Hoffman Academy

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Hoffman Academy

Bringing free, quality music lessons to users worldwide. Follow us for more content and tips! Super-fun piano lessons that work.
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Start playing songs from your very first lesson! With our groundbreaking method, you’ll learn to read, understand, and create music. It’s a complete education that’s affordable and packed with fun for every age.

09/04/2026

Usually you count four quarter notes, but if there's an eight on the bottom, you count eighth notes. If there's a six on the top, you count six eighth notes.⁠
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In this example, we'll go through a slightly tricky 6/8 rhythm, including syncopation, and you'll see how it's counted out. It also helps to put beat emphasis on beat 1 and beat 4, dividing the measure into two groups of three.⁠
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Some see 6/8 as having two big beats divided into smaller groups of three. Whichever way helps you count it out accurately, we recommend you use it!⁠
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Follow for more music theory made easy :)

09/01/2026

🎹 September Student Challenge: Posture Perfect
Play any song using your very best piano posture! Sit tall, relax your shoulders, curve your fingers, and keep your feet flat on the floor or supported. Take a moment to check your setup before you begin.

🌟 Share your video at https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/showcase. Our team picks a favorite each month to win Hoffman Academy merch. Pianists of every experience level are welcome to join in the fun!

🎵 A great performance starts before the first note! Our free Piano Posture Checklist covers bench position, tall back, arm weight, and finger shape:
https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/store/learning-and-teaching-resources/piano-posture-checklist

🎃 Coming in October: Start planning that costume! Our biggest contest of the year returns, and this time we're picking three winners.

08/29/2026

🎼 Kodály, Orff, Suzuki, Dalcroze: four time-tested approaches to teaching music, each with real strengths. Our new guide to building an elementary music curriculum walks through all of them, then shows how the Hoffman Method combines the best of Kodály and Suzuki with current child development research. What does music look like in your classroom or homeschool right now?

Read the guide: http://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/elementary-music-curriculum

08/28/2026

Did you know a bass clef is actually a fancy letter "F" ? That's because it's mean to signify the F-line on the staff. In the 1500s they drew their letters fancy if they wanted to, and composers especially did this.⁠
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From the F-line, you can count up or down to the notes you're looking for. C is the third space down, and G is the bottom line. Once you have these markers in your head, it's much easier to know where you are in each clef.⁠
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Follow for more insights!

08/26/2026

Identify the major and minor seventh by ear! A seventh interval is an interval that wants to resolve - that's your first clue. Does it sound like it wants to go somewhere else? Now ask, does it want to go up or down?⁠
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We also can tell by level of dissonance alone, because the major seventh interval is one of the most common and yet dissonant intervals there are.⁠
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Follow for more tips!

08/24/2026

Instead of counting every time, look for the octave, then count down either one or two half steps to find the 7th.⁠
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If you're looking at the staff and not the piano, skip two lines or two spaces to see the 7th interval. ⁠
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Take C to B for example. You'll see C on a line in the treble clef, then skip the E and G lines. If you start on D (Which is on a space), skip the F and A spaces, then see C. That's your 7th interval. ⁠
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Is it major or minor? Well, you tell us!

08/23/2026

🔍 Sorting the useful learning apps from the noise takes time, so we did that part for you. Our guide to free educational apps for kids covers names like Khan Academy Kids and Prodigy, plus where music fits in. Which app has stuck with your child the longest?

See the full guide: http://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/free-educational-apps-for-kids

08/21/2026

What is syncopation? It's when your given rhythm occurs mostly off the main beat. It's the most common types of melodic rhythms in pop music today actually! ⁠
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They are trick to read, but once you get the feel for the basic, most common ones, they get easier to read on the fly. Here are three rhythms to try right now.⁠
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Follow for more tips!

08/19/2026

Here's how to find the IV chord in any key:⁠
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1. Count up to the 4th note of the scale of the key you're in.⁠
2. That note is the root note of the IV chord.⁠
3. Build a major chord based on that note.⁠
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In this example, we're in F Major. Start on F, count up four to Bb (B is flatted in this scale), and build a major chord on Bb.⁠
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Here, Mr. Hoffman plays the most common inversion of the IV chord. Start with F Major, then just move the third and fifth up to the Bb chord, while keeping F under your thumb. This works across all major chords.⁠
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For example:⁠
C E G -> C F A⁠
D F # A -> D G B⁠
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Try a few others on your own! You'll hear it when you're right!

08/18/2026

🎵 "All You Need Is Love," "The Entertainer," "Don’t Know Why”: what do they have in common? A little harmonic move called the 2-5-1 chord progression. Our latest guide explains why this pattern sounds so inevitable, how it works in major and minor keys, and how to practice it across all twelve keys on piano.

Read the guide: https://www.hoffmanacademy.com/blog/2-5-1-chord-progression-piano

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515 NW Saltzman Road #816
Portland, OR
97229

Website

http://www.HoffmanAcademy.com/

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