Faye Forges — Finding Healing Through Piano

“When I discovered Ridley Academy, I had no idea how much it would affect my life…”

"When I discovered Ridley Academy, I had no idea how much it would affect my life. I first stumbled upon the ad for a free webinar in March of 2023, and I signed up for the Masterclass immediately after. I thoroughly enjoyed the Masterclass and found that I learned things in weeks that I was never taught in years of lessons earlier in my life, and I gradually became more confident in my playing.

In August of 2023, I had the pleasure of attending one of Stephen Ridley’s concerts with my husband and youngest daughter. Stephen’s energy is just as infectious at his show as it is in the Masterclass videos, and we all became even bigger fans.

About a year after that concert, my husband, Paul, passed away after battling a rare and very aggressive cancer. While he was fighting his battle, I would sometimes go to the hospital’s chapel to play the piano, and I was able to improvise and let out emotions to help keep me strong for him. The Masterclass taught me how to start improvising so I could do that more easily and expressively.

A couple of months after Paul passed, I decided to apply to the Mentorship program instead of seeking grief counselling. I fully believe that was the right decision. My main goals were to be able to better express myself through the piano and to ideally write a song to dedicate to my husband. I’m happy to announce that I just finished writing that song, and I plan to release it soon to my social media channels. It’s the first song I’ve ever finished writing, and it was a healing experience for me. I don’t know if I would have ever finished the song without the Mentorship program. The monthly webinars with Stephen are filled with wonderful information (I ask him lots of questions!), and the fun challenges nudge me out of my comfort zone. The weekly sessions with my coach, Rex, helped me learn about song structure and harmonies, and the personal videos he sent with constructive suggestions on how to improve were also incredibly helpful. Hearing the positive feedback from Rex about my original song also gave me confidence in my abilities, and I hope to write more songs in the future. This could be the start of a new and beautiful journey!"

— Faye Forges, Ridley Academy Student