decision to start your journey into the wonderful world of music! You'll learn invaluable skills needed to unlock your potential and start on your way towards being able to play anything you want.
In this course, you'll learn the following introductory skills:
- The notes of the keyboard
- Note and rest lengths
- Rhythm
- Fingerings
- Basic Scales
- Melodic Patterns
- Chords
- Counting
- Reading Music
- SO MUCH MORE
Everything you'll need to know is clearly laid out in easy to understand videos with TONS of graphics, diagrams and animations to make sure you know exactly what it all means every step of the way.
And with the ability to replay lectures plus the addition of downloadable PDFs, you won't be left in the dust or overwhelmed at any point.
If you choose to become an All-Access Member, you'll get a secret code to access the private channels in the Charles Cornell discord server where you'll be able to connect with fellow students and you'll have access to regular live sessions with Charles!
Curriculum
- Finger Exercise Intro (1:51)
- RH Fingers 1 (0:19)
- RH Fingers 2 (0:23)
- RH Fingers 3 (0:23)
- RH Fingers 4 (0:22)
- RH Fingers 5 (0:25)
- RH Fingers 6 (0:24)
- RH Fingers 7 (0:21)
- RH Fingers 8 (0:23)
- RH Fingers 9 (0:22)
- RH Fingers 10 (0:22)
- RH Fingers 11 (0:21)
- RH Fingers 12 (0:23)
- RH Fingers 13 (0:22)
- RH Fingers 14 (0:22)
- RH Fingers 15 (0:23)
- LH Finger Intro (1:15)
- LH Fingers 1 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 2 (0:24)
- LH Fingers 3 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 4 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 5 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 6 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 7 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 8 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 9 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 10 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 11 (0:25)
- LH Fingers 12 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 13 (0:22)
- LH Fingers 14 (0:23)
- LH Fingers 15 (0:22)
- Rhythm Exercises Intro (1:34)
- Quarter Notes 1 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 2 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 3 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 4 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 5 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 6 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 7 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 8 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 9 (0:49)
- Quarter Notes 10 (0:49)
- 8th Note Exercise Intro (0:29)
- 8th Note 1 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 2 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 3 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 4 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 5 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 6 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 7 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 8 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 9 (1:02)
- 8th Notes 10 (1:03)
- 16th Note Exercise Intro (0:30)
- 16th Notes 1 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 2 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 3 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 4 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 5 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 6 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 7 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 8 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 9 (1:06)
- 16th Notes 10 (1:06)
- RH C Position Exercise Intro (1:29)
- RH C Position 1 (0:35)
- RH C Position 2 (0:36)
- RH C Position 3 (0:32)
- RH C Position 4 (0:34)
- RH C Position 5 (0:37)
- RH C Position 6 (0:36)
- RH C Position 7 (0:34)
- RH C Position 8 (0:34)
- RH C Position 9 (0:37)
- RH C Position 10 (0:38)
- LH C Position Exercise Intro (0:20)
- LH C Position 1 (0:31)
- LH C Position 2 (0:33)
- LH C Position 3 (0:35)
- LH C Position 4 (0:34)
- LH C Position 5 (0:35)
- LH C Position 6 (0:33)
- LH C Position 7 (0:34)
- LH C Position 8 (0:35)
- LH C Position 9 (0:36)
- LH C Position 10 (0:36)
- Whole Steps and Half Steps (5:10)
- The Major Scale Formula (4:36)
- The Number System (7:26)
- Fingerings (5:27)
- C Major Scale (0:14)
- G Major Scale (0:12)
- D Major Scale (0:11)
- A Major Scale (0:12)
- E Major Scale (0:13)
- B Major Scale (0:12)
- F Major Scale (0:12)
- Bb Major Scale (0:12)
- Eb Major Scale (0:12)
- Ab Major Scale (0:11)
- Db Major Scale (0:12)
- Gb Major Scale (0:11)
- Scale Shapes and Fitting the Hand - Harder Scales Might Be Easier (5:29)
- 2 Hand Exercise Intro (0:43)
- Two Hand Single Note 1 (0:31)
- Two Hand Single Note 2 (0:35)
- Two Hand Single Note 3 (0:37)
- Two Hand Single Note 4 (0:39)
- Two Hand Single Note 5 (0:36)
- Two Hand Single Note 6 (0:36)
- Two Hand Single Note 7 (0:42)
- Two Hand Single Note 8 (0:38)
- Two Hand Single Note 9 (0:36)
- Two Hand Single Note 10 (0:36)
- Accidental Exercises Intro (1:07)
- RH Accidentals 1 (0:38)
- RH Accidentals 2 (0:31)
- RH Accidentals 3 (0:33)
- RH Accidentals 4 (0:34)
- RH Accidentals 5 (0:32)
- RH Accidentals 6 (0:35)
- RH Accidentals 7 (0:36)
- RH Accidentals 8 (0:36)
- RH Accidentals 9 (0:36)
- RH Accidentals 10 (0:37)
- LH Accidental Exercise Intro (0:17)
- LH Accidentals 1 (0:35)
- LH Accidentals 2 (0:36)
- LH Accidentals 3 (0:35)
- LH Accidentals 4 (0:37)
- LH Accidentals 5 (0:36)
- LH Accidentals 6 (0:37)
- LH Accidentals 7 (0:34)
- LH Accidentals 8 (0:36)
- LH Accidentals 9 (0:35)
- LH Accidentals 10 (0:35)
- 2-Handed Accidental Exercise Intro (0:29)
- 2H Accidentals 1 (0:35)
- 2H Accidentals 2 (0:36)
- 2H Accidentals 3 (0:40)
- 2H Accidentals 4 (0:39)
- 2H Accidentals 5 (0:39)
- 2H Accidentals 6 (0:39)
- 2H Accidentals 7 (0:38)
- 2H Accidentals 8 (0:39)
- 2H Accidentals 9 (0:40)
- 2H Accidentals 10 (0:42)
- Basic Songs Intro (0:56)
- Basic Songs 1 (0:40)
- Basic Songs 2 (0:40)
- Basic Songs 3 (0:40)
- Basic Songs 4 (0:43)
- Basic Songs 5 (0:41)
- Basic Songs 6 (0:41)
- Basic Songs 7 (0:41)
- Basic Songs 8 (0:44)
- Basic Songs 9 (0:43)
- Basic Songs 10 (0:43)
- Basic Songs 11 (0:35)
- Basic Songs 12 (0:42)
- Basic Songs 13 (0:42)
- Basic Songs 14 (0:41)
- Basic Songs 15 (0:39)
- Basic Songs 16 (0:49)
- Basic Songs 17 (0:48)
- Basic Songs 18 (0:47)
- Basic Songs 19 (0:48)
- Basic Songs 20 (0:50)
Over 140 Exercises!
Each module contains many exercises to practice with. Every exercise has its own demonstration video and downloadable PDF so that you can follow along at your own pace.
Downloadable PDFs
With in-depth supplemental information, the downloadable documents will help you work through the exercises at a comfortable pace and better understand the material.
Detailed Instruction
Every piece of musical knowledge you'll need to get started playing the piano is packed into easy-to-follow, highly detailed videos that are designed to help you learn without feeling overwhelmed.
Meet Charles
Before building a YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers, Charles made a living as a jazz pianist playing gigs and teaching students. With both formal jazz and classical education, he has helped thousands of aspiring musicians take the next steps in their musical journeys. With such an extensive background and knowledge base in applied theory and improvisation, Charles has been able to help students of all levels improve their skills. From complete beginners looking to start learning the piano, to advanced professionals looking to improve their theory knowledge and improvisational vocabulary on their instrument.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the All-Access Membership get me?
- Becoming a Cornell Music Academy All-Access Member means that you'll have access to everything on the site, period. All courses that are currently up? Yup. Courses that get released in the future? You get those, too. Updated resources and course lessons? Even those. Everything that is currently available as well as everything that comes out in the future is accessible to you as long as you're a member. ALSO, you'll receive a secret code to access the private members-only channels in the Charles Cornell Discord server. That's where you'll get access to live sessions with Charles and you'll be able to connect with fellow course members.
How is this different from other piano courses?
- One of the ways Charles has been able to build a YouTube channel with over 1M subscribers is by having a unique ability to explain complicated concepts in an extremely clear and easy-to-understand manner. While other courses simply feature an instructor talking to the camera, this course is packed full of detailed graphic animations and supplemental resources to make sure you'll be up to speed at every step of the way.
How much practice will I need to put in?
- There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how much practice is enough. The best amount of time to practice is any amount of time when you're actually doing it. For some people, that might be 10 minutes per day. For others, it might be 2 hours. With this course, you can go as fast or as slow as you like, and you can replay any of the videos in the course as many times as you like. You get to set your own pace and take as long as you need to work through it.
What kind of piano do I need?
- One that works! An acoustic piano will work great and so will a digital keyboard. It doesn't matter how expensive it is, how many keys it has, or how many features it has. If it has some keys and makes a sound, you can probably use it! Now of course, a better quality instrument can help make some things easier. But especially at the beginning, the important thing is that you get playing at all. You can worry about the fine details later.
“Charles isn’t just a gifted musician; he’s an uncommonly talented teacher as well. As a self-taught musician who never learned to read music or understand theory, I spent over a decade with huge gaps in my musical knowledge that prevented me from playing what I wanted to play. When Charles sat down with me, he was able to explain in 30 minutes what I’d struggled and failed to grasp pouring through music theory books, videos, and discussion threads on my own. If you want to learn piano quickly, he’s your guy.”
-Thomas Frank (YouTube)