Online Piano Lessons with João Paulo Casarotti, DMA (NCTM)
Online Piano Lessons
Experience. Innovation. Connection — Wherever You Are.
Study piano from anywhere in the world with Dr. João Paulo Casarotti, one of the pioneers of online piano instruction.
Long before online lessons became commonplace, Dr. João Paulo Casarotti was exploring how technology could make high-level piano instruction accessible beyond the traditional teaching studio.
He began teaching piano online in 2009, developing one of the early distance-learning piano studios using multiple cameras and enhanced visual communication. What began as a way to remain connected with students across distances evolved into more than fifteen years of research, teaching, mentoring, and innovation in online and hybrid piano education.
Today, Dr. Casarotti works with students and teachers internationally, combining the personal connection of traditional piano instruction with the possibilities offered by modern technology.
Online students are now being accepted.
A Pioneer in Online Piano Education
Teaching Online Since 2009
Dr. Casarotti began experimenting with online piano instruction in 2009, while teaching in Philadelphia. When he relocated from Philadelphia to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2010, online teaching allowed him to continue working with students who otherwise would have been separated from their teacher by more than a thousand miles.
His online studio soon expanded beyond the United States, connecting him with students and teachers in Brazil, Portugal, Colombia, and other countries.
At a time when online instrumental instruction was still largely experimental, Casarotti was already investigating questions that would later become central to his research:
How can a teacher effectively demonstrate piano technique through a screen?
How can camera placement improve a student's understanding of movement?
How can technology help a teacher communicate musical ideas more clearly?
And, most importantly, how can technology enhance rather than replace the human connection between teacher and student?
These questions continue to shape his approach today.
From the Private Studio to the University
During his years on the piano faculty at Southern University and A&M College, Dr. Casarotti expanded his work beyond individual online lessons.
Beginning in the early 2010s, he developed an increasingly comprehensive model for an Online Piano Studio, incorporating:
Online piano lessons
Multiple-camera instruction
Online masterclasses
Guest lectures and workshops
Live online auditions
International recruitment
Recorded practice tutorials
Remote collaborations
Livestreamed student performances
Opportunities for families living internationally to watch student performances in real time
He experimented with platforms including Google Hangouts, YouTube, and Facebook and explored livestreaming at a time when many of the tools now built directly into social-media platforms did not yet exist.
The objective was never simply to reproduce a traditional lesson through a webcam. It was to discover what technology could do better or differently and integrate those possibilities into meaningful music education.
Researching the Power of Visual Communication
A central component of Dr. Casarotti's research is Visual Communication in Piano Instruction.
Piano playing is inherently visual and physical. Students must simultaneously understand the score, keyboard geography, sound, movement, coordination, alignment, and the relationship between the body and the instrument.
An online environment can provide an unusual advantage: the student does not have to observe everything from a single position.
Through carefully designed camera scenes, a student can see:
The pianist's hands from above
to understand keyboard geography, fingering, and coordination.
The keyboard from the side
to examine alignment, movement, and technical relationships.
The teacher's full body
to understand posture, balance, and whole-body coordination.
The score and keyboard simultaneously
to connect notation directly with physical execution.
Digital scores, annotations, apps, and teaching materials
integrated directly into the lesson.
This work became the basis for publications and presentations including:
“Effective Visual Communication in Piano Lessons”
American Music Teacher, Vol. 71, No. 1, August/September 2021, pp. 14–17.
“Back to the Future: Effective Visual Communication and the Interdependence of In-Person, Online and Hybrid Piano Instructions”
MTNA Business Digest, Vol. 2, Issue 4, July 2023.
His research has also been presented extensively at national conferences, universities, teacher associations, festivals, and professional-development programs in the United States and internationally.
National Leadership in Piano Technology
Dr. Casarotti has been actively involved with the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP) and its Technology Committee, collaborating with leading educators and researchers interested in the future of piano instruction.
His work has included presentations on online teaching, visual communication, hybrid instruction, educational technology, artificial intelligence, group piano technology, and the integration of synchronous and asynchronous learning.
He has also presented nationally on online piano instruction through organizations including the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.
Helping Teachers Around the World During COVID-19
When the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly forced music teachers around the world to move their studios online, Dr. Casarotti had already been teaching and researching online piano education for more than a decade.
His experience became an important resource for the profession.
During the pandemic, he served as a technology and online-teaching consultant and presented webinars and professional-development programs for organizations including MTNA and the Frances Clark Center, helping thousands of piano and music teachers transition from traditional studios to effective online instruction.
Rather than focusing only on which camera, microphone, or software to purchase, his work emphasized something more fundamental:
Technology must serve pedagogy.
A successful online lesson is not defined by expensive equipment. It is defined by communication, musical understanding, thoughtful teaching, and a meaningful connection between student and teacher.
From Online to Global: EIPIANOPIRA
Dr. Casarotti's work with technology also transformed the international piano festivals he founded and directs in Brazil.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Piracicaba International Piano Festival (EIPIANOPIRA) moved online, bringing together pianists, teachers, students, lectures, masterclasses, performances, and educational activities across international borders.
Across its online initiatives during the pandemic, the festivals reached approximately 67,000 participants and viewers worldwide through Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom.
What began as a response to an extraordinary global situation became a demonstration of something Dr. Casarotti had advocated for years:
Technology can remove geographical and financial barriers to high-level music education.
The Hybrid Piano Studio
Bringing the Best of Online Teaching Back Into the Physical Studio
In 2022, while serving on the piano faculty at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin, Dr. Casarotti developed an innovative hybrid piano teaching environment integrating multiple cameras, large displays, digital resources, online connectivity, and enhanced visual communication.
The project attracted media attention and was featured by NBC 26, which described Casarotti as being at the forefront of piano education and highlighted his pioneering work in piano-teaching technology.
The significance of the project went beyond online lessons.
After years of developing techniques for teaching through a screen, Casarotti began bringing those same visual tools back into the physical classroom.
This became the foundation of his concept of the interdependence of in-person, online, and hybrid piano instruction.
Technology developed for online lessons could make in-person teaching better—and the strengths of traditional piano pedagogy could make online instruction more meaningful.
A Teacher of Teachers
Dr. Casarotti's work in online instruction has extended beyond teaching piano students.
He has served as a consultant and mentor to independent piano teachers, university faculty, music programs, and teaching studios in the United States, Brazil, Portugal, and other countries, helping educators develop online and hybrid teaching environments and incorporate technology more effectively into their pedagogy.
His work became the subject of academic research and was featured in Ana Grace Leicht's dissertation:
Teaching Music in the Age of Zoom: How to Run a Multimedia Piano Studio
Ouachita Baptist University
Casarotti's online studio, technological approach, and teaching practices were examined as part of the study of contemporary multimedia piano instruction.
Truly International Piano Instruction
Online teaching makes it possible to choose a teacher based on expertise and compatibility—not geography.
Throughout his career, Dr. Casarotti has worked online with students and teachers across the United States and internationally, including students from:
Brazil • Colombia • Ecuador • Paraguay • Portugal • England • Italy • Singapore • United States and beyond
Lessons are available in English and Portuguese, with the possibility of working with Spanish-speaking students as well.
More Than a Video Call
What Can an Online Piano Lesson Include?
Depending on the student's goals, lessons can integrate:
Multiple Camera Angles
Observe technique, fingering, keyboard geography, posture, alignment, and coordinated movement from perspectives that would be impossible to see simultaneously in a conventional lesson.
Enhanced Visual Communication
See the teacher, keyboard, score, annotations, applications, recordings, and instructional resources integrated into the lesson.
Technique & Healthy Movement
Explore principles of coordinated piano technique informed by Dr. Casarotti's extensive work with the Taubman Approach, Keyboard Wellness, and principles related to healthy movement.
Musical Interpretation
Work deeply with phrasing, sound, style, voicing, articulation, pedaling, and artistic communication.
Music Theory
Connect theoretical understanding directly to the repertoire being studied.
Sight-Reading
Develop systematic reading skills using traditional materials and technology-assisted resources.
Digital Scores & Live Annotation
Scores can be displayed, marked, enlarged, and discussed during the lesson.
Recorded Tutorials
When appropriate, short demonstrations or practice tutorials can supplement the live lesson so that important concepts remain available during the student's practice week.
Technology & Apps
Digital tools can be integrated when they genuinely improve learning rather than simply adding technology for its own sake.
Synchronous + Asynchronous Learning
A student's education does not have to end when the video call ends. Recordings, tutorials, digital materials, and other resources can extend learning throughout the week.
Who Can Study Online?
Online instruction is available for:
Intermediate and advanced pianists seeking individualized musical and technical guidance.
College and university students preparing repertoire, auditions, competitions, recitals, graduate-school applications, or developing their pedagogical skills.
Adult pianists returning to the instrument or seeking a more sophisticated and individualized approach to their studies.
Piano teachers interested in mentorship, technique, repertoire, pedagogy, technology, visual communication, online teaching, or developing their own studios.
Students without access to specialized instruction locally who want to work with an experienced teacher regardless of where they live.
Current students who travel or relocate, allowing continuity of instruction wherever life takes them.
Online Teacher Mentorship & Consultation
Dr. Casarotti also offers individual mentorship and consultation for piano teachers and university faculty.
Sessions may address:
online studio design • camera placement • microphones and audio • OBS and virtual-camera systems • visual communication • hybrid teaching • tutorial production • livestreaming • digital scores • educational applications • group piano technology • teaching technique online • asynchronous learning • studio organization • international teaching • and the pedagogical integration of emerging technologies.
The goal is not to create the most complicated studio.
The goal is to create the most effective learning environment.
Online Piano Lessons — Now Accepting Students
More than fifteen years after his first online piano lessons, Dr. João Paulo Casarotti continues to explore how technology can make piano education more personal, visual, accessible, and effective.
Whether you are a pianist looking for specialized instruction, an adult returning to the piano, a university student preparing for the next stage of your career, or a teacher seeking professional mentorship, online study provides the opportunity to work together regardless of location.
Your teacher no longer has to live in your city.
Study from anywhere. Learn through multiple perspectives. Connect technology with musicianship.
Online Piano Lessons & Teacher Mentorship with Dr. João Paulo Casarotti
Now accepting online students.