Andrew Rael, born in Misawa, Japan, used music for pure enjoyment and also learned to use the piano as a refuge during his parents' decades long, high drama, soap opera divorce, filled with instability, addiction, abuse, and depression.
Starting piano at age three, music became a constant in his life, and a safe place for turbulence that was his youth. Back then just to deal with the up and downs of being a highly sensitive person (HSP) and eventually leading to a successful career as a jazz pianist and NYC studio musician.
Out of his personal struggles and college degree in Cognitive and Developmental Psychology, he developed a unique improvisation system outlining how music actually works, and incorporating wellness techniques like CBT, DBT and Neurolinguistics.
My journey to the piano wasn’t a straight line. It was a winding road, filled with turmoil and uncertainty. From a young age, my world was a chaotic place, a home filled with conflict and instability. I often felt like a ship tossed about in a stormy sea, searching for a safe harbor. I found that harbor in the most unexpected of places: the piano. I was a quiet child, a “mouse” as my father used to call me. But while I was quiet on theoutside, my mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions. The piano became my voice, my outlet, my sanctuary. It was the one place where I could be myself, where I could express the things I couldn’t put into words. It was the one constant in a world of change, the one thing that never let me down.
My father, a man of many contradictions, was the one who first introduced me to the piano.He taught me the basics, the simple 1-4-5 progression of a classic tune. But I quickly discovered that the piano was so much more than just notes on a page. It was a world of endless possibilities, a canvas for my imagination. I would spend hours at the piano, lost in the music, creating my own melodies, my own arrangements. It was a form of therapy, a way to cope with the chaos around me.
As I grew older, the storms of my childhood intensified. The fighting, the anger, the pain… it all came to a head in a moment that would change my life forever. At thirteen, after several years of abuse, I found the courage to stand up for myself, to say “no more.” It was a turning point, a moment of empowerment that set me on a new path.
But the scars of my childhood remained. The loss of my beloved dog, Nikko, marked the end of my innocence, the end of a chapter. Through it all, the piano was my constant companion, my faithful friend. It was the one thing that remained true, the one thing that made sense in a world that often didn’t.
Andy did not travel the now common road of music school, but pursued and sought out mentors the “old school way” (that may or may not have included stalking, and just downright sheepishly asking to “Hang out”) This include artists, world renowned pianist Marc Copland, Jon Esposito and Armen Donelian who learned directly from jazz legends such as John Coltrane, Pharaoh Sanders, Barry Harris and Lenny Tristano, and then handed that knowledge down to me. This is stuff you don’t find in method books, my friend. This information was earning from having relationships. Include to that list, personal instruction from piano greats coming from Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard School of Music, The New School for Jazz and Mason Gross School of Performing arts. Andrew education lineage is pure and not available anywhere else. “I crave new knowledge and after living with it and owning it, being able to share what I gained to help others with similar struggles. His teaching passion began at fourteen, driven by a desire to help others navigate personal struggles.
And that is why I am here today. My mission is to share the haven that the piano was for me with others. I want to help you discover the same joy, the same peace, the same sense of self-expression that I found in the music. I don’t believe in rigid methods or stuffy rules. I believe in a different kind of mastery, one that is rooted in freedom, creativity, and self discovery.
My approach to teaching is simple: I want to help you find your own voice at the piano. I’ll teach you the fundamentals, the building blocks of music, but I’ll also encourage you to explore, to improvise, to make mistakes. Because in my world, there are no mistakes, only opportunities for growth. I’ll show you how to create your own arrangements of the songs you love, how to weave in and out of melodies, how to make the music your own.
This is more than just learning to play an instrument. It’s about building a community, aplace where we can learn and grow together. It’s about using music as a tool for wellbeing, a way to improve our mood, to find our flow, to live a life of purpose.
So, if you’re ready to embark on a new journey, to rediscover the joy of music, to find your own haven at the piano, I invite you to join me. Let’s make some music together.