In this excerpt from the Beginner Learning Pathway, Dion helps you lay a strong foundation for the rest of your piano journey with your first chords: C, G, Am, and F.
Dion Todman is a pianist, composer, and educator who helps aspiring pianists build a strong musical foundation through clear, music-first instruction.
Dion is a versatile pianist who teaches the core piano curriculum at Pickup. His lessons make learning piano approachable by combining practical skills with a deeper understanding of how music works.
Beginner Learning Pathway
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Late Beginner Learning Pathway
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Intermediate Learning Pathway
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In this excerpt from the Beginner Learning Pathway, Dion helps you lay a strong foundation for the rest of your piano journey with your first chords: C, G, Am, and F.
Dion is a pianist and educator who specializes in contemporary keyboard styles and modern orchestral works.
He made his Carnegie Hall debut at 16 and earned a degree in piano performance from FSU. Dion's musical expertise and charisma quickly found an audience online, earning him hundreds of thousands of followers.
In his classes, Dion helps students build strong technique, musical understanding, and creative confidence at the keyboard.
Are you a guitar, bass or piano player who feels like you haven’t made progress in a few months… years… or even decades?
You’re probably stuck in what’s called the ‘intermediate plateau’. This is very common and can be very frustrating.
What’s the cause? Well, it’s pretty easy to learn the basics on any instrument. Learn a few chords and you can play hundreds of other songs. Learn a couple of scales and you can play some lead.
But what then? Triads? Modes? Arpeggios? The phrygian scale?!
Without a clear plan and learning system you fall back to playing the same things over and over again. Or you bounce around free lessons online but nothing seems to stick. It’s a recipe for a lot of practice without much progress.
That’s where Pickup Music can help. We specialize in taking players stuck in a rut and turning them into advanced musicians.
We do this through Learning Pathways that take you on a step-by-step journey towards mastery. We give you a highly structured system that shows you exactly what to work on each week to make serious progress.
These Learning Pathways take the guesswork out of your practice routine. You are guided through a proven grade-by-grade system with daily lessons, play-along practice exercises and interactive workouts.
But it’s not all about theory. We apply everything you learn to real music. That’s why every grade of our Learning Pathways build up to performing a song with a live backing band. This simulates what it’s like to play a real gig, with real musicians. It’s the absolute best way to learn.
You can also get 1-on-1 video feedback on your playing from our expert coaches and can attend weekly live lessons. This personal feedback makes Pickup Music the closest thing to taking in-person lessons, but at a fraction of the cost.
So does this method actually work? Will you see results in your playing?
The most common thing we hear from new members is that they’ve made more progress with Pickup Music in a few months than in years of teaching themselves. As one member recently told us, “I'm finally seeing progress for the first time in many years”.
Want to hear about other members’ experiences with us? Read our independent Trustpilot reviews.
Private music lessons cost about $50 per lesson or $2,600 a year.
Enrolling in a music academy costs about $40,000 a year.
A Pickup Music membership costs just $180 for the whole year. That works out to 50 cents a day!
But it’s not just about the money. It’s about not wasting your precious time. It’s about making actual progress as a musician.
By following our proven Learning Pathway system, you will eliminate the guesswork so you know exactly what you need to focus on each day and week to make lasting progress as a musician.
Most online music lesson sites are good at teaching one-off songs. Or they get super famous artist to record one-hour video lessons talking at length about their particular style and career.
The problem is that these 'infotainment' approaches don't stick. They don’t help you to actually get better as a musician. You can waste a lot of time bouncing around these types of unconnected, one-off lessons.
Pickup Music takes a different approach. We give you a highly structured system that shows you exactly what to work on each week to make serious progress. We take you beyond the basics through a step-by-step journey towards mastery.
By following a Pickup Music Learning Pathway, you are getting the most guided way to learn music. Over 6 grades, you are taken through daily lessons and practice exercises that carefully explain what’s going on behind the music.
Each grade then builds up to song performances that apply everything you’ve learned with a live backing band. These challenges - where we simulate what it’s like to play a real gig, with real musicians - is the absolute best way to learn.
You can also get 1-on-1 video feedback on your playing and weekly live lessons. This personal feedback makes Pickup Music the closest thing to taking in-person lessons, but at a fraction of the cost.
Want to hear about other members’ experiences with us? Read our independent Trustpilot reviews.
Everything on Pickup Music is designed to be taken on-demand and at your own pace. There are no deadlines, so you can work at your own speed. You can stay on a topic until you really understand it before you move on.
While we divide our Learning Pathways into ‘days’ - this is a suggestion only. Some learners might take a few days in one sitting, while others will spend a few sessions on a single day. You can go at the pace that feels most comfortable to you.
Canceling is easy. It’s just a click of a button on your account page.
You won't be charged anything if you cancel during your free trial. We also send you a reminder before your trial ends so you don’t accidentally forget about it.
If you cancel after your trial, you won't be billed again at your next billing cycle. Your membership will remain active until it expires on the day it was originally set to renew.
In addition to the free trial, we also offer a 60-day money back guarantee for first time customers who sign up via our website. If you’re not satisfied with your progress in the first 60 days of your membership, we will give you your money back - no questions asked.