Piano Lessons With Scott Coletta

About Me

Somehow, probably because both my parents played, I developed a curiosity very early on to figure out how music worked and started climbing up on the piano bench as soon as I could. By the time I was about 5 years old I’d gotten pretty good at picking out familiar melodies by ear at the piano so my parents made me start taking piano lessons… I wasn’t really on board being a pretty independent kid. But I kept with the lessons for several years and learned the basics while continuing to explore playing by ear on my own every now and then.

By high school I found my way to guitar and playing in bands with some of my friends. That’s when music really started to mean something to me and I started to get more curious what I could do. I returned to the piano, beginning to compose my own music with the knowledge I’d gained from the different perspective of learning guitar. Soon after, I started teaching a few piano students and decided to study music in college. But I wasn’t prepared for either! When I started teaching, by necessity I began learning how people learn. It was an invaluable part of my own learning process to be continually engaged in helping others learn as I began to really immerse myself in music.

In college I started off studying classical piano at Ball State University because that’s the only option I thought I had. But then a year later I realized that jazz was what I wanted to understand. At the time I just knew that if I could understand jazz it would open more doors musically, but I ultimately fell in love with the music. Starting to learn jazz at 20 years old was a much bigger undertaking than I anticipated. But I spent the next 7 years practicing several hours a day absorbing everything I possibly could, finally completing a Master of Music degree in jazz piano at Northern Illinois in 2007. And looking back on it now, I think of those years as my formative years.

That was when things really got going. There were a lot of important foundations that I already had before going to college, but there were also a lot of missing foundations that I gained studying music in college. However, the academic environment also set me back in some ways. In particular, I lost touch with why I wanted to play music to begin with. The expectations and criticisms of the academic community can put a damper on creativity. But over the years since school, I’ve continued to work on finding my path in music and fortunately I’ve regained the original sense of creativity that drew me to music to begin with. And that’s why I’m here. To share that desire to create with others.

Since 2007, when I completed my master's in music, I’ve been teaching full-time and continually working on my own music, performing and recording. For me, music is about playing the way I want to play... which on a deeper level is about expressing who I am. That’s my only goal. And if I do that, good music will follow. I’ve been fortunate to meet and work with some really great musicians and people over the years. I’m very thankful for their influence and I hope to continue growing musically for a long time to come.

P.S. Click here to hear me play a little. Enjoy!

Reviews

• "I’m so grateful to have found Scott for my piano teacher 7+ years ago and can’t say enough good things about him as my teacher. He is simply the best in my eyes. I had 10+ years of lessons as a child, so a decent knowledge and background. I purchased a piano in my 30’s and still had many old music books and dabbled in that for many years. I found Scott in my 50’s when I realized i needed a professional to help guide me to grow and improve. What I was trying to do on my own wasn’t cutting it. And grown and improved I have and continue to do so. From learning fake books (I had no clue what these were and was very intimidated by them), the importance and benefit of a metronome, endless theory and more! He helped me realize that I knew more than I thought I knew and how to apply that. He’s very good at helping you figure some things out on your own if he knows that is in your realm to do so. And no more classical music for me…unless I want to of course, but it’s been great learning 12 bar blues, jazz songs, rock songs, some improvising and the ability to change and embellish sheet music to your liking. I look forward to my lessons, look forward to practicing and would highly recommend Scott to anyone wanting to learn piano from the beginning or to expand your current piano skills. When things return to normal, I look forward to having in-home lessons. When we switched to Skype due to the pandemic, I felt like I had a sense of normalcy still getting to see Scott weekly and continuing my lessons. As I said at the beginning, I’m very grateful for knowing him and having him as my teacher" - Liz


• "Scott is the best! He's been teaching my 14-year-old daughter since she was about 7, and he has been the perfect fit for her musical interests. He has limitless patience and an immense ability to engage and guide students in a very personalized way. My daughter's interests expanded to include music theory, and Scott's vast expertise in that area allowed him to engage her on a whole new level, and to bring improvisation using her favorite musical pieces into her weekly lessons. I've seen her grow so much as a musician, and Scott has really helped to instill in her an appreciation of the process as well as a love of music as a whole. We are so grateful we found Scott--we couldn't be happier! (Also, while my daughter usually sees Scott in person, we did have virtual lessons for about 18 months during the pandemic. The experience continued to be thoroughly enjoyable and very productive!)" - Whitney


• "Hooking up with Scott more than six years ago was one of the seminal events of my life. His insights to my needs and boundless patience with a minimally talented “older” student have buoyed my confidence and drive more times than I care to admit. We met through a mutual friend at a performance of a well-known saxophonist in a small club in a Chicago suburb. After talking for a few minutes, we agreed to give each other try as teacher and student. I had taken lessons decades earlier, along with my young daughter, from a traditional neighborhood piano teacher. Other things got in the way of that pursuit. Past 60 when I met Scott, I decided to get serious about learning by ear, improvising and playing jazz standards, Broadway tunes and the Great American Songbook. As dedicated and as disciplined as I am, this has not been an easy process for me. Scott continually reminds me of the truth of that statement, and from him it comes across as a positive, re-enforcing statement of encouragement. One of the things I enjoy about our weekly sessions is that Scott urges me to think through problems or aspects of what I’m working on that I don’t quite understand, don’t fully grasp. He doesn’t lay it all out for me ahead of time, which would cause me, the student, to rely on the teacher for all the answers, thereby slowing my learning. I know Scott’s overall approach is working for me, and it will too with students of any age. My wife was a brilliant elementary-school teacher for more than 40 years. She often listens in during my lessons, and we later talk about Scott’s methods and clear communication. She thinks a lot of Scott as a teacher, and that’s an endorsement she doesn’t dispense lightly." - Dave


• "Scott has been teaching my children and me piano for almost 9 years and we couldn’t be happier! He is patient, relatable and very easy to talk to. He has worked with each member my family to find out what we want to get out of learning piano, and he tailors his instruction to our end goal. He is quick to point out successes, and keeps the focus on continuing to learn and enjoy the process as well as the result. Considering we were aged 5, 7, 9 and 40+ when we started lessons and he’s seen us through teenage years, I can attest to his being a fantastic instructor for all ages and abilities. We take lessons in-home but also took remote lessons for quite a while - Scott is excellent in both arenas!" - Jennifer


• "Scott has been great! He meets you where you are musically and guides you to a better understanding of music. He is flexible and patient allowing me to discover the intricacy and beauty of each and every song I tackle. I couldn't ask for a better teacher." - Bob


• "My 8 year old has been taking lessons with Scott since he was 6 (or maybe even earlier)! Scott’s style of teaching is such a great fit for my son - he picks a song he loves, and learns how to play it. In conversations, Scott helps him relate practicing and working through challenges on the piano to other areas of his life - like baseball and math. My son is motivated and excited to practice and learn. When the pandemic hit, we didn’t miss a beat with Skype classes - and now they are an option for when we need it. And Scott is a Ball State grad… go Cardinals!! " - Meena