The course
Make a free felt piano sound like a whole world.
Learn to pair a quiet piano melody with pads and drones you build yourself. The result is bittersweet, evolving music for TV drama, documentary and emotional adverts.
Join the list to hear when it opens →Why ambient piano is harder than it sounds
Good ambient piano holds several feelings at once: hope and sadness, nostalgia and struggle. Laying a piano over a preset pad doesn't get you there. The texture underneath has to be built, and it has to move. This course shows how.
Learn from three real references
| Reference | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Skyscraper trailer | Post-rock melody that keeps changing instead of looping |
| Dove "Real Beauty Sketches" | Restraint: low velocities and drifting pads carrying real emotion |
| Hand Covers Bruise | A simple melody holding steady over a restless drone |
Then you get a brief and write your own track to it.
What you'll build
- Choose and shape your piano. Upright or grand, mic positions, and why felt pianos suit ambient work.
- Turn the piano into a pad. Send channels of reverb and delay make a pad from the piano itself, with no synth needed.
- Build your own ambience. Strings and marimba played sparsely, then reversed, automated and turned into sampler instruments.
- Write simple melodies. Grow three notes into a phrase using question-and-answer structure.
- Start from a progression. Four chords, loosened timing, passing and neighbour notes.
- Build the full track. Melody first, then harmony, arpeggios and supporting instruments.
What you get
- 11 lessons, about 2 hours of video
- Intermediate level: you should already be comfortable in your DAW
- Shown in Logic Pro, using its built-in reverb (Space Designer)
- Lifetime access
Questions
Can I use a free piano? Yes. Felt pianos work especially well here, and the directory lists several free ones.
Do I need Logic Pro? No. The reverb and delay chains can be rebuilt in any DAW. The lessons just show them in Logic.
Should I take Cinematic Piano first? If you're new to writing piano parts, yes. Ambient Piano assumes you can already sketch chords and a melody. See Cinematic Piano.