Ed Cupman Piano Lessons

My son and daughter and I have all studied piano with Ed. I started with Ed as a «lapsed» piano player from my own school days. I had a great time studying and learning new pieces, and got to the point where I could improvise along with a fake book, or even with a simple chord chart for songs I already knew from listening to recordings. My son, who’s now at college, has become very interested in listening to and creating electronic music and DJing, and credits his love of music to his studies with Ed. My daughter is still studying with Ed, and she has also become very involved in her school’s chorus, which she enjoys quite a bit. Ed’s approach to teaching piano is quite unusual, since few teachers follow the interests of their students so closely, and fewer still teach improvisation and playing by ear. Ed is a gem, and I heartily recommend him for teaching your children, as well as for those of you returning to the piano after a long absence, or taking it up for the first time as adults.

Currently a senior in high school, I have been taking piano lessons with Mr. Cupman since I was 6. In my 12 years of lessons with Mr. Cupman, I have never been bored. Each week is a new week and I feel like I gain something new everytime I’m finished. In my opinion, the piano is one of he hardest instruments to play but Mr. Cupman finds a way to make it easy. He makes playing the piano fun and enjoyable. His love for music definitely rubs off on me, and that makes the lessons that much better. He’s really flexible with his schedule and if you ever need to cancel or change a lesson, he is fine with it. Going into college next year, I must thank Mr. Cupman for making my choice to continue studying music as well as playing it, that much easier.

My son has taken piano lessons from Ed since he was 4 years old; now he is 16 and a great musician. Ed has taught him to play and compose also. We moved from San Francisco to the far East Bay in 2003, and my son wouldn’t consider changing teachers. Ed can teach you how to play piano in a way that you own the process and embody the music, rather than just timidly reading a written notes by rote. My son wanted to learn more by ear and feel rather than primarily by reading, so this worked out well, as Ed knew how to teach that way as he is self-​taught. We have friends who have started with Ed since my son did, and they have all found him great to work with. Ed can arrange pieces of music the student wants to learn, so even when my son’s hands were small, he could create arrangements of pieces my son wanted to learn, suited to his needs. Ed also has a great rapport with kids (and adults!). Highly recommend!

I took piano lessons for 5 – 6 years as a kid and hated every minute of them– all classical and scales– I never got a chance to play songs I liked.
When I retired about 4 – 5 years ago, I found Ed and started taking lessons from him… Now, some 150 songs later, I still play a couple of hours every day and and enjoy every minute of it… Jazz, Blues, Show Tunes, Improv, Beatles, Willie Nelson, Gershwin,… etc etc —not much classical and NO SCALES except the blues and Jazz improv scales ;-)
I have seen and listened to his students both young kids and adults… We love piano and taking from Ed!
A couple of us have even started getting together at my house for to listen to one another play in our «Jam Sessions». Who knows, maybe you will join us after you start with Ed

Ed is fantastic. he has shared and fostered a love of music and of learning with my 2 daughters. Yes, they are both playing well above where I expected them to be at this point in their studies. But far more important, they both love it. I have never (truly, not even once) had to ask them to practice. They just do it because they love piano.
I’m amazed at Ed’s combination of patience, gentle prodding, and remarkable ability to find and extend the outer edge of their abilities. Truly, I could not be happier. (And neither could my kids!)

Ed is patient, talented and a great teacher. He has a true joy with his music, and completes his own arrangements of the best standards and blues piano. I learned to play as a child, and Ed is helping with the memorizing of pieces, and improvisation. I recommend taking lessons to either beginners, or experienced pianists.