About Ron Drotos and KeyboardImprov

Hi! I’m Ron Drotos and I’ve created KeyboardImprov.com to help you experience the joy that comes with fluent improvisation; when the music starts to literally ‘pour’ out of you. Ever since I started playing professionally, people would come up to me say “Wow! I wish I could play like that!”  I realized that although they had taken piano lessons for many years, no one had shown them how to internalize music as a language, so they could improvise with ease in any style.  So I started to develop methods of teaching that would combine technique, theory, and various musical styles in a fun, “holistic” way.  The Jazz Piano University curriculums are specially designed to help you become a fluent improviser while learning jazz repertoire, theory, and pianistic techniques like walking bass lines and chord voicings at the same time.

After 20 years of helping students from ages 5-85  learn to improvise fluently, I decided to go “online” with KeyboardImprov.com in 2012. My goal is to give you the personal attention of in-person piano lessons along with an extensive, step-by-step video course. I’m pleased to say that I have now students all over the wold, in countries such as England, the Czech Republic, Ireland, South Africa, Greece, China, the Philippines, and the United States. You can try a free lesson HERE and see the complete list of video lessons HERE.

The best thing about Ron Drotos and KeyboardImprov.com is that the lessons are always kept fun. It takes a person who is passionate about music to be able to have the passion and desire to teach others. Ron Drotos is an awesome teacher!

Curtis B.

I work with pianists and keyboard players of all ages and levels of experience to help them learn to improvise music fluently. I teach all styles including rock, jazz, blues, pop, and classical. I studied musical composition at the University of Connecticut and jazz piano with Dr. Billy Taylor. My 25+ years of professional experience has brought me to the stage of Carnegie Hall, both as pianist and arranger for the NY Pops, and to the Broadway stage, where I have both conducted and played for shows such as Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Swinging On A Star (Tony nomination for Best Musical), and Fosse. I’ve played with jazz greats Chris Brubeck and Giacomo Gates, and compose choral music that is heard in universities across the United States.

Although performing is close to my heart, what I love most is helping students learn to improvise. It really comes down to learning the elements of music in the same way that one learns a language. Once the connection is made, the music begins to flow. That’s the real magic! You can read about an amazing teaching experience I had along these lines in my blog post, A Piano Improv Miracle.

I’ll provide you with musical guidance, encouragement, and the knowledge you need to learn to play piano the way you’ve always wanted to. And you’ll have lots of fun along the way!