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Piano in 21 Days Review – Best Way to Learn Piano?

March 1, 2023
Piano in 21 Days review

A lot of people have a wish to learn how to play piano but they are not sure where to begin.

There are many options: hiring a piano teacher, piano learning apps, and online tutorials, each with its own pros and cons.

Piano in 21 Days strives to involve all of these methods by offering a course that will provide you with video lessons made and narrated by a piano instructor.

The Piano in 21 Days course has many purchases on the daily basis and it seems to keep receiving high praise. So what made it so popular?

With short and concise video lessons, Piano in 21 Days will teach you how to play popular songs on the piano in less than a month.

Although that might sound too good to be true, students who finished the course mostly agree on its effectiveness. People of all ages recommend it as a fun and easy way to learn how to play the piano.

But can someone who never touched a piano before learn how to play it in just a few weeks?

The creator of this course would argue yes, and we would say: yes – but depending on what your expectations are. There are some elements of this course that you will probably not like if you want to improve your piano skills or enhance your overall musicality. 

To give you a better idea of what Piano in 21 Days offers, we will present you its creator, explain its features, and try to help you to find out whether this is the right choice of developing piano skills for someone like you.

Want to learn from our favorite online piano lesson platform? Start your journey with Playground Sessions here!

What Is Piano In 21 Days?

Piano in 21 Days is a piano learning course that is different from some other ways of online learning because it’s created and taught by a pianist Jacque Hopkins.

After 12 years of piano school, Jacque Hopkins decided to give a twist to traditional piano classes and turned his knowledge into an online program with a modern and engaging approach to piano lessons. He is now a full-time online piano teacher.

So Piano in 21 Days is not an app but a series of well-structured videos in which a teacher guides you through every lesson and ultimately teaches you how to play piano in a quick and easy way.

How Does Piano In 21 Days Work?

Before starting the course, you can get a free 5-day eBook. You can have the workbook sent to your e-mail address and learn more about Jacques’ perspective on playing the piano and ways to develop piano playing skills in just a few weeks.

The free 5-day workbook will also teach how to play a number of popular songs (only with written instructions though). In a way, it works as a free trial, so you can decide whether you want to buy the complete course.

Piano in 21 Days review.

If you like Jacques’ approach, you can choose between three packages ranging from $97 to $497, depending on your wishes and budget.

You can also get the Piano in 21 Days course in the form of a workbook, so you can choose which way of learning suits you best.

To start the course, you need a piano or a keyboard with at least 49 keys and a sustain pedal. If you don’t have it and thinking about getting one, Jacque has published a buying guide, so you can take a look and get some facts about your options.

Now you can begin with your lessons! Although it’s designed for a 21-day period and it’s recommended that you complete it in 21 consecutive days, you can do it at your own pace.  Once you sign up for a full program, you gain lifetime access.

Piano In 21 Days Features

Another thing that makes the Piano in 21 Day course different from other online learning tools is the fact that you don’t have to learn sheet music.

The instructor will teach you how to play songs without reading notes. That way, you will learn how to play songs by ear and primarily focus on chords and improvisation.

So what does Piano in 21 Days offers you?

1. Video Lessons

It is recommended that you take one short video lesson per day. That’s how you’ll have regular practice but without getting too much information too fast.

In each video, you will see Jacques in the upper corner playing and talking, as well as the view of the virtual keyboard showing you which notes to play and when (with falling colored bars).

You’ve probably encountered this kind of virtual keyboard and scrolling bars if you’ve searched how to play a certain song on YouTube.

Piano in 21 Days learning interface.

Jacques’s approach is very friendly and positive, and his instructions are concise and clear. This is excellent for beginners, especially because you’re hearing someone explaining rather than just looking at the notes on the screen and waiting for dry feedback from the app.

In his video lessons, Jacques often includes flash cards as well as audio exercises.

Keep in mind – to really know what you learned in the video, you have to practice by yourself too. These videos are not long, so after you’re done take a break and then try to do the exercises at your own pace.

Through the 21-days period, you will learn chord patterns and progressions, scales, chord inversions, key signatures, and techniques to form a solid foundation.

On the other hand, to find this course enjoyable and useful, you really need to be on the same page with its instructor. Jacque is very clear about his opinion on traditional piano classes and believes that learning how to use sheet music is unnecessary.

So before taking the Piano in 21 Days course, you should be aware that its video lessons focus solely on how to play simplified versions of popular songs.

2. Personalized Help Option

One of the benefits of Piano in 21 Days is the possibility to seek professional advice. Although video lessons aren’t live, you can reach Jacque Hopkins via e-mail and ask whatever you please.

Also, once you start the Piano in 21 Days course, you will get access to a private Facebook group where all students chat, exchange experiences, discuss what’s bothering them and help each other. The Facebook student center currently has close to 2,000 members.

Being able to communicate with your instructor and other students who might have similar thoughts and struggles will give you a sense of community. Also, it will provide you with valuable feedback and tips to improve your skills.

Jacques Hopkins’ YouTube Channel is another platform where you can find more lessons. These videos can be a good sneak peek into his way of teaching before you purchase the course.

3. Learning Pop Songs

In its video lessons, Piano in 21 Days mostly focuses on how to play famous pop songs. Some artists you will come across are Adele, Bruno Mars, The Beatles, and Jason Mraz.

The way you can learn to play them quickly and efficiently, without sheet music or prior experience in playing the piano, is by breaking down these songs to their basic chords.

That’s what Hopkins does: he shows you tricks to learn more songs with less technique. While playing different songs, you will rely on the formula to find chords.

It’s indeed true that a lot of pop songs can be broken down into a few chords. One of the most common chord progressions is C-Major, G-Major, A-Minor, and F-major. However, this is just one part of a song, and it doesn’t sound very rich without the melody or vocals.

Needless to say, this method makes the learning process much faster, and that’s why beginners can learn numerous songs in less than a month.

On the other hand, if you’re fond of classical music or other genres, you will not be satisfied with the choice of songs.

Piano in 21 Days songs.

6. Improvisation

If you ask Jacques Hopkins what is the best way to learn how to play piano, he will say: chords and improvisation.

Besides how to use correct chords with the right technique, video lessons will teach you how to develop your improvisation skills.

In fact, that’s quite useful because it can help you go through any song more effortlessly and help you understand which notes can be easily combined.

So you will not learn improvisation as in coming up with your own melodies but rather learn improvisation tools such as chord patterns. By setting chords in different octaves and playing additional notes, you will make every song sound more interesting.

This is something that comes naturally to experienced players, so if you’re a beginner, someone showing you specific tools will come in handy.

5. Extra Lessons

If you buy the so-called Ultimate Package of Piano in 21 Days, you will receive some additional courses to help you upgrade your previous knowledge and polish your piano skills.

The Melody and Ear Training course are one of those courses and it will teach you how to add melodies to your chords. You will learn how to pay attention to keys and find melodies by ear.

Another useful and, in our opinion, the essential course is the Hand Coordination course. Over six lessons, a pianist Josef Sykora (from the YouTube channel Creative Piano Academy) will take you through exercises to improve your rhythm.

That’s how you will make your hands work in sync and play everything more confidently.

The Ultimate Package also includes some bonus courses such as Guitar in 21 Days, Vocals in 21 Days, Easy Jazz Piano Course, and Classical & Sheet Music Course.

It seems like purchasing Piano in 21 Days will give you long-term access to many efficient video lessons, but even when you complete the full program, you will only have a certain form of skills due to its specific approach.

What Will You Really Know After Piano in 21 Days?

Every online learning app or program will only provide you with a certain amount of information, so the skill level you want to achieve depends solely on you.

However, the Piano in 21 Days course has a really concise curriculum that will, for example, not teach you music theory at all.

Although not learning sheet music saves a lot of time, not everyone would agree with Hopkins that reading notes is useless or boring. The thing is, if you learn how to read notes, you will be able to play any song and not just the ones included in the video tutorials.

In fact, Piano in 21 Days will teach you how to play songs rather than how to play any song. However, you will learn improvisation techniques and chords, which are both very valuable.

So if you’re a beginner of any age that doesn’t have much time (or patience) to learn how to play the piano, but you wish to learn how to play some familiar songs just for fun, Piano in 21 Days’ content is more than enough for you.

When you complete this course, you will have a bunch of songs in your mind and muscle memory, and that will make learning new songs from online piano tutorials much easier.

Piano in 21 Days Learning Interface.

Are you still unsure about Piano in 21 Days? We summarized the pros and cons we believe are important to consider before making a decision.

Pros

  • You get what you’re promised – The course promises to teach you how to play your favorite songs on the piano quickly and easily and that is precisely what it does: with no music theory, long introductions, or classical lessons.
  • You learn from an instructor – For most people, it is much more efficient to watch and listen to an actual person rather than follow written instructions on the screen. By seeing someone playing, you can get more inspired but also understand the technique better.
  • You don’t get feedback unless you ask for it – Some people aren’t comfortable with getting constant feedback, be it from the piano teacher or an app that listens to your every note.
  • If you want to get feedback (which we encourage you to do), you can reach Jacques via e-mail or ask for advice in the Facebook student group, and if you prefer to play without worrying about it, you’re free to do it. It’s great that you have a choice.

Cons

  • Lack of music theory – Even though the course is proudly presenting this feature, it would be useful to include at least some elements that will make the whole process of learning songs simpler and more meaningful.
  • Lack of proper introduction – In the first video lesson, you will get a brief introduction to the way of playing the piano and get introduced to white keys, major and minor chords, and some other basics.
  • However, even though Hopkins briefly mentions the proper body posture for playing the piano, he doesn’t go into detail about a good hand position.
  • If you start playing with straight fingers and flat hands, besides producing a weaker sound, you will create a habit that will only make your piano playing harder.
  • Strong attitude – By this we mean the course’s creator Jacques Hopkins’ very clear opinion of traditional piano lessons and reading notes.
  • He keeps emphasizing how learning music theory is pointless and tiresome, and how he basically wasted his years in piano school.

Although this is a part of his marketing campaign, it’s unnecessary to belittle the traditional way of learning the piano only due to his bad experience.

Besides, some people who never played the piano might, after seeing his message, believe that once they learn how to hit the right chords they will master the skill.

Why not promoting your way of learning without harshly dismissing the other?

Alternative Programs

Another platform that is based on guided video lessons is Playground Sessions. This app teaches popular songs and music theory, so it’s great for people who also want to learn how to read notes.

Read our Playground Sessions review here.

Pianote also uses video lessons and will teach you how to play songs in a quick and easy way. However, it will do so by introducing you to sheet music.

So, although it’s useful to learn notes, some people don’t have time or desire to do it. Also, it’s completely possible to learn songs without reading sheet music. That’s what sets Piano in 21 days apart from many other piano learning programs.

Piano In 21 Days Review – Final Thoughts

Piano in 21 Days is certainly a great choice for people who want to learn how to play piano as fast as possible and without diving deeper into music theory.

Video lessons are clear and concise, and they will smoothly get you through everything you need to know about the piano in order to play some popular songs.

On the other hand, the way this course is being promoted shouldn’t discourage you about music theory or make you afraid of reading sheet music. It all depends on what your goals are!

Everyone has their own learning preferences though, so if you like Jacques’ approach, the Piano in 21 Days course will be an easy and effective way to develop your piano skills.

Want to learn from our favorite online piano lesson platform? Start your journey with Playground Sessions here!

Further Reading:

Will Fenton

Will, the founder of MIDDER, is a multifaceted individual with a deep passion for music and personal finance. As a self-proclaimed music and personal finance geek, he has a keen eye for futuristic technologies, especially those that empower creators and the public.

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