There are moments in life when words simply aren’t enough. Moments when hope fades, and dreams slip quietly into the background. Son’Yah’s journey is one of those moments that found its voice again—through music.

When Son’Yah joined Ridley Academy, she arrived carrying something heavy: a history of learning struggles and silent pain that convinced her she couldn’t learn or belong at the piano.

“My father called me stupid as he hit me for freezing in fear.”

She had walked away from music long ago—not because her desire was gone, but because the world told her she wasn’t enough. Then, something changed. A choice. A leap.

“If I slow down and take information in gently… I can learn anything.”

In her first few months with us, she discovered something profound: this wasn’t about playing fast or perfect—it was about healing, reclaiming, and listening to the sound of possibility.

“I’m finally giving myself permission to slow down—not just at the piano, but in every area of my l...

Every week, I have the privilege of witnessing extraordinary students rediscover parts of themselves through music, but Iva’s story is one that touched me deeply. It’s a reminder that sometimes the biggest breakthroughs happen the moment we decide to stop hesitating and start living.

When I first learned about Iva’s journey, I was moved by her honesty and her courage. She began her relationship with the piano as a young girl—just eight years old. She took lessons for a year, but as life often does, it pulled her in other directions. She stepped away from the piano, carrying with her a quiet dream she didn’t know would one day return with such strength.

Years later, she tried again. And again, life got in the way. Too much happening, too many responsibilities, too many reasons to put herself last. Yet the desire never disappeared. It stayed alive inside her, waiting patiently for the moment she would finally say “yes.”

A few months ago, she found Ridley Academy. She saw one of our pr...

When Gary joined my Complete Piano Masterclass, he wasn’t just looking to learn a few songs—he was looking to understand music deeply. From the beginning, I could tell that he was serious about learning the instrument the right way: with patience, structure, and purpose.

Gary shared something that truly resonated with me:

“I’ve taken (am still taking) Stephen’s Masterclass and think it’s the best piano training out there for accelerated growth. It’s not built on shortcuts, which are not really that helpful, but the insight of the coaches helps steer us toward more profitable activities and away from less effective ones.”

That’s exactly the goal of the program—to help students build real skill instead of relying on tricks that don’t last. Every lesson in the Masterclass is designed to strengthen the foundation: hand coordination, rhythm, chord understanding, and ear training.

From Foundations to Freedom

Gary has shown remarkable dedication since the start. He took the time to r...

I want to tell you about something I didn’t fully understand when I first started Ridley Academy.

At the beginning, I thought my job was to teach people how to play piano — how to move their hands, how to understand harmony, how to feel confident expressing themselves. And yes, all of that matters. But what I didn’t expect was that the real magic would come from the people themselves.

It’s the community that changes people.

Every week in our Mentorship Program, I watch students from every corner of the world show up for each other. They listen, they clap, they encourage, they give feedback, they lift one another up. It’s a small miracle that happens quietly, over and over again — a reminder that even though piano seems like a solo instrument, music has always been a shared experience.

One of our students, Frode, reminded me of this recently. He’s from Norway, and he joined the Mentorship Program after a long break from music — nearly twenty years without really playing. He told me ...

Let me guess…

You’ve always loved music.
You’ve always dreamed of playing piano.
But somehow, life got in the way.

Maybe you tried lessons as a kid and quit.
Maybe you assumed you weren’t musical enough.
Or maybe it’s just been sitting on your “someday” list for the last 10 years.

If that’s you, I get it.
I’ve met thousands of people with that exact story.

And I’m here to tell you something that no one told them:

You don’t need talent to play piano.
You don’t need years of practice.
You don’t even need to read music.

You just need to learn it differently.

Why Traditional Lessons Don’t Work

The way most people are taught piano is broken.

Scales. Sheet music. Endless repetition.
It’s mechanical. It’s rigid. And for most beginners, it’s discouraging as hell.

What If You Could Play a Song in 5 Days?

Over the past decade, I’ve helped thousands of people learn to play music they love. Even if they’d never touched a keyboard before.

So I created a simple process to help you do the same...

There are moments in life that no words can reach. Moments when the world breaks, and language simply isn’t enough.

When I first built Ridley Academy, I didn’t set out to teach piano. I wanted to give people a way to speak when words failed, because that’s what music once did for me. It saved me.

Over the years, I’ve had the honor of watching thousands of students come through our doors, each carrying their own story. Some seek joy, some seek challenge, and some—like one of our students, Faye—seek healing.

Faye joined Ridley Academy in 2023, not to chase perfection or applause, but because she felt that music still had something to offer her. She learned quickly. She came to one of our concerts that summer with her husband and daughter, and as she told me later, it was one of the most joyful nights of their lives.

A few months later, her husband was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. During those months of uncertainty and pain, Faye began to play. She would sit at...

I don't really like to tell this story...

because I don't like to be thought of as a victim and I certainly don't want people to treat me differently. 

This is something that even my best friends didn't know about until about two weeks ago, and these people have known me for years, yet they didn't know this thing about me. 

When I was younger, I went to school and everybody was making fun of me. They would make jokes about me because I talked too loud. Then they would whisper things and I couldn't hear them.

They were picking on me.

I would go home and I just was miserable. and I remember laying on the end of my bed and talking to my mum and I told her “Mum. I don't want to go to school anymore.”  

She asked me “why do you want to go to school?” I had to tell her that nobody likes me, I didn't have any friends, and I was so sad to have to do this. 

Just imagine telling your mother this. I don't have any friends, nobody likes me and they all make fun of me. 

They made fun ...

LIFE is something that either happens to you or happens because of you.

It is everybody's masterpiece. it is your creation.

Some people write a beautiful novel and some people finish their life with an empty book they didn't even pick up the pen. That's life. 

There's three moments, and they came very close together and that's when I realized I wanted to be a musician the first time.

The first time was when I was less than two years old.
It was seeing my father, who was quite an aggressive and serious guy, But when he listened to Elvis he became soft. He became Elvis.

I thought whoa what is that? What is that power like the power to change even a man as strong as my dad? I want that power.

The second big moment for me was inspired by a quote from Woody Allen.

He says that the job of the artist is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote to the emptiness of existence. and I realize in this moment existence doesn't have to be so empty.

When I would play, I realized ...

I hated being a kid. 

I know, that's a weird thing to say. 

Needing the permission of people, not being able to do what you want to do, to buy what you want to buy, to be able to be yourself, and the way you want to live your life. 

I've spent my life looking at who was right, who knew what they were doing, and I was too scared to try and do what I wanted. 

What was the result? Working in a job I hated. Oh yeah, I had the money, the status, the car, the penthouse. 

But none of it was my idea. none of it was my decision.

When I quit the bank, I quit that life. I changed everything.

In an instant, I snapped, and ended 20 years of begging for permission and approval. And I had no idea what I was going to do next. And you know what? it was the best choice of my life. 

Everything is aligned. I get to travel the world doing what I love. Creating. Sometimes, it's quite overwhelming. 

The first 20 years of my life I just took and took and took. and eventually I had nothing. 

I decided I want...

I’d never heard of Uzbekistan before.

I didn’t even know what I was doing when I got there.

But I arrived on an airplane with just 3 people on it at about 4:00 in the morning, completely exhausted. But when I had stepped off the airplane there were about 40 people there waiting for me. including the Minister of Culture.

I was under a lot of pressure because I was worried no one would show up. 

The day of the show in the middle of the day I was getting ready and doing a sound check, It was in the center square of the city, and a few people were showing up watching my play. 
10 people turned into 20. 

20 turned into 100. 

100 turned into 400.

When I was finished, I noticed they all had their phones out, recording me.

Then my phone started blowing up. I was being tagged hundreds of times, mentioned in stories on instagram, tiktok, facebook, everywhere. and it didn’t stop all night. 

When I was in the building getting ready and dressed, a film crew had been interviewing me, and asked...