Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Professional Chord System by David Higginson

Does any one here have experience with or heard anything constructive about this system? Thanks in advance.

Hey Terra-Pin, I don't know anything about this system, but I remembered reading about it recently in a thread started by marymac:

thread that mentions Higginson system

You might want to shoot her a PM and see what she thinks of the system; I know she purchased it but don't know how much she'd gotten into it yet.

Monica,

Thanks for the response. I saw Marymac's thread prior to my posting, but thought I would try to get additional feedback by starting a new thread mentioning the course name in the thread title. Also, Marymac didn't seem to get much in terms of substantive comments on the course itself. I will take you advice and send her a PM.

David

Terra-Pin, if you PM Marymac, could you see if she'd be willing to publicly post her impressions of the course? I think it's very useful to read AB reviews of various courses.

Would it be helpful to anyone to have a pegged thread of course reviews?

Markb, the only thing about pegged threads is that once the intial thread is started, people tend to forget about it and then it doesn't get added to. Or is that just me?! I never look at the very topic of the topics list, but maybe that's a personality flaw....

No, it's not just you, ShiroKuro; I don't look at the pegged threads, either.

Good point. I, myself, rarely look at them. Still, it would be nice to have reviews consolidated in one place. People often ask about new or previously-discussed methods, so it would cut down on having to search for old threads.

There's an additional problem with having too many tacked threads. They start taking up too much screen real estate, especially for those who have lower resolution screens.

What the heck, I went ahead and ordered it. I spoke with David Higgonson, Jr. for over half an hour by phone, discussing what I was looking for and what his course offers. I liked what he had to say and offer. Plus a money back guarantee, although the time commitment involved in giving the system a fair effort is much more valuable to me than the money. If anyone is interest, I will report back on my experience in a couple of months.

As for the "pegged threads," a good idea, but combining all the existing threads on Piano Magic into a single thread would probably crash the Internet.

David

Absolutely! More knowledge and information is a good thing!

I would like to read what people have to say about this course...

Perhaps an alternative to a pegged thread would be to pick one or two of the more thorough threads discussing a given program and have a bunch of us nominate it for FAQ status. (Of course, I rarely browse through the FAQ forum, but I ought to!)

Hey-I just by chance stumbled on this thread.. I have been using the Professional Chord System for a little over a month. I am impressed at what I can do. I am by no means a "professional" but I am much more comfortable with the keyboard. What I like most is his easy to follow and understand approach.He speaks slowly and clearly. It's almost like a private teacher because he explains so well.He builds lessons upon each other at a slower pace so that it makes sense. It's not just info thrown at me. There was one lesson I was alittle stumped on so I called the toll free # and the son answered and fully explained it to me. I feel like I have the money back guarantee, full telephone support and lessons I can understand .The rest is up to me. In the begining I was alittle concerned that learning only the chords wouldn't teach me to really play the piano but now seeing what I can do has changed that. Anyways it's the means,not the end and I'm enjoying the process.The cost of the program is steep @ $300 but if I add up private lessons at $30 an hour it made it worth it. I will keep posting on my progress, so far, so good for a full time employed mother of 2 children , 2 dogs and 1 hamster. I am committed to finding the time to do this..

I also purchased these lessons. David Higginson came to the music mall near where I live and did a hour and a half demonstration of the lessons. I was impressed with him as a teacher, his system, and the sound. I like the money back part (though I hope I don't have to use it). Also, in addition to the toll free number for questions, music mall staff will support the system. A person on the staff used the system and was so impressed that he brought David Higginson to the store. I also like it that I don't have to put aside what I am already doing with piano. There is only one way to learn classical music and that is with traditional lessons, but the Higginson method will allow you to play popular music, Broadway music, movie music, standards, etc. with a full, rich sound. There are many different ways to get to the same place, I think Mr. Super Hunky said it best, "That's why Baskin-Robbins has thirty-two flavors". I wish everyone luck with the method they are using. There are no shortcuts. It takes as long as it takes. PLAY and keep playing! Whatever method you use, ENJOY your time on the bench!

I am a bit puzzeld by this. Chord construction theory is very simple. Learn this and the basic scales and you can construct any chord in any key instantly. Why does it need a system?

The standard three note chord is not very interesting. This particular method teaches six note chords, to create minor, 7th, major 7th, diminshed, augmented, etc. and presents interesting patterns to play them in. This is an excellent approach to using fake books, or as a substitution for the chords provided in sheet music.

It took me a while to even FIND the FAQ sections. And why is there no Adult beginner's FAQ? Maybe because we like answering new beginners too much .

But Goldy, The rules for augmenting a chord, inverting it, creating a minor chord, suspended, add 5 or whatever are all straight forward and logical and once learnt can be applied to any chord in any key.

I have taught rock and pop to guitar players up to serious advanced level for years. Guitar music is often very chord dependant and there are far more variations than there are on piano (both in notes across the neck and positioning, and in fingerings).

I guarantee you that I can teach a student how to construct any type of chord using theory, much more quickly than they can learn it by using one of hundreds of chord and method books out there.

It is easier on piano.

I am just suggesting that a little simple music theory goes ever such a long way. And it will help players to understand complex sight reading in due course.

Adrian

Hi, everyone. I just wanted to add my two cents worth into the discussion. I attended a demonstration by Dave Higgenson about three months ago. I'm self taught in Chord Theory, music theory, etc. as it relates to Organ playing. I'm 71 years old and have played for my own enjoyment for over 30 years.

After over 30 years I sound pretty good with the styles banging away and my chord changes witn inversions (F# to F#) being flawless, but I've never developed a busy Piano Style left hand.

After the demonstration, I purchased Dave's course, went home and was opened to a new world of Piano expression using what is taught in this this course. My left hand now glides through several rhythm styles without much thought

You couldn't buy the course from me! Hope that this give all of you some insight on the course. If you've developed a musical style of playing which is acceptable to you, then you might not get much additional info from this course.

But, if you are like me with an organ hand, no clue as to how to make it nimble and stylish, this course is for you.

bfez: Hi bfez,

I can relate to what you are saying about the left hand style. I am a relative beginner having only seriously pursued learning to play the piano for a little over two years now.

I'm afraid I have developed a fairly bland and basic left hand style thumping away at a simple bass accompaniment. Of course, I can thump away at a basic “boogie woogie” style fairly well .

I would love to be able to have a sophisticated left hand style with a lot of cording and a full accompaniment.

I’ve learned that after over two years, I really can’t play all that well, but it’s still a lot of fun trying .

Best regards,

Rickster