ArtistWorks Launches Online Popular Piano School with Hugh Sung

Rule-Breaking Pianist Promises Simplified Lessons and Beautiful Music From Day One

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Dec 19, 2014, 05:00 ET

NAPA, Calif., Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ArtistWorks, the leading online platform for lifestyle learning, today announced the Online Popular Piano School with Hugh Sung – a site designed for all levels of students, especially those who have never played the piano before.

ArtistWorks today announced the Online Popular Piano School with Hugh Sung -- a site designed for all levels of piano students. Hugh Sung made his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at age 11, performed internationally, and taught at The Curtis Institute of Music. He has now developed an impressive approach that veers away from traditional piano training, and joined forces with ArtistWorks to create a radically new and beginner-friendly online piano school. Visit: ArtistWorks.com/piano

An acclaimed pianist who made his debut with The Philadelphia Orchestra at age 11, Hugh Sung studied and then taught for 19 years at The Curtis Institute of Music. He has now developed an impressive approach that veers away from traditional piano training, and joined forces with ArtistWorks to create a radically new and beginner-friendly online piano school.

"My Online Popular Piano School at ArtistWorks is in some ways born out of a 'crazy idea' I had in 2009 that I could train anyone to play Debussy's 'Clair de Lune' using a step-by-step online video approach," said Hugh Sung. "Traditional piano teachers dismissed the idea as being impossible, but many thousands of ordinary folks went through the lessons and realized their dreams of playing one of the most difficult masterpieces for piano."

Hugh's "Clair de Lune' from scratch YouTube experiment" clearly demonstrated that the ability to play piano wasn't contingent upon years spent practicing scales and exercises. Hugh has now come full circle – reprising the "Clair de Lune" lessons on his new Online Popular Piano School, as well as a vast array of other popular songs recorded as high definition videos, all produced at the ArtistWorks studios in Napa, California.

The Online Popular Piano School video library is now poised to grow exponentially as Mr. Sung and his students use the groundbreaking ArtistWorks Video Exchange® learning platform to share and compile new student- and teacher-submitted interactions. These Video Exchanges allow students to demonstrate their progress and receive personalized video responses—not to mention new songs or arrangements—from Hugh himself.

"Popular piano has been the most often requested category from ArtistWorks members, and we couldn't be happier to have Hugh Sung join us to make this school a reality and introduce a more approachable way to play any kind of music you enjoy," said ArtistWorks CEO Patricia Butler. "Hugh's unique approach is perfect for at-home learners because it removes the tedious and daunting elements of traditional piano lessons, and allows even first-time piano players to create beautiful music right away."

For more information, go to www.ArtistWorks.com/piano

Press Contact:
Mark Ruch
ArtistWorks Inc.
707-255-1840
Email: Media (at) ArtistWorks.com

About ArtistWorks, Inc.
In 2008, former AOL executive David Butler set out to finally master jazz guitar. With no acceptable teachers in his area, he and co-founder Patricia Butler built a revolutionary online system to enable anyone to get direct feedback from a master teacher anywhere in the world.

Today, ArtistWorks, Inc. is the leader in a new generation of online learning platforms. This "new generation" Video Exchange® platform enables world-renowned artists and musicians to "teach the world" by presenting their artistic legacy in the form of HD video lessons and direct feedback to subscribing students. Using simple web cams, smart-phones, tablets and video cameras, students are able to submit practice videos and receive individualized video feedback and instruction – creating a constantly evolving two-way, online learning experience.

ArtistWorks currently offers online learning sites with world-class artists such as: Paul Gilbert (rock guitar), Martin Taylor (fingerstyle guitar), and Jason Vieaux (classical guitar), as well as Andreas Oberg (jazz guitar), Jeannie Deva (singing), Nathan Cole (violin), Jeffrey Khaner (flute), William Caballero (French horn), David Bilger (trumpet), Ricardo Morales (clarinet), Nathan East (electric bass), John Patitucci (jazz bass), Howard Levy (harmonica), DJ Qbert (Scratching), Christie Peery (piano), Luis Conte (percussion), Tony Trischka (banjo), Missy Raines (double bass), Bryan Sutton (flatpick guitar), Andy Hall (Dobro), Mike Marshall (mandolin), Darol Anger (fiddle), Chuck Loeb (jazz guitar), Justin Bua (art), Hugh Sung (popular piano) and Keith Wyatt (blues guitar).