Hi, my name is Eric Rader and I’m the founder of this website.
My wife Kristin and I reside in southeast Tennessee where we both are currently school teachers in the local public school system. When I’m not in the classroom, I am creating new and innovative ways to teach individuals like yourself how to play the piano.
I started Piano-Lessons-Made-Simple.com in May of 2010. This site was birthed from a passion to help inspiring musicians enjoy playing the piano the same way I do.
I started playing the piano when I was 8 years old taking the traditional route of private lessons. I was one of those kids that never looked at the sheet music and tried to play the entire song just by listening to what my teacher had just played.
After a few short months, I was frustrated that all I was able to do was read some basic sheet music and not able to play an actual song. I wanted to start playing my favorite songs not just learn to read sheet music.
So with a few months of private lessons under my belt, I sat down at the piano with some chord charts of my favorite church music and started teaching myself to play.
Fast Forward Twenty Years.
Now I can play almost every song I listen to by ear instantly. This isn’t because I have some unique ability, it’s because I have followed some simple methods to train my ear along with some simple music theory that everyone can learn.
It’s not all about playing by ear though.
There are a lot of piano sites on the web these days showing people how to play by ear. This is exactly how I play, but I also believe that it is important to have some knowledge of music theory and the ability to read piano notation.
I don’t mean you need to play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, but it will make you a more well rounded piano player if you are able to read the notes on the piano staff.
There is plenty of information here for everyone. If you want to play by ear, I have tons of great info here to help you. If you want to read piano sheet music, that’s here too. So, whatever style you want to play, I do my best to include it on this site along with the most simple to follow lessons on the web.
So, Why My Website and Not The Thousands of Others On The Web?
I have taken the information that I have learned over the past twenty years and put it here in a simple and easy to follow format so you can learn to play the piano with as little effort possible.
I have come across plenty of roadblocks along my piano learning journey. I have taken the lessons I have learned and have shared them here with you so you don’t have to make the same mistakes that I did. And what’s even better, is that I have it all here in one place.
I promise to do my best to make learning the piano as simple and easy as I can to help even the most beginner piano player. I also strive to include more advanced techniques to meet the needs of those who have been playing the piano for years.
When I’m not working on this site I love producing music in my home studio. I haven’t been brave enough to post any of my recordings online yet, but maybe soon! 😉 We also love to hike the many trails we have here in Tennessee.
My wife is also a traveling Christian Artists. You can find out more about our ministry here Kristin Rader Music
Thanks for visiting my site and I hope you enjoy all the great materials and resources!
Eric Rader