About Us

My philosophy is to provide an environment in which the student cannot fail. Too many piano teachers have a rigid program which the student, usually a child, must master or risk disapproval. Students, especially children, are unique individuals. Personal differences may mean a radical range of motor skills and intellectual abilities. My students taught me to teach. I watched their efforts and devised ways for them to grasp the next step.

Playing “by number” is a humble dialect, if you will, of the great language of music. You can’t make a better, happier beginning to your study of music than playing Piano by Number.    

 -- John Aschenbrenner

The Piano By Number series is authored by Emmy Award winning composer and children's music educator, John Aschenbrenner. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, with a B.A. in Composition, and attended the graduate program of the USC Film School.

A Broadway veteran, he has conducted several shows and played piano in the pit orchestras of many shows, including "My One and Only," "42nd Street," "Big River," and "The Mystery of Edwin Drood." He invented the Piano By Number system and has used it for almost 25 years, teaching piano in New York and Connecticut.

His compositions have been recorded and performed by organizations such as the Alley Theater in Houston, and the American Symphony Orchestra. A song cycle of William Butler Yeats poetry, "To An Isle In The Water" has been released on Sterling Records, and is still in print.

He is currently a Professor of Piano at Kent Preparatory School in Kent, Connecticut, and also teaches preschool children in many local schools. You can contact John Aschenbrenner with questions, for lessons via webcam or in your home in Connecticut, by using our contact form.