Would you like your children to be able to play the piano? Us too. 

Do you dread adding another drop-off/pick-up event to your schedule? Us too. 

Did you take piano lessons as a kid that stopped when life got too busy? Us too.

We’ve tried a better way. Online piano lessons. Read on to learn how it has worked for us.

Do online piano lessons work for children? 

We have been using Hoffman Academy for online piano lessons since 2015.

Here's a clip of our 14 year old playing. She’s in Hoffman Unit 17. She has never had a traditional piano lesson.

And here's our 8 year old when I walked by and got involved during a practice session.

They might not end up performing at Carnegie Hall, but they’ll certainly be able to enrich their lives with music enjoyment and understanding – and that’s the quality of life improvement that is a win for us!

The rest of this post walks you through the pros and cons of Hoffman Academy and how we use it in our life. If this post is helpful to you, signing up through our link will provide us a small commission.

Pros of using Hoffman Academy online piano lessons vs. in-person piano lessons

  • You never have to get in a car to go to lessons!
  • You are not committed to a set time of day.
  • The next lesson is ready when your student is. They can start right away and not have to wait. 
  • The teacher never cancels for sick days! As long as the internet is working, your child can make progress when they are ready.
  • Recitals can be designed to fit the personality of your student.
  • The curriculum is really strong and covers music theory in an approachable and practical way. Mary Had a Little Lamb illustrates the quality of the curriculum. Most traditional piano methods introduce Mary Had a Little Lamb in the first few weeks. In the Hoffman curriculum it comes in Unit 3. And the student learns it in E Major. With black notes!
  • Ability to understand the circle-of-fifths is slowly baked in from the very beginning.  People were amazed when our young children could play their pieces in multiple keys. You might have learned this under the definiition of transposing.
  • The promise of a puppet show keeps everyone engaged till the end of each video lesson

Cons of using Hoffman Academy online piano lessons vs. in-person piano lessons

  • Printing and hole punching unit materials
  • It is cumbersome to switch back and forth between students in the account. If I did it again, I would register them under separate email accounts and just switch browser accounts in Chrome
  • They might learn music theory and be able to play better than you
  • No stickers for finishing your music

Hoffman Academy does cost money. But price it against a decade of driving to and paying for local lessons, and the savings are like a successful heist of Fort Knox!

Note: Very occasionally in the more advanced units, there is a piece of music that is still under copyright. And you must buy sheet music. You can purchase and download the PDF from a provider online. Generally about $5.

Gear we use for doing Hoffman Academy 

Yamaha U3 - We Bought an Imported Used Piano

We like the U3 for the large soundboard. It's the fullest sound I've heard from an upright. It is nearly as expressive to play as a small grand piano.

Tip: Ask a piano tuner for tips on where to get a good used one in your area. It’s likely not the piano store in the mall.

P45BK 88-key Digital Piano

The P45 is For silent practice. Most often used when the real piano is busy. 

The team at Sweetwater was very helpful in narrowing down the digital piano that was the right fit for us. 

Carry-on Folding Piano

The folding piano is for keeping the practice habit while traveling. For the elementary students this is fun to make any windowsill a practice bench. For advanced students it is great for Hanon exercises, scales, or cord progressions.

Lenovo tablet

We bought a 10 inch Lenovo tablet that was a model or two behind the latest release. It never leaves the piano. All it needs to be able to do is play YouTube videos and run a web browser with a few tabs open. 

If I were to do it again, I might spend a little more on a 13 inch convertible Chromebook with a touch screen. 

A big screen is nice. But it is completely possible to do the Hoffman Lessons on a phone.

3 Ring Binder for Each Student

As a premium member, you get a PDF workbook for each unit. The workbook contains the music, as well as worksheet theory pages that follow along with the lessons. 

We print the unit materials out, and the kids whole punch them and include them in their binders. When they graduate to a new unit, we keep the previous unit in the binder because practice sessions usually include some review of music from the unit before. 

The kids appreciate having tabs or small post it notes to place on the music pages in their binders for quick access.

Secrets for Making Online Piano Lessons Successful

It's about developing the habit of practicing daily

Mr. Hoffman says only practice on days you eat. 

Do they have to practice 30+ minutes a day? That would be nice. Sometimes they do. The focus is on daily practice. Sometimes it is shorter. Enjoyment is more important than endurance

Sometimes we authorize a repertoire day where they only have to review their recent music that they already know. 

On busy weeks the kids choose to spread their practice sessions over a couple days.

Smaller Children Need Assistance

When the kids were little, lessons required an adult to read and help operate the browser. 

We started exploring the piano when they were 5. And they all became interested enough to start Hoffman lessons when they were 6. 

Tracking Practice

As the parent responsible for piano, it is on my daily checklist to ask each child what they are doing to advance their piano skills today. They usually respond with one of the following: 

  • The next video
  • A practice session

Sometimes, they say:

  • I need help
  • Watching the the video again
  • I’m going to practice X part of my new song

We’ve tried using the very good Pianote Practice Planner. It turned out to be too much overhead for the ages we’re at now.

Do you really need to be a premium member of Hoffman Academy?

Yes! The worksheets, music, and games are worth it, but the included practice sessions (a checklist of assignments to help you review and advance) are where the power is.

Couldn't my kid just learn from watching the Hoffman Academy YouTube Channel?

Go watch a few Hoffman Academy lessons with your child on YouTube. If they enjoy them, imagine the additional success they will have with the structured practice sessions in Premium.

Are you ready to start the habit of learning piano with your family?

Click here to sign up for Hoffman Academy. Using our link will provide us a small commission. Thank you. :)