How to Boogie Woogie Piano for Beginners – Twinkle Masterclass

How to Boogie Woogie Piano for Beginners – using Twinkle Twinkle

Do you want to play Boogie Woogie Piano? Fancy learning from someone who studied with an original Boogie Woogie Pianist?  Toby Hounsham is a brilliant professional musician who has toured with great bands all of his life.  He has a fantastic ability to break tasks down into small chunks.  This is the first Boogie Woogie piano course in a series of 3.  It’s aimed at beginner players, typical around the Grade 3 level.  It is guaranteed to maximise your Boogie Woogie piano fun!

What is in this Boogie Woogie Piano Course?

The beauty of Toby’s teaching is that he is extremely clear and breaks things down into small steps. Different left-hand possibilities will form part of this course so if you feel that you need something easier or harder, you will have options that suit you.

Alongside this course content you will be listening to famous examples, playing along, working out some patterns by ear and applying what you’ve learned to “Backwater Blues” (a renowned Blues song) as well as “Twinkle Twinkle”.

• Boogie Background
• Left Hand Patterns (multiple available for different level pianists)
• The Melody
• Practising LH Patterns on C, F, G
• Syncing the Melody with the Left Hand, 2 Note Shuffle Chords
• Beginning to Rock
• Adding the Pick Up
• Right Hand Toolkit: Adding Extra Chord Notes to Thicken The Sound
• Adding Sevenths
• The Octave Tremolo
• Right Hand Sixths & Fifths

Who is Toby Hounsham?

Toby is a wonderful musician and person who has had a really varied career.  Initially, he worked through his traditional piano grades and eventually met Big Joe Duskin, one of the last of the big New Orleans style Boogie Woogie pianists from when Boogie Woogie was in its heyday.  Toby’s family invited big Joe to stay and Toby learned 1-1 with the legend himself.

Following this in his mid teens, Toby began playing in local pubs.  He joined bands and was very successful, even playing on Top of the Pops.  He responded to an advert in the music newspaper, “Melody Maker” to a band that was seeking a keyboard player called Rialto.  It was with Rialto that he played on Top of the Pops, but also travelled extensively.  Rialto were particularly successful in South Korea.

Later in his career, when Rialto were on the same bill as Mungo Jerry, Toby got chatting socially to them.  A couple of months later he was invited to be their keyboardist and has played with them ever since.

The Stranglers have always been a huge hit and when their keyboardist, Dave Greenfield, sadly passed away.  Toby was asked to become their new keyboardist and this was quite daunting for him as he’d always had huge respect for Dave and had even spent hours trying to work out how Dave created specific sounds.  Toby inherited Dave’s “rig” (the group of keyboards and kit) and rapidly became a very fine successor to a huge name in the pop keyboard business.

Interestingly, within all of this journey Toby has also trained as a Music Therapist and spent 10 years working in this sphere.  There’s no doubt that the holistic part of Toby is astonishing.  His care for every soul that he meets is most obvious and his kindness to The Maestro Online is very apparent.

Our music masterclass courses are self-study digital courses embedded with information, interactive music software (scores), exercises, objectives, tasks, teaching pedagogy and videos of celebrities and international level musicians explaining and demonstrating key skills. Certificates are awarded at the end of each course.

🎵 Why Choose Our Music Learning Platform?

Unlock a rich, flexible, and inspiring music education experience designed for musicians of all levels. Whichever area of musical learning inspires you, our world-class performers offer it all.

A Quick Look at a Typical Masterclass Course

Sample Interactive Score

Course Dashboard with Progress and Points

Thorough Musicianship
Creativity, improvisation, and ear training are seamlessly integrated with popular, gospel, classical and jazz melodies to help you achieve true musical freedom.

Unique Learning Journey
Our tailored methodology emphasises improvisation and aural skills first, with notation used to support—not restrict—your creativity.

Certification
Courses include clear objectives, tasks, and fun quizzes that lead to downloadable certificates—perfect for motivation and recognition.

Gamification
Track your progress and climb the league tables by earning certificate points and logging in regularly.

️ Interactive Software
Our custom music software links visual notation with sound to enhance your creativity and understanding.

Celebrity Masterclasses
Learn from internationally acclaimed musicians and award-winning performers through high-quality video lessons and real-world demonstrations.

Expert Pedagogy
Each self-study course is structured with professional teaching principles, goal-setting, progress tracking, and step-by-step tasks.

Flexible Learning
Study from home, at your own pace. Affordable monthly fees and no need to travel—music learning that fits your lifestyle.

Human Touch
Get personalised support from our expert team and request custom courses tailored to your goals.

Personalised Experience
Receive bespoke course recommendations and guided learning plans based on your interests and skill level.

For All Levels
A wide range of self-study courses, celebrity masterclasses, and optional 1-1 lessons designed for adult and teenage musicians, university/conservatoire students, home schoolers, and music therapists.

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A Quick Look at a Typical Masterclass Course

•  Celebrity video lessons
•  Objectives & exercises
•  Progress tracking
• ️ Interactive music software
•  Certificate on completion