Inside the fun, accessible method helping piano students win competitions | 60 Minutes

Name: Inside the fun, accessible method helping piano students win competitions | 60 Minutes
Uploaded: 2026-05-25T03:03:29.000Z
Duration: 13 min 4 s
Channel: 60 Minutes

60 MinutesMay 25, 202613m

Topics13

Traditional Piano Lessons vs. Payam Qasqadeh's Approach0:04 The Piom Method in Practice1:31 Diploma Achievement Statistics2:31 Starting with Numbers and Letters Instead of Sheet Music3:32 Progression to Traditional Notation4:32 Hans Zimmer's Experience and Support5:32 Student Composition at Young Ages6:33 Competition Results7:02 Encouraging Creative Interpretation8:05 Hadi Partovi and Code.org Connection8:33 Hans Zimmer's Investment Rationale9:30 Convincing Parents and Traditionalists11:01 Reporter's Personal Experience12:38

In a Nutshell

Payam Qasqadeh's Piom method teaches piano starting with numbers and letters on keys instead of sheet music, enabling students to play enjoyable songs immediately. This approach produces 96% diploma completion in four years versus the traditional 1-2% over twelve years, while also teaching original composition from young ages. The method has expanded nationally with investor backing, including Hans Zimmer, and dominates student composition competitions with students winning four of 14 national medals from just 41 submissions.

AI-Generated Notes

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It's a fairly safe bet that most kids taking piano lessons don't like them. That was certainly my experience. I took piano from age 5 to 12 before quitting in frustration. The scales and sheet music and strict teacher just got the best of me. Now, along comes a piano teacher named Payam Qasqadeh. The 32-year-old son of Iranian immigrants says he's come up with a new method of teaching that has students loving their piano lessons.

Piano's not supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be strict, it's supposed to be stressful, it's supposed to be like this very intense instrument you're learning. And we're like, why? Like why can't it be fun? Why can't we actually enjoy the songs we're learning? Our students don't just learn piano, they love piano, and that's one of the biggest keys to it.

In nearly every room of a converted home in the Seattle suburb of Bothell, Washington, Payam and his team of young teachers are playing piano. All of the teachers, all former students of his, are giving piano lessons and having fun. Students are charged between $75 and $100 per lesson and range from pre-school beginners to high school talents.

In piano we have this thing called the diploma, which is sort of like the black belt of the musical world. Traditionally about one to two percent of students reach diploma level, and it takes them about twelve years. In our school, ninety-six percent reached it, and it takes them about four years.

I agree and disagree. Of course nobody will become phenomenal at anything unless they're good. They actually put in the time and energy. But when you actually enjoy what you're doing, you don't realize that you're putting in the time for that. So they love it first. They love it first.

The Piom Method begins not with sheet music, but with ABCs and one, two, threes, and with actually writing numbers on piano keys. This is a song I would teach my three-year-old student that would come into class. One day, and we understand this is one, this is five. They're not reading notes. They're not even sometimes looking at sheet music. We're playing a game and it's fun for them because they'll go, one, two, three. And then I'll say, good job. Let's go one, one, two, five. And then they'll think and they'll go. And what they're doing is building this coordination. And using tools they already know, numbers and letters to learn a new language, the language of music.

For example, I really want to learn Chinese. If somebody put a book in front of me that was in Chinese, my brain would just lock up. And I have no idea what I'm doing. But if they taught me using a language I know, which is ABCs and one, two, threes, it would make sense. I'd be like, oh, I learned it. And then I'm just mapping it out.

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Inside the fun, accessible method helping piano students win competitions | 60 Minutes

Traditional Piano Lessons vs. Payam Qasqadeh's Approach00:04

The Piom Method in Practice01:31

Diploma Achievement Statistics02:31

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