Frequently Asked Questions
First, it’s the unique quality of the coaching. Before Lou transitioned to online coaching several years ago, students eagerly traveled to his studio for weekly lessons, in some cases driving over 100 miles each way. They came from a range of over twenty cities along the California coast and inland, stretching from Santa Barbara to Hollywood. With online lessons, the geographic range expanded and his students are now found in states as diverse as Maryland, Texas, New York, Hawaii, Florida, Delaware, Illinois, California, Michigan, Colorado, Washington, Ohio, North Carolina, and Nevada.
Second, the flexibility. Lou is able to work with students on many aspects of music, from piano playing, to song writing, to film scoring. And he can work with you in any musical genre you enjoy, including classical, hymns, rock, jazz, pop, broadway, blues, country, latin, and world music.
Then there is the creativity. As a composer, Lou can even create piano arrangements of your favorite music for your personal use, often on the spot, and designed to exactly suit your playing skill level. Given his schedule, the present opportunity to receive world-class coaching - live and online - is being extended to a limited number of students.
You can receive individually-tailored coaching in one or more of the following areas:
- Piano or keyboard playing (from beginners to advanced)
- Song writing
- Theory and Composition
- Studio recording, editing and production
- Orchestration (how to write music for an orchestra or ensemble of instruments)
- Film scoring (how to write music for films), and more
Lou is known for his rapport with students, and for his gentle, joyful, patient, and uniquely effective approach to teaching. With his extensive and varied artistic background, and over 25 years coaching experience, he is able to offer students an individualized course of study tailored to their specific needs and interests. Some learn to play the piano or keyboard. Others learn song-writing, improvising, theory, composition, arranging, or film scoring.
Lou is willing to work with you at whatever level of development you happen to be, from an absolute beginner to a professional. With his help, his students learn to play or write music in a variety of genres, including classical, hymns, rock, jazz, pop, broadway, blues, country, latin, even world music.
What do his students look for in their studies? Some enjoy music as a way to finally explore a long-standing interest, or to relax and unwind from the pressures of work. Others have some experience playing the piano, or writing songs, and want to increase their knowledge and skills. Yet others are experienced recording artists who need coaching in certain areas or help with a specific project.
No two students have exactly the same program of study with Lou. Each one is unique. Since they vary in their interests and abilities, each receives from Lou precisely what he or she needs. This is one of the reasons his students progress rapidly and reach musical objectives in a fraction of the time it would normally take.
Lou has an extraordinary ability to draw out and develop his students’ musical potential, whether they are interested in playing music or creating their own. His piano and keyboard students have the deep satisfaction of playing their favorite music. Some of his song-writing students have gone on to produce their own albums. Others, having started their composition studies with Lou “from scratch,” have later been admitted to competitive colleges and universities, including the Berklee College of Music (in Boston), CalArts (in Valencia, California), and the UC Berkeley music department, majoring in film scoring.
The system of online coaching Lou has developed is as effective as teaching in person. While seated at your piano or keyboard, in the comfort and privacy of your home, you can receive lessons using an online system that virtually places Lou by your side, giving you live, one-to-one coaching.
The arrangement is simple to set up and use, even if you have limited experience with computers. Today’s online video calls allow the teacher and student to easily see and hear one another during the lesson, with a system that’s completely private and secure.
The system includes video calls on Skype. The details of the arrangement will be presented during an initial conversation. If you would like, as a courtesy, Lou will assist you with the set up, which can be done in a matter of minutes.
One of the benefits of this arrangement is that you can receive lessons without stepping out the door - and without needing to have a coach visit your home each week. You can even continue taking lessons while traveling.
Before making a decision, you might wish to arrange to have a conversation with Lou by phone. This will give you a chance to share your interests and musical tastes with him, while you get more familiar with his background and his approach to teaching. You will also receive a review of the simple setup he has developed for online teaching, and an initial lesson, all without charge or obligation.
Meanwhile, the following questions can be helpful. If your answer is “yes” to even one of them, then you are a good candidate for studies with Lou:
- Do you have a childhood dream involving music, that's been waiting to be fulfilled?
- Do you ever walk by a piano or keyboard in your home and wish it was getting more use (other than the cat taking naps on it)?
- Have you ever wanted to learn the piano or keyboard, so you could play your favorite songs?
- Do you already play the piano or keyboard and want to improve your skills and overall musicianship?
- Do you play the piano mostly by ear and wish you had a coach who was flexible enough to work with you on your own terms?
- Do you ever hear melodies in your head and realize they're not from a song you heard before, but rather your own?
- Have you ever wanted to learn how to create your own songs or compositions?
- If you have already created songs or compositions, have you ever wished you had some help in developing them, adding musical instruments to fill out the sound, cultivating your style, or writing down the music?
Books and pre-recorded videos produced by other musicians can be found online, offering to help people teach themselves to play the piano or to write songs. But students who try such an approach soon discover how limited it is. To progress quickly and learn well, there is no substitute for a live, effective instructor coaching you – adapting the material to your personal strengths and needs, providing insight into the inner workings of music, reducing the learning process to manageable, progressive steps, and helping you reach new levels. This is what Lou offers with his live, online coaching sessions.
You can be at any stage of musical development, from an absolute beginner to a professional. Lou takes pride in helping his students progress, regardless of their previous level of experience. Some of his students are beginners who enjoy music as a way to finally explore a long-standing interest, or to relax and unwind from the pressures of a fast-paced career. Others have some experience playing the piano, or writing songs, and want to increase their knowledge and skills. Yet others are experienced recording artists who need coaching in certain areas or help with a specific project.
Lou works primarily with adults. Adult students do not need to meet any requirements. They range from absolute beginners, on one end, to professionals, on the other. The subject matter of your lessons may cover any aspect of music, from learning to play simple pieces on the piano or keyboard, all the way to writing songs and producing albums in a professional studio.
Yes. Children and youth need to be at least 10 years of age and be highly motivated. It’s preferable that they have a little experience playing the piano and reading music.
Please note that minors must be accompanied by a responsible adult during every online lesson.
Regarding instruments, Lou focuses only on the piano and keyboard. (Learning to play either of these makes it much easier to understand music theory and to learn to play other instruments.) As far as developing your creativity, if that is your interest, the sky is the limit. Lou can work with you even if you prefer to play by ear. He can teach you to play from a fakebook, to make arrangements of your favorite songs suited to your level of ability, to improvise, and create your own songs and compositions.
Yes. Some of Lou's services go beyond coaching, though these are less common. Sometimes, individuals with a creative bent would like to have a one-time evaluation of their music. Or they may prefer to commission Lou to "flesh out" their musical ideas. In these cases, the following special services are offered:
Professional Evaluations:
- A professional evaluation of your song(s) for quality and marketability
Song Transcriptions:
- This involves writing down your song with music notation to produce a professional, publishable, written score as sheet music
- Building a collection of your songs for publication as sheet music
Arranging:
- Turning your basic melodic idea into a full-fledged song
- Creating the music for instruments to accompany your song, suitable for a live performance, or for recording by a band
- Arranging songs for piano
Orchestration:
- Expanding your song into a Hollywood-style movie theme with partial or full orchestra
- A recording of the orchestration, using physically modeled softsynths, can also be arranged
If you are interested in song-writing rather than piano, you can play or sing your song for Lou, live, during the lesson. If your rough draft of the song is recorded or written down, you can send the file to him as part of the video call, or show it to him by sharing your screen. Additionally, before or during a lesson, you can email it to him as an attachment. He can help you with every aspect of your song, from arranging it for instruments to copyright procedures.
Lessons are $350 for one hour, and $250 for 3/4 hour (regardless of subject matter).
The preferred methods of payment, in order of preference, are by electronic transfer (such as Zelle), or through a monthly bank service, or by personal check.