Harrison is an incredible piano teacher! He is wonderfully patient, kind, and brings a fantastic positive energy to every single lesson, making the entire experience so much fun. I’ve been his student since January 2026 and each session is filled with so much knowledge yet it doesn’t feel like a chore. He goes beyond just telling me about technique and theory by shows me exactly how to move my body so I can play with total ease. Even had a broken pinky and he knew exactly how to pivot our lessons during the recovery! His creative approach breaks down chords perfectly, completely unlocking the ability to play by ear, improvise, and recreate songs. With the chords and ear training I could easily hear a song and start jamming out on a piano on the spot, which is a great party trick :). Harrison helped me find my own musical voice in the most encouraging environment possible. I cannot recommend him enough!
Jarvis Piano - Learn Songs, Chords & Play by Ear
- 20 hires
- Based in New York, NY
- 6 years in business
- 1 employee
- Responds in about 2 hours
- Background checked
About Jarvis Piano - Learn Songs, Chords & Play by Ear
Most piano lessons only teach you how to read music—and nothing else. My lessons ($85/week) are for students who want to sit down and just play: arrange songs, jam with friends, read a chord chart, play by ear, or make something up on the spot. With practical, at-the-piano music theory, you’ll be able to: 1. Make your own covers of your favorite songs in different styles and moods. 2. Hear a song on the radio and figure it out at the piano on the spot. 3. Confidently jam with other musicians in all kinds of musical settings. 4. Play the music you want to learn: pick up new genres—jazz, rock, classical, pop, with much more ease 5. Read music better, too: ironically, you’ll read sheet music more fluently because you understand what’s going on—you understand the language of music. ABOUT ME: Pianist Harrison Batten Jarvis experienced his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of sixteen and was subsequently named to CBC Music’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30”. He has soloed with orchestras at Lincoln Center in New York City, at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with the Etobicoke Philharmonic in Toronto. He holds degrees from the Royal Conservatory of Music (A.R.C.T.) and Bard College Conservatory (B.Mus in piano performance and B.A. in written arts). Harrison's teachers have been named to the Order of Canada (Andre Laplante), been a finalist for the National Book Award (Jenny Xie), won a Pulitzer prize (Elizabeth Frank), and had a composition played in honour of the 2020 Presidential inauguration (Joan Tower). Their pedagogical lineages trace back to John Ashbery, Franz Liszt and Beethoven. Send me a message and I’d be happy to set up a free trial lesson.
Reviews
Fantastic piano lessons! I always thought that I was intrinsically unable to play by ear. In my first lesson, Harrison quickly dispelled this misconception. I am absolutely amazed by the progress that I have made over the past 4 months thanks to Harrison. By focusing on music theory, technique, and foundational exercises, I no longer feel bound by sheet music and I feel that I actually understand the music I am playing. I also greatly appreciate Harrison's commitment to building camaraderie amongst his students. This has really helped me maintain motivation to practice! Harrison has a fantastic approach to teaching, he clearly outlines his teaching principles, and he is constantly open to questions/concerns. I highly recommend taking lessons with Harrison!
My lessons with Harrison have been going really well. I came back to piano after a long break, and I’ve been enjoying the learning approach a lot. The structure works well with a busy schedule, which makes it much easier to stay consistent. I really like the focus on learning chords and the language of music instead of just memorizing sheet music. It feels like the difference between being shown one thing to play versus learning the fundamentals so you can figure things out on your own. In the past, I would focus on a single piece, repeat it until I could play it well, and then move on. Now it feels like I’m building a foundation that will let me pick things up much faster and play my own versions of songs. I’m especially looking forward to being able to sit down at the piano, hear something, and feel comfortable improvising, playing by ear, and jamming. Having that flexibility and freedom at the piano is exactly what I’m excited to develop.
My piano lessons with Harrison have been wonderful. I was really nervous to start because I’m a complete beginner, but he’s already made me feel so confident. The lessons feel like a very safe and encouraging place to learn. I’m especially excited that Harrison is preparing me to play the music I actually love. Learning chords and understanding how music works means I’ll be able to recognize notes and chords just by listening, and eventually make my own arrangements of songs I enjoy. I’m also really excited to learn music that already brings me so much joy and finally be able to play it physically on the piano. On top of that, I love that there’s a sense of community; I’m looking forward to playing with others and growing together!
I’ve really enjoyed my lessons. Harrison brings a certain energy that I need in a coach, and I was trying to find the right fit. The lessons are going great, and I’m practicing fundamentals, which I’m really excited about. I love Harrison’s approach. It’s vastly different from what I was initially taught over a decade ago in my piano class, and it just clicks for my brain way better. Learning with chords shows piano in a different light — it’s not so clinical. I’m learning the chords and connecting more with the music. I’m excited to be able to sit down and either look at sheet music and just start playing, or even not do that, because I’ve learned chords and I’m able to hear the music and play a song based on how I remember it sounding.
My experience with Harrison has been enlightening. I had always approached piano with a fear that it would be incredibly complex, but Harrison made it easy to understand from the very first conversation. That was encouraging and helped me realize this is actually something I can actually do. I’ve always been a singer and a musician of sorts, and I’ve wanted to play piano for years. My wife even bought me a piano five years ago, and I’ve taken it with me through multiple homes, but I never truly learned how to play it. I have a whole lineage of songs I want to be able to play and sing, and piano was the one piece I could never figure out on my own. What really clicked for me was learning piano as a language rather than through memorization. Before this, I relied on fingering, scales, YouTube videos, and self-taught books, but I never actually understood what I was learning. Thinking about music as a language completely flipped a switch for me. Understanding that it’s the same set of keys no matter where you start, and that all scales come from the same structure, made everything feel manageable. Even though the piano looks overwhelming at first, it’s actually very simple once you understand how it works.
I’m learning much faster with Harrison compared to how I learned in the past, and I feel more confident about my skills growing than I do when I’m practicing on my own. I like his approach a lot better, because I can already tell that in the future I’m going to be able to pick up music much quicker than when I was just muscle-memorizing everything I was playing. When I understand the music first, then I’m able to play by knowledge of music, not just knowing the exact song.I’m really looking forward to being able to play songs that I know without having to find sheet music, kind of by ear, and also being able to sit down at the piano and play something that sounds good without it already being a song.
Piano lessons with Harrison have been awesome. The way he explains things makes it easier to take what I’m looking at on paper and actually apply it to the piano, and it makes a lot more sense practice-wise. It doesn’t feel so self-defeating trying to learn by myself anymore. The pace is awesome, the explanations are awesome, and I can honestly say I walk away from each lesson feeling like I actually learned something. I had very limited knowledge of the piano and the keys — really just the basic things we learned in school — and I hadn’t been around it for years. It’s been really nice to jump back in, get a solid review, and move at a good pace at the same time, so I don’t feel stuck in one spot. One of my goals isn’t necessarily to jump straight into gigs, but to be able to accompany myself and other singers. A lot of times my mother will get up and sing and we won’t have musicians around, so it’s been great learning how to just hop on the piano or keyboard and accompany without needing sheet music.
Learning piano with Harrison’s method is helping me understand the structure of music better and move beyond my childhood classical piano training. From these early lessons I had learned to start with scales/exercises and then to learn songs, I would work on the right hand, the left hand and then try to glue them together. After quitting piano in 8th grade, detours into playing bass in bands and helping my kids with their music lessons, I finally started playing piano again. It was fun, but I quickly hit a dead end — I didn’t have the tools to get where I wanted to go harmonically. I wanted to understand music better and to feel more comfortable and creative on the keyboard. Harrison’s approach is giving me a way to understand music theory and apply it on the keyboard without requiring a strong jazz focus. Already I feel it is really working for me. I’m hearing harmony a little better, feeling more comfortable on the piano and am motivated for the challenges ahead. Harrison’s method feels less like learning individual songs and more like learning to understand music itself.
My lessons with Harrison have been fantastic. He’s very thorough and adapts really well to my learning style and how I understand music. Learning songs through chords instead of sheet music has felt way more intuitive. It helps me focus on what I’m hearing instead of just what I’m looking at. It’s been a long time since I last tried piano, but this has honestly been the best experience I’ve had. I’m excited to reach the point where I can just sit down and play music instead of fumbling through beginner pieces.