About Me - Pop Piano Teacher in Townsville
Hi, I’m Lisha Kayrooz.
Most piano teachers come from a background of Classical music and academia – not from live performance or recording in the world of Pop music.
This means they don't have the experience to help students learn the skills they need to successfully play Pop music – whether playing at home for their own enjoyment, jamming with friends in an amateur band, or as a professional musician.
As a professional musician for 15 years, I’ve had a broad range of experience including...
Playing solo piano gigs
Accompanying singers
Performing in cover bands of different sizes/configurations/styles
Performing in tribute shows
Session musician playing and arranging on other artists' recordings
Arranging instrument parts for other musicians
Musical Director of a church
Teaching privately and conducting group workshops
Transcribing and notating songs and instrument parts by ear from the recordings
Through these experiences, I learned the essential skills you need to succeed as a modern musician:
How to authentically play various styles of popular music
How to play solo and accompany other musicians and singers
How to create memorable piano parts that enhance the song
How to analyse and understand music so you can be more creative and versatile
It gave me the versatility to function in a variety of musical environments and situations.
It also showed me how inadequate and irrelevant traditional piano/music lessons are for the modern piano player. This made me passionate about teaching piano players the skills they need to successfully play and write popular music.
My specialised Pop Piano Lessons will help you master the skills you need to play modern piano styles. I’ll show you the techniques and tools I used as a professional musician so you can stop wasting time and start sounding like a pro… in weeks or months instead of years.
To see and hear me playing, go to the Music Videos page.
To learn more about the story of how I became a musician and a piano teacher, keep reading below.
Ready to Start Your Pop Piano Journey In Townsville?
I'd love to have a chat with you about how I can help you achieve your music goals!
Click the button below to book a free consultation or contact me for more information.
From Musical Inspiration to Action
As a teenager, I was captivated by the music of Elton John and Billy Joel. I was so inspired by their songs and the way they played piano that I wanted to learn how to play like them. That desire built up in me for years but I didn't do anything about it until I was about 16-and-a-half, and I couldn't bear it anymore.
So I approached my Grandmother to teach me. She was a classically trained piano teacher, so I thought she could help me accomplish my goal. And she lived with us at the time, so it was convenient. And it was free since she didn't charge me for lessons. This was a bonus because we didn't have much money when I was growing up. I told her what I wanted to be able to do, and she agreed to teach me.
Early Lessons and Challenges
So we started lessons and it all went well enough for the first year or so. She taught me from a tutor book, and it gradually built my skills. But the songs in the tutor book were mostly Classical or folk songs or Christmas Carols. They weren't anything like the pop and rock songs I wanted to play.
I mentioned this to her and her solution was to give me a book called Jazz, Rags & Blues by Martha Mier thinking that this would appease my appetite for playing Pop and Rock music.
It didn't.
It was slightly more interesting than the more Classical pieces she had made me learn before. But these Jazz, Rags & Blues pieces didn't even sound authentically jazzy or bluesy – they sounded pretty naff. And besides, I wasn't interested in playing Jazz or Ragtime or Blues at that time – I was interested in playing Pop and Rock piano like Elton John and Billy Joel. So I persevered for a while longer with this.
She also made me start working through Dulcie Holland's Master Your Theory books, because if I wanted to write songs I'd need to understand music theory. That seemed logical to me, so I started working through those theory books. As I did, I found the material in those books to be incredibly boring and confusing. Not only that, I couldn't see the relevance of it to writing pop songs. There seemed to be no connection at all, no practical application for it. In hindsight, this makes total sense. Those particular theory books are used to prepare students for music exams, so the material is based on understanding Classical music.
Breaking Away from Traditional Lessons
I became more and more frustrated, disillusioned and demoralised. It seemed like with every piano lesson I had I was moving further away from my music goals, not closer. So in desperation, I asked my Grandmother if she could teach me how to play this Elton song. I played the CD for her to listen to it. And then she attacked the song. She said it wasn't “real” music.
I was angry and upset. I had specifically asked her to teach me how to play like Elton John and now she was flat-out refusing to honour that. Not only that, she was denigrating this music that I loved, the music that inspired me to even want to play piano in the first place.
That was the last straw. I'd had enough. By this stage, I'd been having lessons with her for about 18 months and I was no closer to being able to play the music I loved or playing piano the way my heroes did. So I told her I didn't want to have piano lessons any more. I knew that if I kept having lessons with her I'd just keep wasting time and get no closer to my goals, and I'd lose my passion for music and playing piano.
I knew that I had to do something different, but what? I didn't know how I was going to achieve my goal, but I resolved that I would figure it out and I would do whatever it took.
Choosing My Own Path in Music
I had questions that I couldn't seem to find answers to, like:
How do I play piano like my heroes?
How do I convincingly play different piano styles like Rock, Blues, Gospel, Country, and R&B. What were the elements that defined these styles?
How do I play in a band?
How do I create a piano solo?
How do I improvise?
How do I create my own signature piano style?
How do I authentically recreate the sounds I hear on these records that inspired me to want to play piano in the first place? There was no sheet music of the transcriptions of these piano parts. The sheet music that was available at that time was solo piano arrangements that included the vocal melody in the right hand, so they weren't the authentic piano parts that you'd hear on the records.
The Turning Point in My Musical Journey
Then something really serendipitous happened. I stumbled upon a website run by a man named Glen Breed. He was transcribing Elton John songs and doing detailed analyses of them. So not only did I get the sheet music to play the piano parts exactly as I heard them on the record, but his analysis helped me understand how those songs and the piano parts were being created. It was around that time that I also discovered some of Mark Harrison's extraordinary resources like The Pop Piano Book and his Contemporary Music Theory course. Those were both game-changers.
There were many more songs that I wanted to play because they had really interesting chord progressions or brilliant piano parts, but there was no sheet music for them at all. But I wasn't going to let that stop me from achieving my goal. So I started working out songs by ear, just the chord progressions at first. And as I kept doing this over hundreds of songs, my ear became better and better. And then I started transcribing the piano parts from recordings note-for-note, and I ended up transcribing dozens or possibly hundreds of these.
I was studying different styles of piano playing: Pop, Rock, Blues, Gospel, Country, R&B, and Jazz. I was analysing the distinctions between these styles that made them unique and allowed me to play them authentically.
Practical Experience and Growth
Around that time I also started working at a music shop. I started meeting musicians and they asked me to come and jam with them. This was trial by fire. I quickly realised how out of my depth I was. But I adapted. Because they were better players than me, I had to grow quickly to get to their level and keep up with them.
At this stage, I had finished high school and I was only working part-time at the music shop. So I would practice for 8 to 10 hours a day, 6 days a week. Now that I had these new resources created by experienced pop piano players, I had the proper guidance and direction to help me achieve my goals. As a result, my playing developed rapidly.
By the time I had been playing for about 3 years, I started to play gigs. At first, I was playing solo piano in restaurants and accompanying a friend of mine who was a singer. Then I started to play in a couple of Rock bands. Over the next few years, I performed in a diverse array of projects:
an acoustic duo
Musical Director for a church
a Pop/Rock “big band” for which I wrote the arrangements for the horn section as well as played keys
Developing a Unique Style
Getting this diverse experience helped me become a more versatile musician, and was crucial in me developing my own unique style of piano playing. I had transcended merely “playing it like the record” or playing like my heroes. Now I could be more creative in my playing. This versatility was essential for the next phase in my career: session recording.
Transition to Session Recording
Musicians started to approach me to play keys on their recordings. This involved creating original piano/keyboard parts for their songs, and, in some cases, arranging backing vocals, horns or other instrument parts. These recordings spanned different musical genres like Pop, Rock, Country, Blues, R&B, Jazz, and Hip Hop.
Realisation and Teaching Philosophy
When I was working in the music shop, I was meeting a lot of people who were taking Classical piano lessons and losing their passion for music because it was not what they wanted to play, and wasting time and money on these piano lessons that weren't moving them closer to their goal of playing the music they love.
I remembered how I felt when I was learning from my Grandmother and she refused to teach me how to play like Elton John and Billy Joel. I was seeing these people who had done Classical piano lessons for years and yet they couldn't play Pop, Rock, Blues, Jazz, etc.
It became very obvious to me the limitations of the Classical approach. It wasn't teaching piano players the skills they needed to successfully play modern popular music – to play different styles of pop music, to play the rhythms in pop music, to understand chords and chord progressions, to be able to improvise, to be creative, to play by ear, to be able to write songs.
I realised that these skills I had developed myself had real value in helping these people fulfil their musical dreams – to be able to create the sounds they want and play the music they love. My mission became to pass on this valuable knowledge that I had acquired in the trenches as a performing piano player.
I wanted to be the kind of piano teacher I wish I'd had when I was first learning.
Finding the Right Guide for Your Musical Path
The main takeaway from my story is the importance of seeking out someone with the right experience who can guide you - a teacher who understands, supports, and is aligned with your goals.
My Grandmother was an excellent Classical piano teacher, but she wasn’t the right teacher for me. She couldn't help me achieve my musical goals.
If I had had a teacher who was aligned with the popular music I wanted to play and more supportive of my musical goals, I would have made more rapid progress with my piano playing and saved a lot of time, energy, effort and frustration.
Ready to Start Your Pop Piano Journey In Townsville?
If my story resonates with you and you're looking for a piano teacher who:
can support your musical development,
can guide you to achieve your goals,
can fast-track your progress and save you time, energy and frustration,
is In Tune with popular music,
has many years of professional experience performing and recording popular music…
then I might be the right teacher for you.
I'd love to have a chat with you to see how if we’re a match to work together and how I can help you take your piano playing to the next level.
Click the button below to book a free consultation or contact me for more information.
Student Success Stories & Testimonials
“After just 1 term of studying with Lisha, I have accomplished my life long dream of accompanying myself to sing my favourite songs. Lisha makes immediate sense of patterns and theory in a way that is easily understandable, brings the instrument to life and introduces you to the magic of playing the piano in a way that directly relates to your goals. I have achieved my desired outcome far quicker then I could have anticipated. I highly recommend Lisha if you are looking for someone to not only provide a way of understanding music in the most practical, holistic and applicable way, but also someone who will inspire you, coach you and help you reach your goals.”
- Estelle
“Learning with Lisha has been an exceptional experience. Through his insightful lessons, I've gained a deeper understanding of theoretical music concepts, and have discovered invaluable structures that have translated into other aspects of my life. Thanks to his guidance, my musical foundation is now clearer and more defined. I highly recommend Lisha for anyone seeking to accelerate their knowledge and skills in music!”
- Jake
“Lisha's ability to identify what I have needed to progress and offer structured advice including incredible and consistent insights have accelerated my growth immensely. Definitely the highest of recommendations.”
- Adam
“Lisha has helped me build a toolbox of theoretical knowledge and practical skills to help me realise my musical goals. The piano skills taught are intentional, functional and versatile. I highly recommend Lisha at In Tune for anyone that wants a personalised contemporary approach to piano tuition.”
- Daniel
“Recently I began learning piano from Lisha, and the experience has been really great. In the short time I have been going, I feel as though I have learnt a lot on the foundations and fundamentals of piano, which has been very helpful. Lisha's lessons are also well structured which I find makes it easier to see how I've progressed. I'm especially enjoying learning a new skill and building my confidence in music. I recommend Lisha to anyone interested in learning the piano in a welcoming and judgement-free environment.”
- Ayisha
“Lisha creates a peaceful, welcoming learning environment where you are free to be yourself and learn. He teaches at a pace suited to the student and is very knowledgeable. Highly recommend!!”
- Hannah
“Lisha is a brilliant and skillful music/piano teacher. My experience with him at In Tune music & life coaching has been amazing and has made me feel that i will be successful on my Piano journey. Lisha is also very patient with my learning. I have enjoyed the challenge without having to feel pressured. I cannot recommend him enough.”
- Connor"
“Lisha is an excellent music teacher and life coach. He creates a safe and professional environment where you are guided with feedback, not judgement. Grateful to have a teacher who has helped facilitate and support my achievements. Highly recommended. ”
- Zarina
“This year my daughter and I began taking piano/music theory lessons. We've both enjoyed learning more about music and seen great progress with our playing, which I believe is a direct result of Lisha's student-centred approach. Relaxed learning space, affordable prices and an engaging 'conversational' type approach to learning music.”
- Lincoln
“Lisha has provided a fascinating and captivating learning experience. His targeted approach and step-by-step lessons have built a strong foundation, allowing me to approach new skills with confidence. Over ten sessions, I've gained confidence and explored various genres and styles. Lisha's teaching style has shaped my musical abilities and nurtured my passion for the piano. I highly recommend him for a captivating and goal-oriented learning experience.”
- Abe
“Highly recommend! Lisha takes a personalised, goal orientated approach to his sessions and tailors them to ensure that you achieve whatever it is that you're aiming for. He is methodical, patient and kind, and my girls enjoy his funny side as well. Since starting piano lessons at In Tune, my daughters' engagement with and enjoyment of learning has increased and they look forward to their lessons each week. Thanks Lisha for being such an amazing teacher and guide!”
- Jessica
“My learning experience with Lisha has been amazing. I have enjoyed many things in our lessons but if I could pick one thing, it's that he challenges me to do my best. My lessons have restored my confidence as a budding musician.”
- Jasper
“Very experienced and able to deliver technical jargon in an easily understandable manner.”
— Jason