Cornell Music Academy Avis 

Bought during Black Friday so got a good discount, otherwise this might have been 2/5. Though after enjoying his YouTube channel, I'm quite disappointed at the limited scope of the lessons and the dry, textbook like delivery. The teaching is clear, although short, but the exercises don't really culminate into anything interesting. I found myself losing interest before finishing each section, not inspired to continue. Lacking in context and application ultimately. I think Charles is a good teacher, but perhaps this wasn't a passion project like his YouTube channel.

I’ve tinkered on the piano for a long time but I wouldn’t say I actually play. I’m finally trying to change that, so that’s how I ended up at Cornell Academy. I’ve gone through the intro to music theory course and am finishing up the piano jumpstart, and I really enjoy Charles’ teaching style. He’s very engaging and explains things in a way that is clear and easy to understand. In the piano jumpstart course in particular I got a little bit of a Bob-Ross-for-Piano vibe (I mean that in the best possible way since I love Bob Ross and used to paint with his lessons years ago). I found the course almost relaxing in a way. I’d be there just playing with chords and listening to the sounds, and really just having fun at the piano. I’m much more interested in learning jazz piano than classical, so the content I’ve seen so far is kinda perfect for me.

Aside from the courses and actual content, the support is really phenomenal too. I had a minor technical issue and reached out to them through the website and they could not have been more helpful (thanks Matt!). They’d get 10 stars from me if I could give it. I’m really happy I found the academy and definitely recommend it for anyone getting into piano.

I’m not sure if this is the right place for this, but one thing I’d love to see is a follow on course to piano jumpstart where Charles takes maybe a couple to a handful of songs from the (awesome) song list they provide that has all of the chord progressions, and show how someone might go from the chord progression to an actual song that sounds interesting. There are tons of songs with the same chord progression C-G-Am-F, but they also sound very different. It would be awesome to see Charles go through a couple songs and show how he would expect a student to take the chord progression and turn it into the song. I love going to dueling piano bars and I think it would be awesome and so much fun to be able to play and sing some popular songs the way those players do.

Anyway, overall I just really enjoy the academy. As I wrap up the piano jumpstart I’m starting on the intro to piano course and I’ll probably check out the harmony 101 course as well. I’ve been “addicted” to learning chess for the past few years, and I think music might be taking over haha. There’s just too much good stuff to learn!

Thank you for your technical support in solving my issue, allowing access to my new course. I look forward to working through the intro to piano course!

Take care,
Karen

Customer support is 10/10, the explanations are great and easy to follow, and all around is a very good experience.

Great group of individuals, they've taken care of all my needs with professionalism and speed.

I recently owned a bundle and had some problems with payment (my fault) the support truly helped me. The courses are amazing, Charles is also a great teacher and musician.

Charles, the teacher, is very good at explaining difficult concepts in a easy way. Everything feel so smooth and logic and also funny if I have to be sincere.
The courses are well structured and the videos and the material are progressively hard so you always have the feel you are progressing but having everything in reach.
Best way to learn how to play the piano in my personal opinion. If you like his video you will love the course.

I recently purchased the three intro course bundle and a couple weeks later the company put out a Black Friday offer for all six courses for the same price I had recently paid for three. I contacted support and they granted me access to all six courses at no extra cost without hesitation. Appreciate the quality customer service!

As far as the actual courses go, I’ve been enjoying them very much and find the material engaging and accessible as a beginner. Highly recommended!

What I like about Cornell Music Acadamy is, that you can (re)learn how to play the piano following your own schedule.
I'm not a complete beginner (I've learned how to play the piano when I was younger, but didn't play in a while), so I thought about giving it a try. I was not disappointed. I skipped the very first lessons to get the instructions, that I need it in my personal progress. If a lesson is to difficult for me, i can watch it over and over again till I know how it's done and how things work out for me. Also great that one can use the course for a lifetime.
Lessons are self-explanatory and with the help and the instructions of the teacher understandable and comprehensible for everyone.
First I decided to only give 4 stars because I really would like to have some sort of instruction in how learning and practicing classical music could be done. But hey - Charles Cornell is a jazz pianist, so I really can't expect that. So 5 Stars is appropriate in any case.
Check out his YouTube-Channel, sometimes there are promo-codes to get the lessons in a bundle!
Best wishes and thank you for your engagement, Andreas (from Austria)

I have been learning playing piano from youtube for a while now, but at some point the information just didn't go far enough. Because of this I subscribed to the CMA and was not disappointed! I have started the Intro to Improvisation course and the course feels well organised and the practices engaging. The quality of teaching feels just right for getting forward from youtube videos.

On the other hand the customer service is on another level! I wanted to change a course, because it wasn't what I was looking for, and there was no hassle at all.

Enjoying Harmony 101 so far. Great presentations and lectures. Makes it very clear.

The course is very well designed! I do feel, however, like the exercises are a bit repetitive, making the course a little short. A great experience overall!

It’s been great so far. Charles explain everything really easily so that everyone can understand!

Charles is a fantastic instructor and has an amazing grasp of music. The course really helps you to see music in a new way, and I've taken the ideas with me over to guitar too.
Only reason for 4 / 5 is that I am not sure if the academy offers live group lessons anymore, which was definitely the best feature.

As quickly he does explain his lessons he does it in the most effective way possible, onto of that I highly recommend practice everyday. Then you will get into the piano without a physical piano teacher!

Concise and very gentle guide into piano, even my ADHD brain can keep up with the lessons

is gud
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I was looking for a virtual alternative to in-person lessons after not being satisfied with my last piano teacher's teaching style. It's only been a few weeks since I got the Intro to Piano course and Intro to Improv, but so far this is a great alternative and very helpful for me as a beginner/intermediate player. There are plenty of hand/chord exercises, probably enough for me to work on for the next few months at least. I like that the exercises actually sound nice to the ear and are more fun to play than the usual boring kid stuff you always see in instructional books. Hopefully there will be new courses this year so I can keep progressing after I've worked my way through these ones.