Playing the piano is one of the most wonderful things you can do in your life. I myself started when I was eight and I have never stopped. It has brought me a lot of valuable things: many friendships, nice encounters, musical contacts and distant travels. I even went to the conservatory to learn how to play the great classical masters, first in Rotterdam and then in The Hague. I also received lessons from the famous Hungarian pianists Gyorgy Sandor and Gyorgy Sebok. They taught me a lot of interesting things about the profession.

After that, I thought it was a great challenge to teach others to play and to introduce them to both the craft (the ability) and the art (the beauty) of music. And that includes the art of the touch, toucher, to use a nice French word.

Everyone thinks differently about learning to play the piano. There are those who believe that you have to study a lot of scales and repeat a lot to get something done. It helps, but it's not necessarily a requirement. It is better to use your brain and ears when studying. Those who think only of entertainment, and not at all of classical piano music, will go a long way in playing a pop melody with chord accompaniment. There are those who cannot read a note and learn to play via the internet. Others need to read music notes to be able to play. Still others are very fast and skilled at everything. The average student has strengths and weaknesses. It's up to me to work on this and on this, to help you further and to let you do more. My starting point is almost always the music: how should it sound and what should be done to achieve a nice sounding result? In addition to beginners, I also work with advanced students and professionals. Not only do I pay attention to all the elements that make up a composition, but also to piano techniques, essential movements and ways of studying. I have even given workshops on learning how to practise the piano. The smarter and more effectively you practise, the better your playing will become, from beginner to even the highest level.

My students are of all levels and all ages, from 7 to 77! They play everything. Just a selection: simple songs such as Sailor Jack, Menuet en trio and Indian dance, the Spanish Malaguena, Für Elise, the piano concerto in D by Haydn, Schubert Impromptus, Chopin Nocturnes, Scriabin Etudes, the Ritual Fire Dance by De Falla, Preludes by Debussy , Danzas gitanes by Turina, Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin, Boogie woogies, La Bamba, tango, Do Re Mi and My favorite things (from The Sound of Music), The lion sleeps tonight, Greensleeves, Amazing Grace, Memory (from the musical Cats), Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious from Mary Poppins, James Bond, New Age (Einaudi/Philip Glass), pop hits, Take five, jazz pieces, Marco Borsato songs, Nederpop, Adele, Bruno Mars, Katy Perry, Coldplay, John Legend, etc. Learning to improvise is also on my program. Everything is possible!

After my piano studies, I worked as a pianist on the island of Java in Indonesia. A fascinating job and my first encounter with a really different culture. After that I specialized in music from the former Dutch East Indies and even wrote a thick book about it: The east wind blows to the west! If you are interested, just google my pianist name: Henk Mak van Dijk. There you will find a lot of information about my activities. I also enjoy working with other musicians. For example, I play together with clarinetist Wouter van Diepen, the singers Renate Arends, Nora Tours, Astrid Seriese and Wendy Roobol and I am part of the Mesdag Piano Trio. I have also been working for a long time with singing teacher Nora in her singing studio Podium Vocale in The Hague and I am chairman of the Haags Open Podium, which organizes monthly classical concerts in this hall.