Click hereAbout this site
Hi—I'm Bruce Siegel, musician, teacher, and the creator of DoctorKeys.
To get a quick feel for how this site works, please check out the table of contents for my first course, Chords at the Piano: Getting Started. From that page, you can click on any of the free lessons or videos. (The rest of the course is just $10.)
It's like an online book, as you can see, but with lots of graphics and videos.
When I tell people about DoctorKeys, they sometimes say, "What? You give piano lessons online?"
Well clearly, these are not piano lessons in the sense of having a teacher by your side. I won't be able to see or respond to what you're doing, and that's no small loss. (Though there may be a way around that problem, to a limited extent.)
So why am I so excited about DoctorKeys, and why do I believe many of you will find it useful?
Well, maybe you're studying with a private teacher and want to explore one specific topic—chord inversions, for example—not covered in your weekly lessons.
Or, maybe you're learning entirely on your own. You're creative, let's say, but can't read music and have little keyboard experience. The complete step-by-step method in Chords at the Piano, with its focus on playing by ear, might be just what you're looking for.
(Beginners: see who is it for? for minimum requirements.)
I'm hoping that you piano teachers, too, will find an ally in DoctorKeys. You can adapt the course—inserting your own songs—for students who are less interested in reading or playing classical pieces. Or, you can assign a single lesson as an introduction to intervals, for example (or chord structure, chord charts, and so on.)
Finally, a thought for those of you who coach singers or songwriters. You may find Chords at the Piano to be an ideal solution for students who need a ground-level introduction to the basics of self-accompaniment (comping).
In the months and years to come, I look forward to sharing more lessons with you. (Many with a focus entirely different from Chords at the Piano.) Here are a few:
- Chords at the Piano (Part 2): Applying what you learned in Part 1 to a wide variety of pop, rock, blues, country, and traditional songs.
- Basic Piano Technique.
- Solo piano (as opposed to accompaniment).
- Classical repertoire at all levels.
- Improvisation.
In the meantime, practice well—and enjoy!
Bruce