Case Study: How to Learn Piano 16x Faster with an AI Teacher
How long does it really take to master the keyboard? While many assume it requires a lifetime of toil, learning piano fast is actually a science of environment and strategic learning. There are two main aspects to accelerating your progress:
- Choosing the optimal piano learning environment (teacher, app, YouTube videos, etc.) and
- Optimizing your personal approach to practicing and learning piano (HOW you practice).
I'll discuss both below…
1) The Optimal Piano Learning Environment
Learning piano with Musiah is a fun way to learn piano really fast – up to 16 times faster than traditional piano lessons. Below you'll discover why Musiah is the quickest and easiest way to learn piano properly, gaining real piano playing skills and music theory knowledge.
The Problem With Learning Piano The Traditional Way
When students learn the Musiah piano syllabus with a live piano teacher, it normally takes 6 years to complete. The biggest limitation with live piano lessons is that traditional piano teachers can only be with their students once a week — during lessons.
The rest of the time students are left to their own devices without any support from one week to the next, often without knowing if they are practicing their songs correctly. This results in a lot of wasted time as students often form bad habits that need to be corrected in subsequent lessons when they could otherwise by progressing on to learning new songs.
For students of traditional piano lessons, this "unsupported gap" between lessons is the #1 reason for early burnout. However, this does not apply for students taking Musiah's beginner piano lessons for adults.
The Solution: A True AI Teacher
I decided to create a scenario in which students of all ages are empowered to learn and progress at their optimal rate. And so I began work on creating Musiah, the world's first AI piano teacher. Four years and most of my life savings later, the "Alpha" version was ready to test.
Landmark Evidence: The Musiah Study
In 2011, a 10-week study compared the effectiveness of learning piano with Musiah to learning with a live teacher. The results were startling: beginner students with access to Musiah (whether a traditional teacher was involved or not) progressed on average 5-8 times faster than students without it.
The study concluded that the primary factor in a student's progress was not the presence of a traditional teacher, but rather the presence of Musiah. If a student has access to Musiah (whether or not they are also learning piano from a traditional teacher), they will progress faster than a typical student learning piano with a traditional teacher alone.
How To Learn Piano 16 Times Faster
While the results of the case study were impressive, what we couldn't know for sure at the time was how students learning piano with Musiah would fare over a longer period of time compared to students learning piano with traditional teachers.
Fast forward to August 2013, and meet Michael Ortiz, age 13, from Fullerton CA, United States (pictured above).
In August 2013, Michael became the first person to complete the Musiah piano syllabus online and he did so in just 18 weeks.
That's 6 YEARS OF LEARNING in just 18 weeks!
So, what was different about Michael's approach compared to students in the case study that enabled him to progress even faster? It's no great mystery. The answer is really quite simple. In Michaels' own words:
";I practice 7 days a week at least 30 minutes per day, I don't really keep track of time, I just do it daily, and when I was using Musiah, I would go thru the lesson, and go to the practice area for like 20 minutes. As I advanced I found myself practicing more, sometimes for 2 hours. Also I tend to play at different times so I play like 10 -15 minutes per session at different times."
So in summary, Michael practiced an average of 60-70 mins each day, 7 days a week for 18 weeks. By contrast, the case study participants practiced an average of 15-30 mins, 3-5 days week for 10 weeks.
Is Learning Piano Faster Simply A Question Of More Practice?
Yes and no. Let's look a little deeper into practice habits gain a wider perspective...
In a traditional piano learning scenario, most beginner students practice somewhere around 15-30 mins a day, 3-5 days a week (similar to the case study participants). Then very gradually, over a number of years, their practice levels increase as they become more advanced. By the time a traditional student has been learning piano for 5 years (equivalent to Level 11-12 in Musiah), they'll usually be practicing at 60-90 mins a day, 5-6 days a week (i.e. comparable levels to Michael).
In other words, when Michael was on Level 12, he had only been learning for about 12-15 weeks, yet the amount of practice he was doing was comparable to traditional piano student who has been learning for 5 years. So the difference between Michael and most beginners (including the case study participants) is that Michael allowed his practice levels to naturally increase quite rapidly so they would be appropriate for the level of advancement of the songs he was learning.
Summary Findings
How to learn piano at an average speed: An average student learning piano the traditional way whose practice levels follow the usual trajectory will take 6 years to complete the Musiah syllabus.
How to learn piano 5-8 times faster: As per the case study, a student learning piano online with Musiah whose practice follows a similar trajectory will progress 5-8 times faster, especially in the early stages.
How to learn piano 16 times faster: The key to learning 16 times faster is twofold: A) You need access to Musiah for constant AI support, and B) Aim to allow your practice levels to increase in line with your progress. If you adopt the practice habits normally associated with an ‘advanced' student, you can reach that level in months rather than years.
2) Optimizing Your Personal Approach (HOW You Practice)
My piano teacher, Professor Anthony Glavin, told me something profoundly simple: ";The slower you practice, the quicker you learn".
Think about that for a moment. What a great lesson that is. Now more than ever, in this fast-paced life where everything has to be done as quickly as possible, these wise words have more relevance than ever. These days everyone wants everything done instantly, which leads to lower quality outcomes and lower levels of success in our piano practice.
I myself have always been impatient by nature, and I have always had to make a conscious effort to slow down. As the old joke goes… ";God grant me patience — but I want it NOW!"
One of the great lessons I have learned through the process of creating Musiah — a 4 year process — is that some things just take time. Perhaps Rome was also built with love and care — and in the now, just like Musiah. Not everything is about the finish-line. It's also about the journey, about the step we're taking right now.
Recently, a mother learning through Musiah with her sons mentioned struggling with the lesson "4 x 4" at full tempo for a week. I noticed she had completed the lesson at slow tempo but attempted every audition at full tempo, skipping the medium tempo (which is 25% slower).
My suggestion was simple: "Try the audition a few times at the medium tempo first. Then, go into the practice area and gradually increase from slow to medium, then medium to full tempo."
It seems obvious, but so many of us tend to race ahead. Remember it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, and there are no short-cuts to quality. We must put every foundation stone in place with love and care.
"The slower you practice, the quicker you learn".
This most fundamental approach is the key to success and ultimately to learning piano fast – often many times faster, and enjoying the journey while you learn quickly and easily.
Thanks for reading,
Brendan Hogan L.Mus.A, A.Mus.A.
Piano Teacher & Musiah Inventor
If you would like to learn piano quickly and easily through top quality piano lessons chock full of this wisdom, discover Musiah for yourself.
