Ridley Academy Reviews

Best structure

The courses are so well organised…
the structure is logically built in order to gain knowledge step by step..
I wish I could have had access to this earlier on in my life…

Stephen Ridley is a one-of-a-kind artist & teacher!

Stephen Ridley is a one-of-a-kind! He is a sacred artist and gifted teacher so rare to find in most places. He actually cares about people and you can see the excitement and feel the high frequency in his voice and body as he goes through each of the PIANO lessons.

I didn’t think I could take these lessons then CODY, who works with Stephen at the Ridley Academy, walked me through the process and made it possible!

I’ve never studied piano before and am struck by how beautifully Stephen breaks things down into bite-sized pieces before you even need to have a keyboard in front of you! It’s much easier to absorb the materials and you don’t feel overwhelmed.

He DISTILLS each part of this process which will then be put back together again while making it accessible and loads of FUN!

Stephen is inspiring and passionate, sadly so few teachers are! He removes the fear, judgment, and obstacles that hold so many people back in life. He’s contextual and well as innovative. Love this!

He LOVES what he does, it’s obvious. One of the aspects I appreciate most about Stephen’s creation of THE COMPLETE MASTER PIANO CLASS is he works on different aspects of the whole HUMAN and how it functions to be successful. He talks about one’s purpose, mindset, approach, and then the mechanics of the actual instrument itself! He’s setting us up for SUCCESS, not for failure!

Not only do you get to learn to play the piano which doesn’t take years and years, but you also get to learn how to BE successful in LIFE no matter what or where you end up! Now that’s POWERFUL!

Stephen is a consummate artist and teacher with a BIG HEART that inspires millions!!

I can finally create my own music after years of only reading sheet music.

I came across Stephen’s ads and webinar through social media. I had played piano for a number of years, but I always played from sheet music. I rarely deviated from what was written and didn’t feel comfortable creating anything that was my own. I felt that Ridley Academy could give me those tools and fundamental understanding to help me create my own music, and this is what I’ve received.

I have loved the program, which is made up of simple to understand, entertaining and easily digestible videos. On top of the recorded lessons, on occasion, Stephen does live Q and A’s in the Facebook group that are ALWAYS inspirational and helpful. I appreciate Stephen’s desire to spend the time he needs to to answer all of the questions so everyone feels supported during these sessions.

The Ridley Academy Facebook group has so many supportive fellow music students. It feels like a safe space to share wherever we are at in our music learning. It’s played a huge part in me feeling more confident to share my own music publicly, beyond the group.

This week, we were challenged to write a 60 second song, using 4 specific chords. It flowed SO naturally for me! This would not have been the case a couple years ago. I have a lot of gratitude for what I’ve accomplished and deep thanks to Stephen for his guidance and well-thought through course. I look forward to continuing my learning with Ridley Academy.

6th Time’s The Charm!!

Ever since our 2 daughters moved out of the house, our baby grand piano has been relegated to furniture status. Over the years, I have purchased beginning piano instruction from 6 different sources including one-on-one private lessons.

I am several weeks into the Ridley Academy course, and for the first time, I actually feel like I am learning to play the piano and making real progress! Thank you, Stephen!

Perfect delight on the learning curve!

As an intermediate musician who hasn’t played in a few years, I found this course to be a great way to get focused and stay motivated. I like the pace, I like the personality, and the course is definitely helping me level up. I would only caution to invest the money if you have keys to play and some starting desire to practice…if you have those two things this is a great value for your time!!

Just started learning to play the piano…

Just started learning to play the piano and it’s great how Stephen explains his craft, that even if you feel to start off with a little inadequate, he encourages you and makes you feel you can accomplish your dream.
Stephen is very talented and upbeat and teaches with so much joy and enthusiasm, that it’s great going on this journey with him.

I’m loving this course! Excellent… Highly recommend!!!

I’m loving this course! Stephen has put together a well-thought-out, well-organized, and well-written course to learn piano! His enthusiasm is infectious and motivational! He’s able to instill within you the self-confidence that you can achieve great things with a little dedication to practice and learn each day. The course builds on itself and is easy to follow, even for beginners. Stephen illustrates how the parts of the pianoforte create the sounds you hear when it’s played. So much education, so much value! I highly recommend this course!

I have Grade 8 piano. I love playing. Ridley will get you enjoying playing without the pain I went through. That’s what matters.

I am a Classical Grade 8 pianist having played the piano for 45 years. I have always wanted to be able to play “without music” that is without the score. But never confidently.
Ridley is not a Lang Lang or other concert pianist in any measure but what is he? He is a visionary. Having listened to his webinar I totally get him. He has a system that could take you from zero to being able to perform. He can take me sideways so that I am not the slave to the manuscript but able to enjoy playing without all the constraints of my education. Thank you Maestro Ridley. I get you…!

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it possible to experience such a delightfully amazing, fun online training in learning piano. Ridleys Acadamy nailed it.
Their program is well thought through. Stephen and his team are on the pulse in delivering on every aspect, from the support team, to Stephen being there in every practise drill exercise.
This is so different from taking private lessons where you go for your 30 minute lesson and then you practice your drills on your own. That was a painful experience. Heaven forbid if you couldn’t dedicate 30 minutes a day. Then guilt would start to set in. So different to Stephen asking for 10 minutes a day.

I was skeptical about doing an online course, I looked at a few, and was I thought a firm NO. Then as social media does it sent me a viewing of Stephens course. His video was different than others. I emailed his support team for info. Support followed up with a phone call from Britain to where I live in Canada and they answered all my concerns, no pressure from them at all.
The rest is history. One of the best decision I have ever made.
I have been in Stephens program for 6 or so weeks and know more now than I did with 3 yrs of Royal Conservatory piano lessons. To top it off, way more confident in my ability of playing the piano.
Thank you Stephen and the amazing Ridley Acadamy team. I now know I can do this and will be damn good.

Wonderful and uplifting!

I just finished another section and totally can see and FEEL the progress. This course is wonderful, it is totally evident that Stephen has spent years really learning not only to play the piano but the meaning and history, and he kindly shares that with the students of Ridley Academy. Thank you so much for bringing that passion and positive energy to each section of the course. I am so glad I purchased this course!

I am so excited to be a part of the Ridley Academy. I highly recommend it!. Stephen’s enthusiasm has made learning the piano easy, simple and understandable. You don’t even need a piano to get started. Just start!! I’ve learned so much in a few short weeks. A Commitment of 10-15 minutes every day will change your life for the better. Isn’t that what we all want, Is to have purpose and fulfillment?
Thank you Stephen for your vision and commitment and thank you support team for always being there.
Hugs
Debra

Stephen’s Techniques are crazy. They are like magic. I couldn’t believe i could play any classical piece without any guidance or a piece of written music. I compose in my head without thinking. this is crazy he is marvelous

I’d really like to say thank you to Stephen.
Besides being incredibly funny, the courses are short, non intimidating, fun and very well thought out.
Each step is important and easy to follow.
It’s actually so exciting that you can’t wait to get to the next step.
It challenges and stretches you to prioritize and reorganize your week. Making life more beautiful.
It’s given me such a well rounded broader understanding of the piano that I never new existed It’s been really so much fun!!

I just went through the free introductory course to singing by Ridley Academy. It’s absolutely amazing and perfect for any beginner. Though it just contains four modules, it gives us an understanding of what we can expect if we purchase the main course. Stephen has explained the procedure of finding our vocal range in such simple terms in this free course. He has also explained on how we must practise to expand our vocal range. Can’t wait to purchase his paid course on singing!!!

I need to preface my remarks by a disclosure. i am a 77 year old retired physician who is on immunotherapy for cancer and has Parkinsons disease. I have always wanted to play the piano. I have tried a variety of self teaching books and software but it have been a slow painful experience with little progress. Beyond basics I always felt lost. Then came Stephen with his enthusiasm and boundless energy. He leaves his ego on the sidelines and cares not about looking foolish or silly and lets it all hang out to get his points across. Every session from note reading and chord formation to singing and voice training is absolutely brilliant, fun, and entertaining. His teaching style takes a sledge hammer to the rigid wall of tedious exercises and infuses the student with a desire to play with music and explore the piano instrument the way a young child explores a new toy. Time disappears replaced by the enjoyment of discovering and creating new sounds and deveating from the written notes of a chosen song to mold it into what sounds good to the student. I will never be a musician in a band or a concert pianist but I will be a smile enjoying being able to play some of my favorite songs rather then just a listener who says, I wish I could make music too. Thanks Stephen, You be the man.I have read a few negative reviews and there are not many. I do not think they gave the crash course or the master academy a run.

My name is Shane Boyer I’m a 47 year old building contractor and finish painter. I started playing piano the same day I signed up with Stephen Ridley. I never played piano before I started with Ridley Academy.

I needed a dynamic teacher who wouldn’t make me feel stupid by talking down to me, but at the same time I needed all of the very basic “meat and bones” type of “elementary” education , of course because I knew nothing ! … sooo

After searching for 3 months online and looking into 7 different teachers/online studies… I found a Facebook ad for this scrawny, spiked haired, big toothed crazy guy banging the bass drum beats on his piano im the middle of the street , and I knew at that moment he was the one!

21/2 years ago. Now I can write my own songs , play any scale with either hand blindfolded and backwards. Basic chords , advanced , 7th, 9ths, etc !! Either hand .

I didn’t learn to play the piano!

I learned How to LEARN . FINALLY!
Soooo..
Simply Do it.
Do it to every word he says ! You’ve got MY word now, and that’s not small. He is – in fact- the REAL THING.

I’ve watched every live Q&A over these last 2 1/2 years and Stephen and I also have had direct contact. He is fully involved between concerts and is very interactive. The Facebook group has many “seasoned students” that know the ropes as well!!!

Enjoy every beat! Good luck! Don’t quit!

I’m still in the middle of the course, I started it around March 15. If you’ve ever wanted to learn to play the piano then I believe this is the way to go. It’s not easy but it’s not too hard either. You do have to work hard at it but you don’t have to devote hours and hours every day to master the subjects. It’s all broken down into easily digestible parts which if you master you will be able to play when you have reached the end of the course. It really is worth every penny.

The concept for learning the piano are excellent. But even better is that there is actual support to encourage you along the way. or nudge you to keep on track. would certainly recommend to anyone who is considering piano/music.

I don’t want to say Stephen Ridley was born to teach piano because obviously he is meant for so much more.

But also, Stephen Ridley was born to teach piano.

The “Complete Piano Masterclass“ course is fantastic, a real game changer! Stephen breaks down the course into individual chapters which all logically build upon each other. Within each chapter (e.g. fingerwork, notes, scales, rhythm etc) you will find short videos with explanations and background followed with very clear instructions of what and how to practice.

Stephen comes across as exceptionally motivating, it is so much fun to watch. Each mini-step is easy and doable by anyone. The beauty then comes by putting it all together, step by step, until you are enabled to move both hands individually, hitting the right notes and be improvising because you understand what sounds good together, read and write music and enjoy a rather profound understanding of music. The course does not teach you individual songs. It provides you all the knowledge and skills so you are enabled to learn any song you want. And to express it your way rather than in someone else’s way. You take it at your own speed.

The course is accompanied by an exercise book and dictionary. I was also happy to join and listen into the Facebook group which is great for questions and to make you feel part of a group of students, some with similar situations and some seemingly lightyears in advance yet very nice and sharing their own experiences and advice. I am very grateful for what I’ve learned so far, it has been far more than “just music“.

The course is definitely worth its price for me, I would have never gotten that far that quickly (maybe not even at all), that flexibly (some topics you can do anywhere anytime without piano) and with so much fun and so much motivation to go forward. And there is so much more in this which is beyond words.

I can only say a big big thank you to Stephen for having created this course with so much passion and detail! Hope you will enjoy it as much as I do – just take the first step, no matter what phase in life you are in and how skilled or unskilled you think you are – it will be great and a very enriching experience!

Reading through the other reviews, I must admit that it is easy to believe this is a scam. I taught myself guitar and I did that in an unorthodox manner so I could believe that learning piano in a different way could be possible. The first block of lessons are there to get you in the right mindset, to believe that it is all possible. The second block is there to teach you dexterity and only then does it move forward with notes, octaves, scales etc. Even though I bought the package I was still sceptical and was waiting for the scam penny to drop, but with each new video and practice I was genuinely getting better. I’m not very far into it but I would honestly say that if you can afford it and if you are seriously into the idea of learning piano in a different and more approachable way to consider this course. In this way, my fingers are nimble and piano ready before I even learn to play anything.

The Ridley Academy is one of the best things you can get into for your exploration into learning the ways around the piano. Myself as a beginner starting earlier this year, got to say made great progress in the finger exercises, beyond that is my future and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead on my journey. Stephen makes it so easy to understand in the Academy master classes and the most important!.. Stephen makes it fun. Definitely we’ll worth it.

I am 82 and have always wanted to play the piano but always failed with so many different ways that i tried to learn to play. I have started this course and its been about 2 months and I am learning so much – its not easy learning the major and minor scales but Stephen and his associated make it easy with short simple and important steps leading to the next level. I am doing cords and. Understanding theory that I never paid attention to and looking forward to playing with both hands….and I have given myself 12 months to accomplish this. I do practice from 10 – 45 minutes a day and making progress and when i get stuck – there is always help…I love this approach to learning to play the piano….i figure it will come to about 25 bucks a week which is cheaper than I have paid others and its better approach to learning,…this is my dream coming true..!!

I stumbled upon Ridley Academy after years of wanting to play the piano. Like many, I’d had lessons as a child but found it frustrating and so difficult to learn so gave up. Now 40 years later and I can’t quite believe how different my experience is. Stephen has developed a program that not only makes it incredibly easy to understand, but is also so enjoyable to learn. It’s revolutionary! I can’t wait to learn something new every day! Thank you Stephen!🙏

I’m only a few weeks into the course and it is going as well as Stephen promised it would. He breaks the lessons down into tiny, manageable parts. We practice the tiny parts until perfect before moving on to the next exercise. It is so fun! It’s kind of like learning video-game skills, but waaaay more productive. I’m loving it.