Humberto Olivieri

My name is Humberto and I've played piano for as long as I can remember.

My first influence was my dad who played piano by ear while I, at 5 years of age, tried singing with him. Later on in life, I taught myself to play piano by ear just like him, but then I met Bruna Monestiroli, a student of Alfredo Casella. She was my first serious piano teacher and my main influence both as a teacher and as a musician. It was with her that I acquired the basic concepts of technique and proper study methodology, and I still use many of her principles today.

I then went on to study jazz at the City College of New York, where I graduated with a Bachelors in Music Performance. In New York, I formalized my studies of improvisation, not only at the City College, but in private classes with Ray Gallon, Barry Harris, as well as workshops with Fred Hersch and Kenny Werner.

I have worked as a teacher for over 14 years both privately and in schools. I taught at the Miami Youth Symphony in Miami and at the Kids on Keys School in New Jersey. I have also taught all levels.

My first question to you as a student, whoever you are, is: So what is it you want to do with the piano? What is the music that plays in your ears that you just can't settle with simply listening to it passively, and that you just need to play? Lets figure that out first, and then we can develop a study program tailored to your own needs and abilities. Music as a whole, obeys some basic functions and rules, whether it's Jazz, Classical, Pop, New Age, etc. It's what you want to do with it that will determine the study program.

Music is composed of three basic elements: Melody, Rhythm and Harmony. No matter how you spin it, it all comes down to these three elements, which are constantly interacting with each other. The first element that must be mastered (and which most people struggle with) is Rhythm. Without Rhythm, music would be one single sound that has been sounding forever and which never ends. Like stepping into a church and hearing a single held note on an organ, and never hearing it end. Rhythm is what gives music a sense of movement, and this is paramount. Poor Rhythm cannot allow an articulate expression of music. Even music which is, by definition, not supposed to be played in a steady tempo, cannot be properly understood/expressed without a basic understanding and mastering of rhythm.

Then comes Melody. We are all familiar with this element. It's what we do in the shower when we whistle to a tune. Melody appeals to us because our voice (the first instrument mankind had) works like that: In a single melodic line. I always stress the importance of singing the material one is learning. And believe me, I know how annoying and embarrassing it can feel to be asked by your teacher to sing. But relax, I am not looking for you to become the next Pavarotti. I am also not asking you to sing all the time. But on many occasions, for the purpose of specific exercises, it's important to be able to sing a melody before even trying to play it. Especially with an instrument like piano, which by default, is very unlike the human voice. So there's an even stronger need to make the connection between the sound of the human voice and the piano, so we can "make it sing".

Last but not least is Harmony, perhaps the most complex of the three. Harmony is the most difficult element to "hear" because it involves polyphony, which means, more than one voice sounding at the same time. Harmony is what came from the discovery that you can have more than one voice in a song, playing at the same time. When two or more singers do this, they are harmonizing. Listen to Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson's version of Beauty and the Beast, or to Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel's beautiful voice harmonizations on songs like "The Sound of Silence", or The Beatles (Their song "Because" is a good example of voice harmonization at its peak in Pop music) Harmony is the last Castle to conquer in the quest of music. A musician that already masters rhythm and melody, and who can express him/herself fluently through harmony, is a musician in the complete sense of the word. My goal is to get you here.