I believe that anybody can learn to play the piano. Let me tell you why. Back in 2009, I created a series of piano lessons for YouTube called “Clair de lune From Scratch.” In the introduction, I stated that anyone – absolutely anyone – could learn to play this incredibly difficult piano masterpiece by Claude Debussy, even if they never had any music lessons or prior piano playing experience.

Almost immediately, teachers at a prominent piano forum attacked this claim. Some stated that a piano student needed a minimum of five years before they could even begin to attempt a piece like “Clair de lune.” Others pointed out the intrinsic difficulties of working on a piece with so many black keys, or the complex rhythmic, chord, and arpeggiated patterns that were way beyond the levels of even some of the most advanced pianists. As the objections piled on, one week after my first YouTube piano lesson was uploaded, a 17-year old teenager from Sweden who had never played the piano before posted a video – “Hey, Mr. Sung! Look what I can do!” he chirped, oblivious of the pedagogical firestorm swirling on the Internet. And the young man proceeded to play the entire first phrase of “Clair de lune” beautifully.