Peek Inside the Mind of a Professional Musician
Have you ever wondered how professional musicians think when playing? How they're able to translate the music in their heads to the piano and express how they feel, whether to play any song, to improvise or even to write their own music? If only you could look into a professional musician’s mind when he's playing music and get the best out of his experience, decisions and thinking process. Wouldn’t that be great?
That's exactly what this method is all about.
It is the very core of the Piano Couture approach to playing music. Our handbook, holding the fundamental concepts that are the foundation to all of our lessons.
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Since reading your excellent Hack The Piano my head has been bursting with ideas on how to apply what i was reading to my piano playing. You took out the mistery out of what i hear when i listen to contemporary pop piano parts and that’s not to say that your approach is good just for pop piano. I think it’s THE best way to start with when learning piano! You obviously put lot of care and thought into it. It’s exactly what i was looking for!
- Giovanni
Music is a language
To "speak" it, there's no need for any reading skills. Ever. You just have to know the words and how to pronounce 'em.
Hack the Piano, is a complete program that teaches you exactly how to speak the language of music by showing you how to play piano by chords. We'll start by learning to play some simple chord structures that anybody can copy and use to play thousands of different songs in the first few lessons already.
Thanks to this unique and simple approach and using a mix of text, exercises, clarifying short video examples and full hands-on video tutorials you'll start putting your new skills to work right away. You'll be able to just go and sit at any piano or keyboard and play your favorite songs for your friends, family, band members or just by yourself within days in stead of years.
At the end of the course, you'll be able to figure out and play any and every song you want. Exactly like it sounds on the record, or freely and improvising, making it your very own rendition. Awesome, right?
Learn all the skills you need to:
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Play by Ear.
Like with words in language, you'll soon start to recognize when somebody plays a chord you already know.
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Play what's on the record.
Since this is the actual way all professional musicians approach music and play piano, you'll be sounding exactly like the original song, not like some weird transcript.
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Play any Song you want.
This is the universal language of music, which means that you can re-use everything you'll learn in ANY new song. All music works this way.
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Improvise.
A concept that seems hard to grasp for many. However, we'll already touch it in the second lesson(!) where I'll show you that with this approach, it's not much more difficult than expressing yourself with words (which words do you choose, how do you pronounce 'em and do you whisper or scream?).
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Play in a Band.
"Speaking music" means you'll be able to communicate with others that speak it.
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Never be dependent on Sheets.
Who needs those when you can play by heart? Be able to just take place at any piano, anytime, and play whatever you feel like.
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Build a solid musical Foundation.
All advanced and professional pianists use this way of tackling music. It's the perfect base to build towards becoming a truly mind-blowing pianist, even a professional. (Note that we'll already be sounding quite pro in this course itself).
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Accompany any Singer.
Including yourself.
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Learn Piano in the fastest way possible.
Efficiency is at the heart of this course. We'll only be focussing on the relevant stuff and won't waste time on BS of any kind (even if that means kicking against the conventional system). Each chord is re-usable, meaning that you won't be focussing on learning just the one new song, but will add to your musical "grab-bag" with each new thing you'll learn. Highly effective "chunk learning"
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Play by Heart.
Remembering a set of chords (most songs only have a few, like 3-8) is way easier than remembering the dozens of their non-cohesive sub-division of single notes. Imagine when someone teaches you a 3-8 word sentence in a foreign language, would you be able to remember and repeat after him, using your auditory skills? Exactly.
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Write your own Music.
When you speak it, you can build your own sentences and write your own stories with it. Simple as that.
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Make your own (Youtube) cover.
Playing piano like a guitarist, as I like to call it, in an accompanying way, will allow you to play your very own musical carpet to your cover version of any song.
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Break free of musical barriers.
No limiting rules, but true understanding = freedom.
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Coen teaches in a manner easy to understand that makes the student eager to learn more. He encourages his students to deconstruct popular songs as he has done so they are playing popular music instantly. Imagine that, a novice piano student playing music they love soon after starting the course. How long would that take via the traditional piano method? Years? I love that I get to choose which music I want to learn/play rather than being told by a teacher to rote memorize an obscure piece I've never heard. Hack the Piano makes music fun, if you want to sit at a piano and play popular music for your family and friends this is the course you want to take. If you want a basis to create music towards becoming a professional musician, this is the course you want to take. No matter the reason you are coming to the piano this is the course you want to take
- Victoriana
What's Included?
Everything You Need to Learn to Play Piano like a Pro.
The Guide
223 pages of solid, no BS, highly effective piano learning. From your very first note to playing technically challenging, broken-up extended chords in different rhythms to truly sound pro.
The Complete Fundamentals of Pop-Piano.
MIDI Files
MIDI files are like root-files/digital recordings that are not yet in "set-in-stone" format like video or audio, but can still be easily sped up, slowed down, transposed etc. Stuff that's very hard to do with video and audio files. They're available for all 100+ example videos, which enables you to do exactly that: speed up, slow down and/or transpose every exercise in the course. Making practicing so much more convenient, efficient and effectively twelve-folding (!) the amount of exercises.
100+ Example Videos
Hack the Piano is filled with exercises to make you actually improve. Since video often just clarifies way better than plain text, there's a ton (over 95) of short, sweet and to-the-point example videos included for you to copy and learn.
Practice Beats
Timing is Everything. Music just doesn't work that well when it's not played "in time" as we like to call it. Hack the Piano's exercises are best played (and mostly done) on a steady beat, to make sure your groove get's tight. No worries here anymore when you got these cool grooves to practice everything with. No more annoying metronome beeps, but actual smooth drum beats.
15 Full Course Videos
The whole Hack the Piano experience is carefully moulded into a full-fledged course with these invaluable, clear, concise, hands-on videos - upping this pack from a self study guide, to a complete study program for playing contemporary piano (see below for video contents)
Cheat Sheets, Appendix
In the HTP Appendix, you'll find the whole course miraculously summarized and compressed to about 78 pages. It also holds all "Cheat Sheets": images of any- and every single chord, scale, extension and term learnt in the course. For a convenient memory aid, a quick reminder or just a sneaky cheat.
15 Full HtP Core Video Lessons
On top of those 100+ shorter exemplifying videos to clarify all exercises, there's also these 15 invaluable, full-length video tutorials where we'll go over the material together, in a hands-on, clear and practical way. A true crowd favourite that ups this package from a self-study guide, to a complete, full-fledged course.
15 Full HtP Core Video Lessons
On top of those 100+ shorter exemplifying videos to clarify all exercises, there's also these 15 invaluable, full-length video tutorials where we'll go over the material together, in a hands-on, clear and practical way. A true crowd favourite that ups this package from a self-study guide, to a complete, full-fledged course.
1. The Approach
How is this approach different from conventional piano & why it will get you to your goals way faster (took me about 4 years from scratch to get accepted into the Conservatory -Major: Pop-Piano/Vocals- using these exact methods so pay attention!).
4. The Structure of Music
With a deeper dive into "the basic structure of music," how to use this knowledge to "strip down" / "simplify" any song to your current level + expounding on patterns, this lesson will tenfold your understanding and'll get you ready to play any song you want.
7. Inverting
Tripling both your options and your understanding of music. Getting to know these variants of chords will not only make you sound way more professional, but will make your playing so much more efficient (which in turn, will make you a MUCH better player).
10. Milestone Exercise
Effective learning at it's best, in this "let's practice together" lesson.
13. Intervals
Get prepped for the extensions and truly learn the keyboard inside-out.
2. How to use your Fingers
Preventing the unwanted finger-wrestling that playing piano normally tends to be when you're just starting out, playing "patterns" with a new chord and some "technical" aspects (dynamics, sustain pedal and more).
5. Finding ANY Triad
Exploring new rhythmical options, resulting in more challenging but way more interesting patterns & our very first "hack" to find EVERY major and minor chord out there by yourself.
8. Expanding Patterns & Left
Together we'll do a golden exercise to get you really soaking up those inversions. On top of that, we'll be dealing with yet another rhythmical sub-division, again expounding on our patterns AND you'll be learning a very common and highly useful left hand "grip."
11. Minor Scales
Learn about "the flip side" and double your musical understanding.
14. Extensions & Additions
Add color, flavor & soul to become pro.
3. Patterns & 1 million Songs
"Patterns" explained, how to use those to play the very first form of where all professional piano parts originate from + how universal that concept is and the foundation of improvising. The song-by-structure concept, will effectively "up" your repertoire to about 1 million songs.
6. Left Hand Usage
Practicing and puzzling out a few new chords to enhance your musical understanding and kicking that lazy left hand off the bench. Don't worry, I'll guide you step-by-step through the common "combining right- and left hand"-problem area.
9. Major Scales Deciphered
Here I'll unveil why scales are actually not boring at all, but in fact highly useful and the portal to becoming truly free on the piano. How they're built and what you can do with them will all get their chance in this understanding-deepening lesson.
12. Breaking up chords
How to transition from chords to single-note, riff, lick & melody awesomeness.
15. Putting it all together
Wrapping it all up and taking it to the next level.
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I tried to take piano lessons, but because of my work schedule I never got a chance to practice. I would go to the piano teacher after cramming the night before. I realized I couldn't learn that way so I dropped the lessons. I have now retired and am trying to learn. Hack the piano is such a great course because it is very organized and explains the information in a logical way. It is great because you can repeat the lessons until you get it down completely. I use my apple tv to project the information from my computer on to my tv screen across the room from my electronic piano. I love it because I can read my lesson and watch video on the big screen.
- Winston
Why Hack the Piano?
The easiest and fastest way to the real deal.
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Made by professional musicians.
Conservatory graduated and tons of experience in the actual music business. This is how we approach music.
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Lifetime updates.
The whole package is constantly being updated and improved. Only the one time payment gives you lifetime access, including every update.
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Unmatched Value
Face-to-face lessons with a tutor cost about 50 bucks per lesson. Even at a low frequency of only one lesson per 2 weeks that's 26x50 = €1300 per year. Hack the piano starts at not even 5% of that amount, and you can re-read, re-do and re-play as often as you like.
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Get help whenever you need.
Ask anything directly via email, or go deeper in live-workshops/skype lessons.
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Universal skills that work on any song.
Don't be foolish to learn just the one song and then forget it. We're focussing on the backbone of those songs, the chords & patterns that -much like how words appear in different sentences- can be re-used in all music.
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Learn from your own home, at your own pace.
With unlimited access (re-)play, (re-)read whenever you feel like it. This course adapts to your schedule, not vice-versa.
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Step by step, HD, instruction videos.
Clear, to-the-point, HD, playable on any device and repeat as often as you like.
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Save lots of time.
Being able to plan around your own schedule and no travel time to meet a your teacher will save you time, but how about learning only that what's actually relevant in stead of waisting time on superfluous stuff? People have reached levels of playing within months that -with conventional methods- is only accessible after years of formal training.
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Always accessible from anywhere.
Wherever you are, whenever you feel like it, with any of your devices.
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This method has saved me time and effort as it has been well written so not to confuse the reader and opens a pathway of conciousnes into the world of music Theory without the confusion that some Theory books place into the mind of the reader. Wow i am gald i purchased this and so will you be if your looking to fulfill your piano dreams. Worth every penny.
- Jamie
About the Author
Hi! I’m Coen. I love to play the piano, sing, write, stay fit, eat, be healthy, take unconventional approaches and chances in life while teaching others how to do the same.
At age 17, I taught myself how to play piano. 4 years later I got accepted into the Conservatory of Amsterdam (major Pop-Piano / Vocals). Over the course of 15 years of playing, I've performed on stage extensively -both solo and in multiple bands- written and recorded with many different artists, became one of the top-5 Youtube piano teachers of the world and taught over 115,000 people worldwide how to play piano.
Hack the Piano is my "memoir." The definitive documentation of how I accomplished all of this without ever needing any piano lessons or read a single sheet.
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This is most likely to be the best that your find when it comes to learning how to play the piano. Ive been taught classicially for over 10 yrs now but was jealous in seeing a guitarist being able to pick up pop songs very easily, this book will enable you to that. Its top notch and written in a refreshing way
- Jonathan
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Experience our new guided, chord-piano platform premium-style
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THE EBOOK DOWNLOAD EDITION
Full Hack the Piano Method Master Guide & 100 Example Videos
Ebook + Example Videos
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*One-time payment. Full Ebook Bundle Download.
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I was one of the first customers of this program when it came out and i can't say enough about how easy to understand, and how well put together this program is. I started letting my kids, ages 9& 11, work on this program and ended up having to buy two more keyboards as i couldn't get on to practice because they were always there playing and learning new songs lol. With the improvements and this added ibook edition the possibilities are endless, try it, buy it, live it love it and you will truly see why people say it is music to my ears😀
- Kevin
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this for me?
What is "Hack the Piano?"
Hack the Piano is a complete course to playing Pop-Piano. It will teach you how to play piano by ear and by heart, without ever needing or being dependent on sheet music. It will teach you the foundational concepts of the universal language of music, meaning you can use the stuff you'll learn to play ANY song you want.
I am a complete beginner, is this for me?
For sure. Hack the Piano starts at the very start. At the end of the course, after you've gone over all the material, followed all the advice and instructions in there and practiced enough, you'll be able to play anything you want.
I already take lessons, will I still benefit from this?
Absolutely! This is a completely new & unique approach and if anything will only enhance your current lessons. It might even inspire your own teacher to take your lessons to another level.
Can I do this without a teacher?
Most definitely. It's built as a complete self-study program.
What kind of keyboard / piano do I need?
That really depends on your budget and space options / limitations. Obviously the bigger the better! No, just kiddin'.. Although a grand piano is obviously top notch, it'll also cost you a fortune. If a "real" piano (acoustic, wall piano; Make sure it's well kept and tuned!) is not possible due to limitations, I advice looking for a keyboard that has 'touch sensitivity' and 'weighted keys'. This means pressing the keys will feel as if you were playing a regular piano. Casio has some very good models (Privia) that aren't too expensive. Yamaha and Roland build highly recommended keyboards. If you're really on a budget: make sure you have at least 49 keys. I strongly advice you DO make sure to own your own keyboard / piano, for it will be fun to actually play a little and, might you actually want to learn, some practice might come in handy every now and then too. :)
I can read sheets, but want to learn how to play by ear / I want to learn chords.
Look no further, this is exactly what you'll be learning.
What's the difference between this and "Piano Lingo"?
Hack the Piano is our handbook - the very core of our chord-piano approach. It is constructed as a complete self-study guide/course. Piano Lingo is built on this methodology and hosts our online-program version of Hack the Piano, but presents it in a much more "guided" form - telling you exactly what to do when, rewarding you with points to open up new lessons (and stopping you from going faster than is advised). Hack the Piano is go-at-your-own-pace, pick-your-own-lesson-and-pace. In other words: less guided. It's also fully downloadable, whereas Piano Lingo is online-only.
Piano Lingo is set up in "Roadmaps" - specific plans for you to follow vs. the self study mix and match vibe here of the Hack the Piano course. Piano Lingo is completely built upon this very Hack the Piano method. It's perfect as an addition to- or to continue after Hack the Piano.
I can already play piano, will I like this?
Obviously, this depends on your current level. However, the book / course can be used as a 'cookbook', finding stuff that you didn't yet know or cannot yet do. You're free to take a look and if there's really nothing in there for you, you can always get your money back.
I want to learn how to accompany myself or my friend while singing, can I learn this?
What can I say, YES! This is one of the coolest things you can do with the material in this course.
Are there any hidden fees?
Nope. You can access and download everything immediately (or later).
Which version should I choose?
That mostly depends on your budget and preferred way of learning (mostly reading with the ebook, or more videos / course format with the complete edition). They are both the same program, but one is enhanced with a lot of convenient learning tools (videos, downloads etc.) while the other is just an ebook enhanced with lots of short video examples
So, IS this for me?
Basically, if you want to learn how to play piano in the shortest amount of time possible, with the greatest understanding of both the instrument an music in general; if you want to become a Pop-Pianist, a pop-musician, if you want to play your favorite songs from the radio, if you want to play covers to upload to youtube, if you want to play with others or if you want to understand music so you can even write your own then: yes, this is for you.
What if I don't like it?
Let us know within 14 days and we'll give you a full refund - proved you gave the program a real try as per outlined in our terms and conditions. I want to say no questions asked, but if you really didn't like it, we're anxious to know why, since that’d be a rare occasion for us to learn from a dissatisfied customer, so we can hopefully improve the course for the next buyer
€79*
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Hack the Piano - The Full Master Guide (.pdf - 224 pages)**
100+ Example Videos**
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Full Legacy Course Download
Hack the Piano - The Full Master Guide (.pdf - 224 pages)**
100+ HtP Example Videos**
15 Premium Full Length Video Lessons**
Appendix - Cheat Sheets**
100+ HtP Example MIDIs**
Practice Beats**
BONUS: 3 months Piano Lingo Premium Membership
Brand New, Fully Guided Piano Learning Platform with 180+ lessons
* limited time offer. one-time payment. full course & bonus downloads
**downloadable
or get the ebook edition on Apple Books:
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I’ve found Hack the Piano to be a breath of fresh air. Coen offers thorough piano theory along with chord knowledge backed up with superb videos providing visual demonstrations of the subject of the lesson. He also provides wonderful tips for effective practice. This is not work, this is fun.
- Harsant
