I, Adam A Nelson, do solemnly swear that I am a singer / songwriter / pianist / teacher based in Chicago Il. My first single Tomorrow Never Knows was submitted for your listening pleasure on March 24, 2023 and more songs shall follow in the coming weeks. If it pleases the viewer, I can be seen performing in clubs and private events, or as rockthepiano on Twitch. I am also available for online / in-person piano and music theory lessons.

Most of my public shows are at established piano bars where I take requests from the audience and do my best to make every song interactive. Background music this ain’t.

I can often be found in Chicago playing Dueling Pianos at Slugger’s in Wrigleyville after Cubs games, and solo performances at Grapes and Grains in the West Loop. You may also see me at the Ivory Room in Madison, WI playing both solo shows and Dueling Pianos.

“That’s it! Time to learn piano!” you tell yourself. “But this time I’m gonna learn the kind of music I wanna learn! “

I’ve been teaching private piano lessons for over 10 years as rockthepiano. I can teach complete beginners, but I focus primarily on people who already have some familiarity with piano. I’ll build on that foundation and teach you how to learn all your favorite songs by ear. The process has three basic steps:

1, Ear Training - This will help you recognize the musical building blocks of any song.

2. Music Theory, - this helps you identify and categorize what you hear into information you can use to practice the song. This part sounds daunting - I promise, when explained properly, its not.

3. Music Technique - This is the repetitive ’practicing’ part of learning a musical instrument, and there’s no shortcut! Practicing technique creates that quick response in your fingers so they can keep up with the music playing in your head. If you want to improve at music, try to practice each day at an amount equal to the length of your weekly lesson.

Email me if you’d like to start lessons in Chicago or online.