Elton, Billy, Ray, Bruce, Jamie, John, Paul, Alicia, Freddie, Prince, Stevie...
CHORD PIANO FORMULA
Learn the secrets of your favorite pop-pianists
Without ever needing sheets again
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
before enrollment closes...
before enrollment closes...
Like virtually everybody, when I started out playing piano at age 4 I was "forced" down the traditional path of learning how to read sheet music too. That didn't work out ...
... and so I quit.
Many years later, at age 17, when I saw my fellow classmates playing like rock-stars at our yearly school concert, I promised myself I was going to learn to play too. So, I went back to that old way of playing from sheet music, which -again- did NOT make me sound like my favorite artists AT ALL... and I almost gave up entirely.
Then, following the guidance of a talented guitarist-friend of mine, I taught myself how to play piano using his approach: by Chords. 4 years later I got accepted into the Conservatory of Amsterdam (major Pop-Piano / Vocals).
Now, over the course of 18 years of playing, I've performed on stage extensively -both solo and in multiple bands- written and recorded with many different artists, became a Roland-featured instructor & one of the top-5 Youtube piano teachers in the world and taught over 135,000 people worldwide how to play piano without sheets.
Hack the Piano is the methodology and backbone of all my playing & teaching.
It's the definitive guide on how I accomplished all of the above without ever reading a single sheet.
Chord Piano Formula is Hack the Piano evolved into a fully guided, Premium Online Training Experience.
It will teach you the exact ways I used to accomplish all of the above and create beautiful piano accompaniments that sound just like those of my favorite musical heroes - Elton, Billy, Stevie - without ever having needed a single sheet.
For everyone it’s different…
For some it means being able to just sit down at any piano and "be the piano-(wo)man" - entertaining the crowd, accompanying your vocals or their singing along, blasting out the occasional impressive lick...
For others it means creating your own arrangements, whether for existing songs to make covers and post them to Youtube, or even composing your very own music, in the studio or with a band...
and yet others … are just looking to enjoy yourselves and/or your friends and family in the comfort of your own home.
Have you ever seen your favorite artist look at sheets while playing? Exactly.
Our "chunking" methodology focusses on learning re-usable blocks: chords & patterns, that are much like words and pronunciation in language.
Learn how styles like Pop, Soul, Blues, Funk, Hip-hop, Singer-Songwriter etc. are made, and played.
We use a rhythm- and harmony-theory approach - the founding pillars of all music. So you learn to sound exactly like the record, or improvise to create your very own unique rendition.
Conservatory-graduated and tons of experience in the actual music business. This is how we do music.
Isn't it strange that guitarists never read traditional sheets, while even beginners are often able to play dozens of songs by heart, with everyone singing along? Learn that "guitarists' approach."
Dear fellow Pop-Piano-lover,
If you suffer from “sheet-music-dependance,” “stuck-playing-the-same-old-boring-tunes-inertia” or just have no clue how to listen through the “cloud of sound” that is music and actually reproduce what you hear on your favorite records…
If you are tired of putting in all that time learning a tune only to find out you are not sounding like your favorite artist at all, or feel insecure and incapable when you do not have your sheet music at hand then this message is just for you. Here’s why…
There is a system you can learn that allows you to play any of your favorite songs within minutes in stead of days, actually sounding like the pianos on the record (because this is the very system actual pro players use themselves) without ever needing any sheet music.
And you need to realize, there is a cost to not dealing with this…
What most people do when they try to learn piano and face the fact that they can’t quite get “that sound” of their favorite artist, is take lessons from a certified (but classically trained) teacher…
... try to find the sheet-music online…
...maybe scavenge YouTube in search for that perfect tutorial or try every shiny new online course.
But for most people, none of that works.
And what happens if you just do nothing? If you just keep doing what you’ve been doing?
You’ll never understand how those “talented” guys (they are not) are able to just sit down and play dozens of YOUR favorites by heart and sound so fricking awesome.
Nor will you ever be able to play anything like that yourself. You’ll just be stuck fidgeting with those same old sheets, finger wrestling for weeks on end, to finally be able to play a few boring tunes that nobody enjoys listening to.
I’ve got an answer that works. Here’s the short story:
As a child, I went down the traditional, “classical” path too - and failed miserably.
Abandoning piano entirely out of sheer frustration. After hours and hours of decoding those horrible lines-and-dots-on-paper, having boring exercises crammed down my throat while never seeing any exciting progress.
I still didn’t sound like my favorite tunes AT ALL - just like you..?
Then, years later, I asked a guitarist friend of mine - who could literally play dozens of songs by heart - how ON EARTH he was able to do that, without needing any sheet music!?
When he told me “you just need to know your chords!” - this got me thinking.
What if I could play “guitar chords” on piano? Was piano really so different...?
Turns out it’s not.
After figuring out how to translate these “guitar chords” to the piano and how to turn them into flowing, moving, grooving piano parts by adding “patterns” (pretty much like those strums and plucks that guitarists use) not only was I suddenly able to learn dozens, even hundreds of my favorite tunes REALLY fast (and play them by heart), but also: I actually sounded like the original records!
Turns out this is actually the “secret” that pro “pop” (think singer-songwriters like Elton John, Billie Joel, Stevie Wonder, Jamie Cullum, Norah Jones, d'Angelo, Ben Folds, Chris Martin -Coldplay-, Tom Odell, Bruce Hornsby, Paul McCartney, John Legend, Alicia Keys etc.) players use to sound the way they do (and enables them even to play tunes on the piano, that are originally played on a guitar!).
After this exact method got me into the Conservatory after just 4 years of playing, I figured I needed to create a framework out of it to teach people that there is a better way to learn piano.
So I worked really hard to create a system that makes learning piano (and actually understanding music) really simple.
I started testing this system on my students and - although they all had the same amazing experience as I had - because they had to come see me in person to learn it, they were also each paying me a premium of $8000+ per year..
Another downside was that my limited time allowed me to help only a few students at a time. Then I had an idea:
“What if I deconstruct my entire approach the way it had helped me deconstruct music, then mould it into an online-program experience like no other..”
“What if I could create an experience that would be virtually the same as having me there at the piano in person...
...explaining every little nuance to sounding like the big artists - the Eltons, the Billies, the Stevies...
...that could help many more people learn my exact approach, in their very own tempo, on their own schedule...
...and that I could offer for only a fraction of the costs?”
Chords + Patters are the equivalent of Words & Pronunciation - that's the Pop-Piano approach.
Our Roland-featured program will show you how to get serious and speak music.
You will have all the tools and knowledge to create & play your favorite arrangements.
Have you ever dreamed about being able to use the piano with complete freedom - to express yourself?
To play anything you feel like, on the spot, and actually sound like your musical heroes.
It might surprise you that this is not nearly as hard as it may seem.
Not with the right approach, that is.
It requires a few things: understanding, practice, discipline and a clear path to follow.
A plan that tells you exactly what to do and when to do it.
Without it, the process can be overwhelming.
Chord Piano Formula's Bootcamp provides this support - showing, guiding, holding you accountable and making sure you actually follow through.
It will fast-track your growth and save you years of frustrating trial and error.
Chord Piano Formula is created to help singers/songwriters and accompanists:
All course materials - including workshops, streaming videos, audios, transcripts, handouts and add-on modules - are within our online "Piano Lingo Pro" student-environment.
6-Week premium course that takes you from intermediate Chord-pianist, to pop-piano pro.
The premium content-plan that hosts the entire A-Z of Chord Piano in video, audio & text.
Premium community platform that hosts all content, BootCamps, workshops, feedback, assignments, exercises and accountability.
Chord Piano OnRamp Course, Pop-Piano Challenge Recordings, ChordAI Pro App, Mastery Workshops Vault...
Learn all about extending Chords and creating sophisticated voicings with those color-tones
How to create moving, flowing arrangements, melodic phrases and riffs.
Where we take coloring and extending to the next level building juicy, jazzy, soulful Chords.
Adding more intricate, engaging rhythmical patterns and combining it with newly acquired skills.
How to build and insert licks, fills and other types of embellishments.
Understand and be able to work with correlations that Chords have with the key and each-other.
*subject to change
Strategy & Clarity
In the weekly workshops, Coen will explain the overall concepts & strategies you'll need to approach piano the right way - the way that will make you understand how music works and allows you to play anything by ear and by heart - in a hands-on way.
This is where you'll gain the insights.
Tactics & Support
In the BootCamp's online course, hosted in our brand new Piano Lingo Pro community platform (kind of like a Facebook group - without the distractions of Facebook) you'll find fleshed-out details, step-by-step lessons & exercises, as well as scheduling and support from peers.
This is where you'll deepen your understanding.
Implementation & Accountability
The whole BootCamp is set up in a way that's hard to mess up. Step-by-step, do-this-then-that-type instructions & assignments that make sure you implement the right things. You'll just need to follow through. Luckily, the entire platform is set up to help you do just that. Support, accountability, guidance.
Fail-proof.
Playing music shouldn’t be so hard to learn. Sadly though, for many people, it forever remains a “cloud of sound.” These 5 mini courses lift the cloud to show you the fundament hiding below and how to use that framework to quickly learn, remember and play any song by heart.
Most budding pianists don’t sound like the real deal at all, because they approach music on a by-note-basis. Real musicians play by Chords, which is why they sound so full.
These 9 mini courses teach you the way real musicians play, using the full harmonic spectrum, which opens the door to playing full and rich-sounding.
Unfortunately, for most people, creating flowing piano parts is like trying to speak fluent Chinese - hard, at best. These 4 mini courses will teach the building blocks that allow you to turn any set of notes into a flowing, grooving, moving piano part.
Unfortunately, most chords played on piano still sound bland. These 3 mini courses will show you the next phase in voicing, “sophisticating” your chords to take them from juvenile to mature.
Licks, riffs, fills. Alluring to most and - as nothing but “cheap tricks” - misused by many. These 2 mini courses will show you the correct ways, mindset, origin and application of any type of improvisation - from a quick grace note, to a full-blown solo.
Expressing yourself through music shouldn’t be a mystery. Sadly though coming up with anything not written on paper remains a guessing game for most people. These 4 mini courses will teach the different value each chord has within a song and how you can use that to your advantage when composing yourself - either when improvising, adapting a known tune, or when writing your own, full-blown songs.
Many people consider scales (the "sub" layer) to be boring sequences of notes that have to be repeated endlessly, purely to create nimble-fingeredness. These 4 mini courses will show you that scales are far from boring when you use them in the correct ways - as musical dialects for a profound musical understanding.
Playing music shouldn’t be so hard to learn. Sadly though, for many people, it forever remains a “cloud of sound.” These 5 mini courses lift the cloud to show you the fundament hiding below and how to use that framework to quickly learn, remember and play any song by heart.
Most budding pianists don’t sound like the real deal at all, because they approach music on a by-note-basis. Real musicians play by Chords, which is why they sound so full.
These 9 mini courses teach you the way real musicians play, using the full harmonic spectrum, which opens the door to playing full and rich-sounding.
Unfortunately, for most people, creating flowing piano parts is like trying to speak fluent Chinese - hard, at best. These 4 mini courses will teach the building blocks that allow you to turn any set of notes into a flowing, grooving, moving piano part.
Unfortunately, most chords played on piano still sound bland. These 3 mini courses will show you the next phase in voicing, “sophisticating” your chords to take them from juvenile to mature.
Licks, riffs, fills. Alluring to most and - as nothing but “cheap tricks” - misused by many. These 2 mini courses will show you the correct ways, mindset, origin and application of any type of improvisation - from a quick grace note, to a full-blown solo.
Expressing yourself through music shouldn’t be a mystery. Sadly though coming up with anything not written on paper remains a guessing game for most people. These 4 mini courses will teach the different value each chord has within a song and how you can use that to your advantage when composing yourself - either when improvising, adapting a known tune, or when writing your own, full-blown songs.
Many people consider scales (the "sub" layer) to be boring sequences of notes that have to be repeated endlessly, purely to create nimble-fingeredness. These 4 mini courses will show you that scales are far from boring when you use them in the correct ways - as musical dialects for a profound musical understanding.
Combining the very best of off what apps, online courses & offline music programs have to offer.
A 6-week bootcamp, add-on modules, exercises, accountability & coaching - all run in a private, supportive community. 5-10 years+ worth of piano lessons, at not even 5% of the price.
A well balanced mix between Workshops, HD videos, text, multimedia and exercises. Clear, bite-sized and easy to grasp - so you'll make exponential progress.
Cement your knowledge with step-by-step exercises and assignments - clear, to the point, effective NO guessing.
Always-and-from-any-device-accessible to fit your schedule. Open your laptop, tablet or our dedicated app at the piano, or study a bit extra on the go using our app on your phone.
You are guided through each weeks musical layer with clear instructions. .
Stuck? Want feedback? The entire supportive community is here to help. Ask anything and we'll guide you right to what you want to learn and boost your playing confidence.
Whether you are more of a beginner to get an intensive overview-introduction, or a more advanced player, diving deep into chord-piano practice and theory, this complete and scalable program will boost any player's progress.
Here’s what Piano Hacking did for me...
..play anything within minutes, without ever having to decipher any sheet music...
... which has saved me a cumulative years of precious time, not spent slogging, but spent with loved ones ...
...improvise...
...get myself into the Conservatory of Amsterdam after just 4 years of playing (no I’m not that talented - I simply found this better way)...
...write my own music and publish a solo album...
...get collaboration deal offers and my system (this very system) featured by Yamaha and Roland...
...be the “Piano Man” when having the best time singing our favorite tunes at family gatherings...
...find dear friends through playing music...
...hone an amazing creative outlet for relaxation and fun.
And it’s not just me.
Over the past 8 years, thousands of people from all over the world have been learning to play their favorite tunes in no time using my system:
Learn how music is built and how to use those building blocks to play and create your very own renditions.
Whether you'd like to play with others in a band, or accompany anyone's singing (including your own).
Understanding music's foundational building blocks will improve your arrangements, hooks, licks and riffs.
Piano Hacking, will give you the key to...
That’s right. A skillset that - might you even be able to find the right person to teach it to you - would cost you over $12000 and years of tedious lessons... is yours for only a fraction of that amount.
It all comes as part of the Chord Piano Formula, the LIVE Hack the Piano online training program, which we used to sell for €999 (and that was without any of the insane bonuses I'm about to include here), but I'm offering it here to you for only €499 (nuts).
And you are 100% safe to try it out. That’s all I’m suggesting. Just try it for 14 days to see if it works for you.
If it does, you’ll be delighted - and I think that’s exactly what’s about to happen. If for some reason you’re not delighted with all the new musical insights and ideas, the speed you’ll improve, learning the songs you love and the way you’ll make them sound - just like they do on the records - then just let me know and you’ll get all your money back.
Let's summarize of all the value you'll get.
6-Week premium course that takes you from intermediate Chord-pianist, to pop-piano pro.
The premium content-plan that hosts the entire A-Z of Chord Piano in video, audio & text - LIFETIME access included.
Premium community platform that hosts all content, BootCamps, workshops, feedback, assignments, exercises and accountability.
Access recordings of workshops held before you were a member (unique offer only available here - older workshops normally NOT available)
Full access to the "self-serve " edition of this premium 4-week BootCamp, that teaches the complete foundational Chord Piano framework.
Full access to the recordings of all workshops in our Pop Piano Challenge.
Join today at 81% discount.
Bi-weekly* masterclasses where we analyze real music to see what we can learn, steal and add to our vocabulary for re-use.
Every quarter we host a LIVE Premium BootCamp, ranging from "Play Like... " to specialty classes on things like Songwriting, Improvisation etc.
*When there's no BootCamp running live
Chord Piano Formula's main, core BootCamp to learn and/or improve on foundational Pop-Piano skills. Intermediate - Advanced levels (scalable).
Learn the stylistic traits, tricks and signature techniques from the one and only Piano Man himself - Billy Joel.
Learn how to form and harmonize melodies & create flowing arrangements. Not just good for walking away with your very own songs (which you will) but also for creating unique renditions of existing tunes.
Artist to be announced.
Learn- or improve on foundational Chord Piano skills. Fully scalable program that becomes more interesting with every iteration you complete.
BootCamp to be announced.
*subject to change
✓ Threads & Discussions
✓ Couturian Pro Updates
✓ Practice Room
✓ CoutCam
✓ Docs & Knowledge Base
✓ Updates, New Features & -Content
✓ Mobile App
✓ Threads & Discussions
✓ Couturian Pro Updates
✓ Practice Room
✓ CoutCam
✓ Docs & Knowledge Base
✓ Updates, New Features & -Content
✓ Mobile App
An exclusive admission ticket to the next Chord Piano Formula - Hack the Piano LIVE Platinum BootCamp Cohort.
PLUS
Seamless integration with the Chord Piano BluePrint program, which is also included in full.
This course will show you exactly what to do, step-by-step to implement the Chord Piano strategies, tactics and techniques.
This whole experience is run on our Piano Lingo Pro community platform, where both Coen as well as fellow peers are actively participating and helping each other reach their goals.
Depending on the plan you choose, you'll also get 12 more months access to that platform (Entertainer), or even to all other BootCamps hosted during the year too (Player)
From February 19th - April 2nd.
All of my teaching, including all premium content you'll find inside of Piano Lingo (our premium online Pop-Piano academy) is based on the Hack the Piano methodology - as is this course.
It is the "application & implementation" - actually DOING vs. only learning theory.
This course can either function as a perfect introduction, or as a more specialized deep-dive into the world of chord-piano, putting Piano Hacking into practice in a guided, structured, step-by-step way.
How to play anything you want, by ear.
We will learn Pop Piano tricks, traits and techniques to actually understand music. This works on ALL songs and you are free to choose your own songs, to do the exercises and assignments with.
Since we are Amsterdam -and thus Europe- based, you'll be charged in Euros. The dollar price depends on the current conversion rate and optionally costs your bank or credit card company charges for the conversion. These costs are outside of our control unfortunately and conversion rates vary by day.
Please note that we cover any taxes.
All live sessions are recorded! The recordings can be accessed in streaming format (meaning you can also pause, rewind, fast-forward etc. all things that were not possible when the sessions were held live) in the online master-course as often, and for as long as you like!
Lifetime access to everything except access to the Piano Lingo Pro community (12 months access to that).
After 12 months you can decide to stay subscribed at a monthly fee, or just let it expire.
You'll still be able to access your courses whatever you choose.
Everything in this program is scalable and using the 6 pillars of chord-piano, we'll deconstruct and then build everything we do back up, gradually growing in level of difficulty.
You can "stop" (stick to) the level that's challenging, but not too difficult for you, which -whatever level that might be for you- will get you sounding very close to original records you listen to.
You can then redo the course later, going up to the next level.
Everything you'll need to know is available - either in the BootCamp itself, or in the BluePrint.
Everything you already know is easy to skip, or adapt to make it suitable for a level more advanced.
Do note that the next cohort that is about to start is the Platinum Bootcamp (i.e. Phase/level 2) which starts at intermediate level and assumes you know triads, inversions and basic rhythmic patterns.
Let me ask you this: Have you ever seen your favorite artist look at sheet music at any of his or her performances? Exactly.
That's because they play pop-piano: piano by chords. They know their chords, harmony-theory, voicings, patterns and how to play with those. This is how they form all of their piano parts and this is exactly what you'll learn in this program too.
Chord-piano. No sheet-music (only chord-sheets every now and then).
That's not a question! 🙂
Just kidding. You can ask me anything by simply sending an email to coen@piano-couture.com
Have you ever seen your favorite artist look at sheet music?
Probably not, right?
That's because modern music isn't played from sheets.
Actually, since music is in fact a language, learning to read before you can speak seems completely backwards - whatever style we're talking about.
Guitarists get this. They first learn to strum chords - the equivalent of saying some words.
99% of them keeps approaching music this way forever, learning how to build riffs, licks and even entire solos out of those fundamental musical "chunks" called Chords (& Patterns).
But while guitarists are having all the fun, piano is still stuck in this outdated system.
Here we do things differently.
We teach our students how to understand the musical language and "say" (play) anything they want, using its foundational concepts - chords (music's "words") and patterns (music's "pronunciation") - just like guitarists.
You'll learn building blocks that can be re-used in all music - so you never waist time deciphering lines-and-dots on paper, blindly regurgitating, but always grow as a musician.
We call this Piano Hacking.
It's the ultimate shortcut to finally actually sounding like you want - by ear.
And - beneficially - it's the actual language ALL pro musicians speak too.
Not just piano-players. ALL musician.
So if you'd want to play something that's originally written for another instrument ...
... or play together with other musicians ...
This is how we do music.
Don't settle for information-overload, learning stuff you're never going to use anyway or one-trick pony approaches that only teach you one song without any context.
Start Hacking the Piano today to learn how music works and be able to apply what you learn on any tune you want - finally actually sounding like your musical heroes while cutting the time to learn new songs by 90%.
Get this 5-part video class for FREE.
Learn the proprietary "musical language" framework that allows pro-pop-piano singers/songwriters to play and sound like they do - without needing sheets.
The Couturian is a free email newsletter with tips, tricks and lessons for playing modern piano without sheets.