Train with a Columbia College Chicago graduate guiding you through a comprehensive musical journey.

Ryan Krause coached Christian on piano, focusing on refining technique, rhythm, and musicality in pieces like 'Rockets.' They worked on finger independence exercises, thumb placement, and dynamic control. Ryan assigned practice focusing on intentional dynamic variation and finger dexterity, and offered to review recordings Christian might send.

Ryan Krause and Michael Cole had a music lesson where they worked on scales, arpeggios, and began a new piece that introduces 16th notes, trills, and grace notes. Ryan focused on Michael's hand technique, rhythm, and understanding of musical notation. Michael was assigned to practice the new piece, focusing on the main notes and rhythmic accuracy, and they rescheduled the next lesson for July 16th.

In a piano lesson on July 8, 2025, Ryan Krause guided Paul Gill through exercises on scales and arpeggios, introducing a new approach to chromatic scales and assigning Beethoven's "Für Elise" to improve memorization and musicality. Paul was tasked with practicing the first page of "Für Elise," focusing on musical depth and the three against four rhythm, as well as practicing the chromatic scale with specific fingering. Ryan will send Paul the sheet music and a link for payment.

Ryan Krause coached Sofia Garza on piano, covering G major scales, arpeggios with wrist technique, and sight-reading using a hymn to improve note recognition. Sofia will practice the G major scale and arpeggios, focusing on wrist movement and finger relaxation. They agreed to shift lesson times due to Sofia's new nursing job and will focus on sight-reading with hymns in future sessions.

Ryan Krause guided Christian through piano exercises, focusing on scales, arpeggios, and two new pieces: "Rockets" and "What Can I Share". Christian practiced techniques like legato and detached notes, and Ryan introduced music theory concepts such as time signatures and dissonance. Christian is expected to master the notes in "Rockets" and focus on technique in "What Can I Share" for the next session.

On July 7, 2025, Ryan coaches Hari on piano technique and music theory. They troubleshoot audio issues before discussing Hari's progress on "Revolutionary Road," which Ryan suggests might be too advanced. They then analyze musical notations, including rests, adjacent notes, time signatures, key signatures, fermatas, grace notes, slurs, and simultaneous notes. Ryan provides feedback on Hari's scales and arpeggios, emphasizing hand movement and wrist placement. They plan to work on a Thomas Newman piece ("American Beauty") and Ryan assigns practice exercises, including scales, arpeggios, and the first page of the Newman piece, focusing on rhythm.