LONDON CONTEMPORARY SCHOOL OF PIANO

Young, old, experienced, beginner… no pianist is the same. For many people reading this publication, their musical journey will probably have followed the same, relatively prescriptive path. Assuming it has been productive and enjoyable, that’s terrific. However, it is not the only path available. Increasing numbers of adult students are looking for a more creative, practical approach to the piano.

 

 

Tom Donald

 

In his welcome to students, Tom Donald, founder of the London Contemporary School of Piano (LCSP) and a practising pianist, composer and arranger, describes what his school offers: ‘You have just joined a community of people who take music seriously but who never take the joy out of it. People who want to play with more freedom, better timing, richer harmony and a deeper sense of musical direction.’

LCSP offers courses on musicianship, jazz, harmony, improvisation and groove. Thanks to the school’s emphasis on demonstration, participation and community, their courses are fun, expertly paced and engaging. One that is especially popular is The Complete Musician Piano Essentials, regarded by many as their flagship program.

 

 

‘This course addresses the needs of the 21st-century adult piano student who wants to play a little bit of everything’

Tom Donald, founder, London Contemporary School of Piano

Aimed at those looking to acquire more contemporary piano skills, it comprises eight modules spanning what the school calls the four pillars: chords, rhythm and groove, improvisation and arranging and integration, the pillar that brings everything together. Musical styles covered include popular, blues, jazz, classical and soundtrack-style playing.

‘This course addresses the needs of the 21st-century adult piano student who wants to play a little bit of everything,’ says Tom. ‘It attracts beginners, intermediate players and more advanced classical pianists who want to develop improvisation, lead sheet skills and practical harmony.’

For the first two months, the course offers students unlimited online support, with teachers on hand to answer questions. Students can also share recordings, fragments, exercises, improvisations and updates through the school app and student portal. After that, membership gives lifelong access to all the materials and students remain inside the community, where they can continue to interact with fellow learners over the long term.

That sense of community has become one of the school’s most important assets. Students learn not only from the teachers, but from watching each other work through similar musical problems. This creates a direct feedback loop among curious adult learners.

Another attractive element is that the course is offered for a one-off fee rather than as a subscription. Students retain lifelong access to the course materials, videos and student portal, as well as ongoing connection to the wider learning community.

Let’s take a deeper look at those four pillars.
 

 

UNDERSTANDING CHORDS

Offered in two parts over 19 lessons, this pillar underpins the course, ensuring students develop a solid grasp of chords in all 12 keys. Rather than treating harmony as a theoretical add-on, the course introduces chords early and practically. ‘Teaching all 12 chords from the start cements them in the student’s muscle memory sooner and establishes a solid foundation from which they can play different styles of music,’ says Tom.

Chords are often represented through lead sheets rather than full notation. This is not so much a rejection of tradition as a drawing together of several traditions. Lead sheets belong naturally to jazz and popular music, and they also have an interesting connection with the older Baroque figured bass tradition, where harmony and structure guide the performer’s musical understanding. This gives us a closer glimpse into the composer's world, making these skills important, across all genres.

For LCSP, the aim is to give students a theoretical foundation that can later enhance their reading, rather than hinder it. Many students find that when they arrive at the classical modules, their sight-reading improves because they understand the harmonic movement underneath the notes. Instead of reading note by note, they begin to recognise structures, patterns and chord progressions inside the music.

Mastering the basic foundations of music is what the course teaches students. It’s why they don’t learn songs, as Tom says, ‘for the sake of it’, and why ancillary topics are simplified so as to avoid slowing down the learning process. ‘For us, it’s about quickly getting to the core, understanding what’s going on in the music but in a very practical way.’

Topics include ‘Golden nugget: The 7 chords and chord stacking’, ‘Progression walkthroughs: Circle of 5ths and chord decorations’ and ‘Piano Essentials: The Holy Trinity of 7th chords’.

RHYTHM AND GROOVE

This second pillar is about bringing chords to life in different musical styles. A ‘groove dictionary’ explains the chord progressions common to each style, and students can choose which groove suits them. Examples include John Lennon’s Imagine with rocking broken chords, an Alberti-style bass presented in a Mozart and Haydn style, Latin and salsa grooves, and Elton John-style patterns.

Topics include ‘Groove warm-ups’, supported by a video featuring Tom, who is an excellent teacher and demonstrator, and ‘Chord and melody integration’, again supported by video.
 

 

IMPROVISATION

Naturally, given its exploratory approach, the course features a lot of improvisation. In this pillar, it becomes the primary focus, with exercises encouraging the student to become freer and develop different ways of generating their own ideas, perhaps in jazz and blues. Classical-sounding backing tracks help students enter what Tom calls a ‘flow state’, improvising freely, making ‘mistakes’ but learning to keep going.

Lessons include ‘Musical freedom resources: Improvise your own film soundtrack’, ‘Solo improvisation essentials: Dynamic improvisation patterns’, and ‘Improvisation on modes and chord decoration’.
 

 

ARRANGING AND INTEGRATION

This fourth pillar of 21 lessons brings everything together. ‘Chords, chord progressions and even improvisation exercises can be taught quite quickly, but this last pillar requires more time and mastery,’ says Tom. Students can choose from classical, pop and blues modules and established pieces of music. The classical module includes Bach’s C major Prelude and Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata. Rather than pieces to be played for their own sake, they are broken down to demonstrate how chords, melody and structure work together.

The methodology behind the course comes from LCSP’s research and development with adult students over the last 20 years. Many ideas have grown directly out of one-to-one teaching in London, where they have worked repeatedly across a wide range of students and musical goals.

Again, the course takes students deep into the building blocks. ‘Make a hit song: Historical patterns and most popular chord progressions’ and ‘Adding the full melody to chords in the right hand’ are just two of the topics explored. ‘We don’t want to oversimplify it,’ says Tom, ‘but we also don’t want to create a Mount Everest. It’s the final piece of the jigsaw.’

 

Alan's story...

 

 

Two years ago, Alan McCormick (pictured), 68, discovered LCSP’s Complete Musician Piano Essentials and hasn’t looked back. ‘It was recommended to me as a beginner,’ he says. ‘I loved it. After the other courses I’d tried, it was a breath of fresh air. Traditional classical study wasn’t for me but I couldn’t and still can’t get enough of LCSP’s approach. I have a better understanding of chords and play from lead sheets. I can play any chord progression you give me and love improvising over inversions.’

Alan says the course has liberated him. ‘Before, I couldn’t play in front of anyone, but now I play at St Pancras station while waiting for my train, and just recently I gave my first proper performance in front of 40 people. Playing the piano is now a central part of my retirement plan.’

 

 

 

Further information about The Complete Musician Piano Essentials course