Student of the Week - Tyler Cantos
We are very proud to announce Tyler Cantos as this week’s Student of the Week!
“When I first found Ridley Academy, I’d been playing piano for around 20 years, but I’d never taken lessons. I only learned through watching YouTube videos and always wanted to really learn from the beginning. I attended one of the live calls Stephen did and decided to just take the plunge.
“I knew some of the basics, like chords, before enrolling. — but I didn’t know how to practice with them. The biggest thing that has helped me grow from Ridley Academy has been learning how to practice. The Ridley Method has helped me increase my speed, improve my finger dexterity, and learn music quicker.
“My confidence has improved from posting videos within the Ridley Academy community. Getting feedback on my posts has helped me improve and build confidence playing in front of others.
“I am particularly proud of how much my speed with learning songs has improved. I used to try to speed through learning songs, and it would take me a while. Stephen’s advice of slowing things down while learning has helped me tremendously. When I’m learning or struggling with a section, I slow it down until I can perfect it. Then I increase the speed a little bit until I can play at normal speed. It’s cut down my learning time for songs from weeks to days to a couple of hours sometimes.
“The Ridley Academy staff have been amazing and are always helpful. I appreciate the insights on my videos and seeing them on everybody else’s videos as well. Seeing their feedback everywhere continues to help me to improve.
“My ultimate goal is to be able to write complete songs. I always come up with a bunch of melodies while I’m playing around, but I have never been able to finish them. I would love to be able to complete them. I also want to eventually be able to perform live in front of an audience. And I know with Ridley Academy I will be able to achieve those goals!”
— Tyler Cantos, Ridley Academy Student of the Week, 11 September 2026
