Many piano websites feature a collection of random tutorials, leaving the student with no idea whether a particular piece or exercise is too easy or difficult. The exercises and pieces on the PPA website are carefully graded, and cover the most important topics in the order in which they should be presented.

Many online tutorials are taught by instructors who, frankly, have little business teaching the piano. Jason Paul Peterson holds a doctoral degree in piano from the Peabody Conservatory. He’s a Fulbright Scholar, and has performed concerts all over the world, both in classical and pop settings. His many years of teaching experience means you can trust the quality of the instruction. 

In addition, our videos feature several pedagogical tools not found with other programs. Many websites and apps feature scrolling music. No professional plays from music that scrolls; it’s ineffective and doesn’t train the eyes properly. Instead, our music is fixed, with a moving playhead so you always know exactly where you are. Rather than two separate keyboards–one for the fingers and one for the notes–PPA tutorials feature one single light-up keyboard, which means less jumping around with your eyes. The custom video player allows the playback speed to be adjusted, and you can also loop any section of the video.

PPA is also one of the only programs that also shows the sustain pedal where required. Proper use of this pedal is one of the most important elements of good piano playing.

PPA places great importance on the quality of the pieces themselves. Classical works are presented in their original form whenever possible, as the composer intended them. Many of the other pieces have been arranged specially by Jason Paul Peterson to ensure both the proper level of difficulty as well as great-sounding piano writing. 

PPA also offers live seminars, and students the possibility to ask questions and learn about numerous piano-related topics in an interactive environment.

The goal of the Peterson Piano Academy is to help you continue to develop and grow as a pianist and musician; it’s not about getting to the end of the course as quickly as possible. If you’re just starting out, the structured materials should keep you occupied for at least a few years. We’re constantly adding new material as well.

The program is divided into smaller courses, so that you can clearly track your progress and set clear goals.

Each level is divided into three parts:

• Technique. These exercises help build facility, coordination, speed and strength at the piano keyboard.
• Theory. These exercises help you understand the language of music: note names, chords, scales and more. 
• Repertoire. These tutorials feature pieces appropriate to your current skill level. Unlike the technique and theory sections, there’s no need to play all of the pieces before moving on, but the more you try, the better you’ll become.

No; you’re free to jump around and skip ahead as often as you like. Just be aware that the more advanced tutorials may be confusing if you haven’t completed the prior ones.

We recommend either an acoustic piano or a touch-sensitive keyboard or digital piano with weighted keys and a sustain pedal. The best digital instruments are made by Yamaha, Kawai and Roland; avoid Casio.

The videos and webinars can be accessed from almost any device or operating system with web access. For an optimal learning experience, we recommend using a laptop or tablet, as the larger screen size will make reading the notes and seeing the keys much easier.

Peterson Piano Academy is set up to allow students to progress independently and at their own pace. You should be able to complete the tutorials without the need for a private instructor.

A good private instructor will help you progress even faster, but at a significantly higher cost, of course. For students working with a private teacher, PPA is still an excellent supplemental resource. Why spend precious minutes of a private lesson learning the fingering for the D-flat scale or the notes of the Moonlight Sonata when you can learn it effectively from PPA at a much lower cost? 

Piano can be written in two slightly different ways. Most piano music is written in treble and bass clef, with all the notes written out. But many pop and jazz songs are written in so-called “Lead Sheet” notation, in which only the melody is written, along with chord symbols. This method allows for more freedom and improvisation.

No matter what sort of music you’d like to play, it’s good to be familiar with both systems. That’s why the Peterson Piano Academy teaches both methods. Once you go through our course, you’ll have the skills to play just about any piece of sheet music you might encounter elsewhere.

The piano repertoire is vast, and there’s no way we could possibly offer tutorials on all the pieces out there. That being said, the goal of the program is to give you the skills necessary to learn new pieces on your own. If there’s a piece you’d really like to see added to the PPA library, feel free to send us a message at info@petersonpianoacademy.com and we’ll consider adding it.

The Peterson Piano Academy is 100% legal. All necessary rights to the pieces offered for download have been acquired from the appropriate sources.

All classical pieces, as well as all pieces in the public domain, can be downloaded free of charge from our website. Pop songs can be learned from the tutorials as part of the membership, but if you want to download a copy you’ll need to pay a small amount required by the copyright holder (usually $4.99). Unfortunately, it is not legal to offer free downloads of pop pieces. While you can find some free downloads of pop pieces online, these are both illegal and generally very poorly written.

You can cancel your subscription within 7 days for a full refund, no questions asked. To cancel, simply visit the member section, or email us at info@petersonpianoacademy.com and we’ll be happy to cancel your membership.