How to Absolutely Have “No-Faking Piano Lessons” in 2026
How to have “no-faking piano lessons” – sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? The topic of this blog is about not faking – anything. The writing of it was inspired by an article I read last year. You’re going to think I’m making this up – but, unfortunately, it’s for real.
I really don’t like to rain on anyone’s parade, but stupid is stupid. There’s an artist in a European country who recently sold an artwork which consists of absolutely nothing. The price he had set was at four figures, but because of bidding wars during the auction, it actually sold for five figures! I’m being vague on purpose; a person can Google practically anything today and get the entire account. But a fact is a fact. According to this published article, the artwork is nothing but thin air. Yes, really. But there is some good news: Because it is nothing, there are no special lighting or climate requirements – or insurance, too, I suppose!
Since this writing is of my own opinion, I’ll go on to say that the arts are most likely the heaviest under assault of this “nothingness” value; the value of the worthless. Of course, the argument may go that what is valuable for me may be different for someone else. Fair enough; but nothing is nothing, no matter how you look at it.
We live in a world and time of extraordinary things: beautiful and sublime creations of man that uplift; health-promoting and marvelous inventions which were inconceivable to generations past. In my view, to celebrate “nothing” with celebrity and a high price-tag throws a tomato at creations of true genius and makes a mockery of those who actually create. A very rotten tomato. It reflects a low level of value held by those who are myopic in what they esteem to be worthy of attention and support. By contrast, there are very worthy non-profits which truly assist many people, even in the sustaining of life, which deserve our supporting efforts and resources.
That’s what this piece is about: un-faked genuineness – “keeping it real” – even “no faking piano lessons”. How could a piano lesson be faked? They can be faked by the student and faked by the method taught, as well.
How Would a Student Fake Learning during a Piano Lesson?
So many students shortchange themselves by not learning to actually read music. Instead, they learn to compensate for note reading by using the position of notes in relation to one another. Some students are great “tape recorders” – meaning if they can get the teacher to play first, then it is really easy for them to copy and repeat. Some students rely heavily on finger numbers and hand positioning in order to play, but without true note-reading ability. This can work well in a few beginner songs, but it can be quite a handicap very quickly and lead to frustration because the student really cannot read written music.
How Would a Piano Instruction Method Support a Fake Piano Lesson?
First off, students start by being shown a hand position. Traditionally, students start in “Middle C Position” which means that both thumbs are on middle C. Each finger is given a number, which is written above each written note. Students immediately learn this association and skip the learning of letter names. Why bother learning something else when this can be correctly played with finger numbers? Note reading is not stressed.
What Would “No Faking Piano Lessons” Look Like?
With the Piano Revolution books, students start on Center F in just the right hand. Center F is the bottom space on the treble clef. There are no hand positions, but the student orients on this F key because it’s under the piano brand name and easy to locate using the closest group of three black keys.
Students start playing Center F and then just the space notes in the treble clef. They must name each note as its key is played. This saves the name-key relationship into long-term memory and makes a huge difference in actual note-reading. It’s also a reason this is an easy way to learn piano because this thinking process is introduced right at the start. The approach prevents students from developing the crutch of playing by finger numbers or only by how notes move on the staff (repeat, step, or skip). Right from the start, students must say the letter of each note and its key played . . . and truly has “no faking piano lessons!”
Students then learn the line notes in relation to the space notes, but they continue to play with just the right hand. Line notes and keys are neighbors to the space notes and keys. Learning the four spaces first makes learning the five lines much easier. A line note or key is the neighbor note or key next to the space’s key.
Using just the four space notes and their keys to name and locate the line notes and keys creates learning relationships. For example: “I already know the “A” space and key, so “B” follows as the neighbor line and key.”
You can find details on this staff-key relationship in this blog and this.
After thoroughly learning the notes in the treble clef, students progress to learning the bass clef (in the same manner as in the treble clef) with the left hand, but they also continue to review the right hand. Toward the end of Lesson Book 1, both hands are played together, which is so much easier and logical at this point since the two separate languages of treble and bass have already been learned!
Note values, rests, and timing are introduced in Level Two. Students also increase sight-reading skills and playing skills through more advanced performance opportunities of progressive difficulty. Student build confidence by methodically increasing one skill at a time.
Piano Revolution is an easy way to learn piano because students . . .
- Orient on the staff using treble space F to identify spaces first (later use spaces to identify lines)
- Orient on the piano using the treble space F key by locating the center three black key group
- Use the space notes/keys to find the line notes/keys
- Spend more time actually learning notes
- Must name the note as its key is played
- Learn the right and left hand clefs separately, THEN play together
- Build confidence by methodically increasing one skill at a time
- Learn early to play by touch
This method includes theory lessons in correlation with each piano lesson, and that’s one reason it’s an easy way to learn piano. The order in which the theory is introduced provides a strong foundation for note reading and further piano skills. Piano Revolution takes the guesswork out of teaching piano and learning piano – even for those who have never touched a musical instrument. It provides the step-by-step guidance needed to help aspiring musicians develop skills in note reading, rhythm, sight reading, technique and music theory. It truly makes for “no faking piano lessons”!
This content will be of most interest to:
Parents wondering the best age to start piano lessons for a child
Parents who homeschool
Professional piano instructors
Individuals desiring piano books for beginners
Educators of Instructional Design for piano
Adults desiring a self-teaching piano book
The Backstory:
Why I Created Piano Revolution
Teaching Beginners to Read Music
Personal Reflection by Leslie M. Young, author of Piano Revolution
Leveled Piano Instruction Books in Four Series
Why It Matters
The writing and proving of the Piano Revolution books has been a decades-long journey for me. The longer I used the method as a teacher, the more frequently I saw the lasting benefits for students of various ages. This approach truly teaches learners—proven with ages 5 to 65—how to actually read and play written music from the very first lesson. It’s not just about pressing keys. It’s about unlocking literacy in music and having true independence at the piano.
Story about Actual Student #1
My new neighbor approached me about teaching her ten-year-old daughter piano. She had had two years of lessons previously, so I expected her to know quite a bit. I was so surprised to see she couldn’t read a single written note. So we started from scratch with my beginner lesson book 1. She said aloud each letter name as she played its key and used the spaces as starting points to find the line notes – using the Piano Revolution thinking method.
After three months, she was reading on a one-year level. This reaffirmed to me that its the method that makes the most difference in learning to accurately read and play music; not the teacher; not the age; not the piano; not past experience. This student continued and excelled beautifully.
Result: Method matters more than age or past experience.
Story about Actual Student #2
I met this lovely 65-year-old grandmother in 2017. She was quite active in many areas, but wanted to learn to play piano. I told this from-scratch beginner that if she practiced ten minutes a day using my first lesson book, saying each letter name as she played its key, she would progress quickly. She astonished me. After just four months, she played the original version (both hands) of Clementi’s Sonatina! Not quite up to speed, but accurately! She (and I) were quite happy with her accomplishments!
Result: The Piano Revolution method works for any motivated learner.
Story about the Frustrated Teacher
A very experienced piano teacher I know was having difficulty with a teen student who just was not making any progress. This student had come to her with a background of having had lessons for a few years, but he never made the connection between reading notes and locating their corresponding keys.
I could see this teacher’s frustration and heard her say perhaps the problem was with herself. I emphatically reassured her that was not the case. The issue was with the method book currently used and those previously used. They really were the same in their approach of orienting on middle C and using hand positions and finger numbers – just rote memorization.
I encouraged her to take a new approach. Start from scratch with my beginner book for older teens and adults. Just stop “cold turkey” with the hand positions and finger numbers and replace that with learning one hand/clef at a time and say each letter as its key is played. That is actual learning that cannot be faked by a student with a “good ear”.
Remind the student frequently that letters will not have to be said forever – just until solid long-term learning has occurred. That’s usually after lessons covering two books in the series. This teacher was certainly happier after our conversation, and I understand now that the teen has mastered notation-reading!
NOTE: The Piano Revolution method should be easy to use in homeschool lessons by parents with no music experience, as well as for self-teaching older students.
The Power of Instructional Design
In 1982 I found a course at the University of North Texas to be most enlightening! It was about how Instructional Design principles can be used to teach anyone anything in a way that should practically guarantee successful learning. That one experience reshaped how I thought about teaching. It showed me that learning doesn’t have to be rote copying tied to hand positions and finger numbers—it can be logical, clear, and empowering. That’s exactly how Piano Revolution is structured – now.
I realized in the 1980s that just marking out most of the printed finger numbers in songs would not solve the root problem. Those songs were purposefully written in “hand positions” so that only certain notes would be read and certain piano keys played. A student has 10 fingers. A piano has 88 keys. Instant problem.
To alleviate this problem in the beginner’s first book, I searched for recognizable songs in the public domain that would fit my new “thinking process” strategy. This also meant new songs would have to be written to provide enough sequential progress for the student. There were years spent writing and rewriting.
Then something fantastic was created . . . the Internet! . . . and with it the capability for self-publishing books! New notation software – print on demand – no inventory – the book in your hand three days from ordering – amazing! This new “thinking process” method could be in the hands of teachers, students, and parents – all over the world.
The Thinking Process: Step-by-Step
- Learn each staff separately to understand treble and bass clefs clearly.
2. Identify spaces first, then use them to name and find line notes.
3. Practice short, daily sessions (5-8 minutes).
4. Self-correct mistakes using the visual logic of the staff.
This process turns students into independent learners who can “figure it out” on their own—one of the most rewarding things a teacher can hear!The beginner learns each hand’s staff separately. This makes sense because each staff represents different portions of the piano keyboard—so that the lines and spaces of each staff have different letter names. After the spaces are gradually learned (and the location of their piano keys), the spaces are used to name and locate the line letter names and key locations, in a gradual and logical sequence.
This “thinking process” that the student acquires within a short time of repeated practice is exciting for a teacher to see in action and self-motivating for the students because they can self-correct any errors. I’ve had a student say, “I can figure this out myself, so why do I need a teacher?” That was very satisfying for me to hear!
The Method that Empowers Students to Teach Themselves
The evolution of structured teaching to read written music and perform it has spanned about 150 years. The Bertini Pianoforte Method of the 1880s was more like an encyclopedia of everything piano rather than a graduated method for beginners to learn to read and play – but it was a start. In the years after Bertini’s book appeared, other method books were published, including Beginners’ Book of the Oxford Piano Course in 1928 and John Thompson’s Modern Course for the Piano in 1942.
There are certainly more that followed, but current modern piano method books seem to be organized in the same general way as that of the 1880s: Systematically gathering beginner concepts together, leading to more difficult, and then the even more difficult – this IS the methodology.
Piano Revolution gives students independence. It teaches them not just to play by rote-copying, but to understand. Not just to perform, but to logically think.
Here’s a fun and short
cartoon video that shows the Thinking Process used in
Piano Revolution books:
What Would the First Lesson for a Young Student Look Like?
What Would the First Lesson for a 6 to Teen Look Like (video)?
View sample pages of all the books for students
ages 6 to teen:
View sample pages of all the books for students
4 to 5 years old:
View sample pages of all the books for older
teens and adults:
View the books on Amazon:
About the Author, Composer, Illustrator,
Educator, and Eternal Optimist
Leslie Young is the author, composer, and illustrator of the PIANO Revolution method books (originally titled as the Revolutionary Piano Method). She co-founded a K-12th grade charter school in Texas and has been teacher, administrator, and Curriculum Director. As a piano teacher for over 40 years, she has had experience teaching a variety of students tackling piano for the first time or as returning students.
Young believes that “learning to play the piano is more about diligence and perseverance” – but would add that just as critical to success is the method that is used, the pattern of critical thinking, and the instructional principles that promote immediate success.
She states: “In teaching piano to students of varying ages, what also varies is a commitment of time and the amount of dedication. Children of younger ages may do very well with a parent as teacher; others may need someone who is not family to instruct them. Some older children and adults prefer to make progress on their own, and this method is designed to act as a meticulous guide through new material. Some adults and teens insist on professional teachers, which also encourages continuity.
Because these books are self-explanatory, a novice or experienced professional teacher will have no trouble using the PIANO Revolution method with students. It’s an easy and effective way to learn piano.”
