The Maestro Online Ltd Reviews 26

The course, Early Music Improvisation: Galliard, was amazing and has helped my daughter understand the purpose and elements of a galliard. This course helped her with ornamentation and variations, and it increased her confidence when improvising on the spot. She likes the way the course guides her step by step into playing galliards. It starts with something basic, the baseline and the chords. Then it builds up the melody and decorations. Aside from the tutoring videos, the course also provides a written summary of each section's main points and additional practice instructions. All these are very helpful and make the learning so much easier. In addition, this course provided background on galliards, including their history and when and how they were used in earlier musical styles. Overall, this course has helped her significantly develop her understanding of different types of music.

I'm a professional organist who's done reasonably well at improvisation competitions, coming to the field as an adult, and mostly teaching myself with books and a few summer workshops. I found the videos on Maestro Online very helpful overall: some of them are really just recorded conversations, but Robin has found ways to make fun little projects out of the players' demonstrations. Since many styles are covered, we have the opportunity to get out of our comfort zone, which of course helps with mental flexibility when things come up while playing. I liked that I had to tick a box saying I had actually done the assignment - it kept me honest, and not just skipping to the parts I could already do easily. The whole site's atmosphere is relaxed and curious. I especially liked the Sietze de Vries and Nigel Allcoat ones, and Robin's own, but all the ones I did were interesting. Even after improvising for 25 years (and being in my 50s), I saw a very obvious improvement after a few weeks.

Robin Harrison is a dynamic, positive, creative and inspirational force who energises and motivates young musicians to manage improvisation beyond their wildest expectations. He copes with every level from the complete beginner through to those with confidence ad vast experience. He works in all styles from baroque through classical romantic to modern and jazz. His pedagogy and vision are superb. Murray McLachlan, Pianist, writer, educator

Robin helped me prepare for the written papers for my ARCO diploma. He is so knowledgable and well versed in all the aspects, especially having previously examined for the RCO, I am so glad to have had his help. His lessons are fast paced, but he is very encouraging, and adapts his teaching style to you as well as including things that particularly interest you as little side notes. I love the way Robin can link all aspects of music together and how he can make what can be quite boring and painful topics - exciting. I am so grateful to Robin and his masterclasses for helping me pass and for making me a better musician. I can not recommend him highly enough.

For several years, my daughter Heather has been benefiting from singing lessons with The Maestro Online. The teacher is exceptional, having imparted outstanding technique and boosted her confidence and self-assurance. Robin's mentorship has prepared her for the next phase of her career, yet she wishes to maintain some online lessons to continue gaining knowledge from such a skilled professional!

Robin is a fantastic vocal coach- he really helped me understand solfege and grounding when singing. He is great at building confidence and breaking things down in an understandable way- I am so grateful for my lessons with him!

Masterclass Library

There is a wide variety of masterclasses on different topics in the library, including courses on jazz music, pop music and more. These courses are very informative and interesting and are very helpful for musicians who want to develop their key musicianship skills,

Catherine Y

Robin tutored me online for Paper 2 of the FRCO diploma. His knowledge and expertise were second to none and his insight and thoroughness with regard to the set works and historical period prepared me well for what the written paper had in store and enabled me to not only pass Paper 2, but pass comfortably. He was also able to help me to hone my essay writing, which has never been a strength of mine. Robin's teaching style is testing and rigorous but amiable and encouraging. A little further down the line, I have now completed the diploma and if it wasn't for Robin's input then that wouldn't have been possible. Thank you, Robin!

Robin was a brilliant tutor for my ARCO diploma. He made things easy to understand, backed up by in-depth personal knowledge, and drawing examples from wider resources. His feedback for submitted work was very thorough, and his ‘top tips’ across all elements of the diploma were of particular use, due to his experience marking papers. There is also a quality range of resources across the website. The value for money of his lessons is standout - I couldn’t recommend highly enough.

My grandchildren have started in-person lessons with Robin. He is so positive, patient and enthusiastic with them. On their very first lesson, they were able to play the hooks of popular tunes. I'm absolutely blown away by how quickly they are developing. At the end of each lesson he always invites me to record his hands playing the pieces they have learned, so they can watch and practise at home. Being able to book online and not being tied into the same slot each week means that we can fit piano lessons into our very busy lives without missing out on anything else. If you want a piano teacher for children in the Teesside area, I highly recommend Robin!

As a piano educator focused on improvisation, I’m deeply impressed by The Maestro Online. It’s one of the rare platforms that truly values musicality, creativity, and expressive freedom over mechanical playing.

The content is thoughtful and inspiring, and the emphasis on improvisation aligns perfectly with how I believe music should be taught — as a language for personal expression, not just reproduction.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to explore music as a creative art.

Singing lessons through The Maestro Online for my daughter Heather for a few years now. Amazing teacher who has taught her brilliant technique and given her confidence and self belief. With Robins guidance she is now onto the next step in her career but wants to continue with some online lessons to keep learning from such a professional !!!!

The Maestro Online Ltd has been a great tool for me to use during instrumental lessons. In a world where I have many students who can’t read sheet music, or have learnt by ear, this has been the perfect course to bring all of their musical skills together. The masterclasses allow the students to learn from top musicians, a chance many students would miss out on. The courses are very easy to follow, and this has meant many of my students will watch and practice alongside the videos at home - promoting fun independent practicing.

The Maestro online is a fantastic resource for students and teachers alike. Lots of fascinating chats with amazing musicians and great ideas for your learning. There are many great backing tracks and help in the toolkits for the Pop Exams. As a teacher I was so delighted to find the pop exams as so many of my students are not really motivated by the usual traditional exams syllabus. The Pop Exam syllabus is great with some classics and plenty of up to date songs too. My students are enjoying learning from this syllabus. It plays to many of their strengths too, as you don’t really need to read music. Many children prefer learning by ear and by rote so it’s perfect for them!

The Maestro Online’s Pop Piano Examination is a truly exceptional accredited program. My child had done this recently and the experience was very much more enjoyable compared to her previous examination/grading with another established music board. I reckon that the expected standards at the different grades for both exam boards are pretty similar. One of the biggest advantages of this exam for my child is that pop songs are very much relevant and relatable compared to classical and traditional folk songs. She really enjoyed playing and singing the songs when preparing for the examination. There was less stress on her part and I could see her passion coming through. We subscribed the toolkit and that certainly helped her preparations and provided her with inspiration to come up with improvisations.

This site has a wealth of high-quality content, including interviews/masterclasses with musicians who are world-class experts in their field. The level of hands-on support is rare, too.

It's amazing how you explain improvisation which I thought is unlearnable. :)
Thank you!

Absolutely first-class. Very rarely have I found music tuition in theory and aural work to be so professionally executed, however the personal bond which is built between teacher and student is immense with The Maestro Online, something which is even rarer in music tuition.

I would 100% recommend him to anyone who needs help with music theory or aural work, you absolutely will not regret it.

Very well done to The Maestro Online!
SK

Dr Robin Harrison is a top rate teacher, and I cannot rate him high enough. My daughter has been learning from him for the past 2 years. He teaches and inspires her to love music and to play Piano. Yes, she did a few piano gradings, but this is on the back of learning the knowledge and skills to play popular songs that she she chose rather than just the 4 required pieces. Alex looks forward to going to the weekly piano and singing sessions.
We have recently been introduced to his widely accredited 'Pop Piano Examination' syllabus alongside with its online toolkit. This is not only a breath of fresh air to learning to play the piano but also a way to achieve accreditation milestones. The pieces are very different compared to the established syllabus, and most importantly, we can relate to them, rather than a lot of classical pieces. My daughter is working on this currently and she enjoys using the online toolkit.
The content, layout and the quality of the materials on the online portal are well thought of and it was very easily navigated, even by an 8 year old. We only had 1 issue with it and the support provided to assist with the issue was very swift and timely.
The online toolkit provides the opportunity, inspiration and motivation to independent learning. She absolutely loves it and we noticed an improvement in the attitude towards learning. This is certainly a game changer for learning to play the piano, and we certainly hope that this will continue.
All the above are the complete polar opposite to my own learning experiences of learning to play the piano in the 90s. I was made to learn the 4 pieces and only the 4 pieces for grading purposes. I disliked the piano and certainly am unable to recall nor play anything pleasant 20 years later. However, this is very inspiring and with the availability of such resources, I am certainly looking at picking up learning to play the piano again using these materials, at my own pace (and convenience) without the need to travel.
Dr Robin Harrison's passion to teach music has been very inspiring and his innovations to inspire learning is second to none! I cannot recommend him highly enough!

This is a very unique website, there is nothing else like it. It teaches pop and classical improvisation, with the focus on classical, although there are also some jazz lessons as well. There are some amazing teachers on there who are top in their field. In addition, they also teach ear training via Solfege which is really great. Also Robin the owner is always on hand should you have any questions, he is lovely and friendly, and always responds to emails straight away. What are you waiting for ?!