A teen who takes singing lessons has a limitless number of same-age, vocal idols. A quick search of Youtube will bring up talented teen singers with thousands, if not millions, of subscribers. So it’s no wonder that motivating teen singing students is easier than motivating teen piano students.
To find teen or young adult piano superstars requires a little more digging. But they are out there, and your teen piano students need to know about them! Watching successful young piano players light up the internet, brings certain level of “cool” to the piano that will make your teen students’ lesson experiences feel more relevant.
So, in today’s post we’re sharing five Youtube piano superstars that you and your teen students need to check out.
Five Piano Playing YouTube Superstars
If you have ever had concerns that the piano is not a relevant instrument for teens, your worries will fade when you see the talents of the five artists we are showcasing below. Learn their names, subscribe to their channels and inspire your teen piano players. Let’s get started:
1. Peter Bence
At one time, Hungarian pianist Peter Bence was the certified by Guiness as the World’s Fastest Piano Player…. but that isn’t why your teens will love him. He covers some of today’s most popular music and his performances exude cool. Oh… and he owns barefoot piano playing. Check out his rendition of Toto’s Africa below:
2. Sara Arkell (ThePianoGal)
Sara Arkell is a great pianist to follow for teens and tweens. She rose to fame with a backward-playing, piano duel covering a tune from Frozen. Since then she continues to release, in her own words, family-friendly piano covers. Check out her piano acrobatics below:
3. Costantino Carrara
With over a half million subscribers Costantino Carrara is one of Youtube’s biggest piano superstars. If your students want to hear a cover of a Top 40 song, chances are he has made a video of it. Check him out playing Closer by The Chainsmokers:
4. Peter Buka
Peter Buka might just be our favorite artist in this list. His videos aren’t as highly produced as our previous mentions… but they don’t need to be. Just watch his video of Despacito and you’ll know what we mean:
5. The Brooklyn Duo
The Brooklyn Duo might trend toward a slightly older crowd but your teens should still love what they have to offer. Like The Piano Guys, they’ve thrown in a cello for good measure! Check out their cover of Ed Sheeran’s Photograph.
Looking For Inspiring Teen Piano Music?
Andrea and I believe that music must be relevant to teens if we expect them to stick with piano lessons. But being relevant is not just about playing anything and everything from the Top 40. Piano lessons need a good dose of the classics!
To help bridge the gap between today’s pop hits and yesterday’s classical masterpieces we’ve written a piano book series with classical pop crossover music. You can listen to samples below and then, if you like what you hear, check out The Amadeus Anthems, The Chopin Sessions and The Beethoven Sessions
Elizabeth says
Thank you for this. The first one is a prime example to show parents who don’t really understand why I spend so much time on ipads teaching multi-track recording skills. Beautiful.
Andrea says
That’s great Elizabeth! It’s such an amazing way to turn a solo instrument into something much more 🙂
Ruth Brown says
Where can we get the music for the songs that the five teen superstars played? Thanks
Andrea says
Some of them sell sheet music and some are just doing covers – if you click on the videos they usually have a link below if they are selling the music/have the rights to do so.
Ben Arkell says
Thanks for taking the time to write this article. Sara (The Piano Gal) is my daughter and it’s an honor to be on this list with these incredible pianists. I was actually just watching some Peter Bence YT videos last night, he is incredible – as are the others listed here. It’s definitely beneficial to have someone to look up to and learn from.
Andrea says
Hi Ben! Wow – she’s incredible and inspiring! You must be so proud. Thanks for hopping in with a comment – we’re thrilled to connect with you 🙂
Patti says
You’ve done it again. Given me a wonderful gift for my
piano students. When a student walks into my studio, I want to capture all his/her senses. I usually have a candle lit, and a piano performance playing on the computer, and sometimes a yummy treat, depending on the season, or recent accomplishment. This collection of young pianists gives me another resource from which to pull. Thanks, again!
Andrea says
So glad it’s helpful, Patti! I love your approach – sounds fantastic 🙂
Melissa says
So fun! I’ve already scheduled these videos to publish on my lesson facebook page…once a week through August. 🙂
Lisa Barwell says
Thank you so much for sharing these! I have also scheduled them on my studio FB page. I’ve been needing some videos to post and these are perfect!
Connie says
Thanks so much for sharing these fun and inspiring videos!! What a great way to spark excitement for the coming school year among students AND teachers! 🙂
Tonya Statler says
Awesome!!!
Tonya Statlr says
I love the ideas I get from these posts and comments.
Thank you everyone!