

Hi, I’m Richard Smith and since 2006 I’ve taught tens of thousands of students all over the world, of all ages and levels to play piano, bass, guitar, organ, and drums.
God has helped us to develop a proven system for learning to play in less time.
Now you can take advantage of our experience and proven step-by-step training to learn to play better in your first year than most self-taught students learn to play in years.
Be capable of playing in church in months, not years!
Or do you already play? We’ll help you level up.
Brother, after years of wanting to learn how play the piano, I am finally learning. This is a dream come true for me. I am learning how to play and at my own pace. Thank you so much!
This course has taught me to read music using the number system, which I was so confused on before while my daughter was taking lessons. I have learned several shortcuts to making chords (for example the dominant flatted 7th’s) and I also learned a couple of different runs and fills that I did not know before this course.
I’m so enjoying my lessons, never thought it could be so easy! I’m over 40 years old and if I can do it anybody can! I’ve wasted my money on so many other courses, but I have learned so much in just 3 short weeks! Thank you Jesus I love it!
“I feel like I’ve been able to do a lot of things quickly!”
“To the point where I was just assisting & now music is being handed to me..”
“If it wasn’t for your program, I wouldn’t be able to do all that I’m doing! 🎹”
“I finally understand the lingo!”
“The goals that I’ve always wanted!”
“It’s worth the time and investment! 🎹”
“Now I find it so much easier! 🎹”
“Thank you Richard Smith for all the emails you send out. Thank you for the free chord sheets. The lessons are great. Everything you offer is great! If I could see you face to face, in person, for a live lesson on a weekly basis, that would be the only thing that would make what you do better…Thanks for all you do. God Bless!”
“I’m doing great! Just taking it slow and practicing the first song Jesus is the Answer. I have been asked to play piano once a month. I was using Youscian and learned the chords and keys but felt stuck because there were no Christian worship songs. My mentor asked me if I tried your site. Well here I am!”
“I’ve been practicing “Souled Out” from your chords and it made it a lot easier. Someone at church heard me practicing and began to sing it so that’s positive. I definitely am learning faster.”
“Apostolic Praise Lessons has really, really, really helped me. I can make major and minor chords without taking a lot of time to figure it out. The Best Part is the Roman Numeral. I love it! I can actually transpose on the spot now. I’ve received so many compliments on my playing. Thank you and your family so very much.”
“Today I was watching a video of you explaining 7th and 9th chords. You made it so simple. Now I understand what other musicians were doing. I truly believe I can be as anointed as they are. You’re not one of the other musicians, you’re Top-Notch!!! Thank You Sooo Much!”
“Your videos on YouTube have helped me so much. I’ve been playing piano for over 25 years and really love the beautiful chord progressions of traditional gospel. I asked my jazz piano teacher to help me play this style and we came across your video. It was perfect.”
“Thank you and Lord bless! I am truly looking forward to utilizing these songs and the great lesson tutorials. My children just purchased a beautiful Kawai piano for me. Now I have a great instrument for practicing. Again, thank you Bro. Richard Smith.”
“I love the song video tutorials! They are so helpful! I am taking Apostolic 102 right now. I noticed when I came upon a diminished chord that I naturally knew what to do. Thank you for all the helpful resources you offer!”
“I’m only on my third lesson and I already feel an increase in my playing…all glory to God! Thank you for checking on me!”
“You are such a blessing to encourage as well as share information with others. May God richly bless you for the things you do.”
“I completed lesson 1 and watched lesson 2 and have been practicing all my chords! I learned that in figuring out choir parts, I can use the keyboard, play a chord, and use 1 for tenor, 2 for alto, and 3 for soprano! So simple. I’m thanking God I’ve finally found a method I can understand!”
“I took the beginners free course online you offer. It was amazing. I knew nothing and now I am playing slow songs. My husband is studying to be an Apostolic preacher and I am trying to learn the piano as much as I can before we possibly start a church.”
“I have been given a wonderful gift of being able to play piano. I am now the pianist at our church. I don’t have the “Pentecostal” style down yet and would love to learn. Thank you again for your website.”
“My son went through the first lesson on Monday and was playing “Jesus is the Answer” that evening. He was playing 3 different songs over and over, singing along at the top of his lungs. This almost brought me to tears!”
“Thank you for being a blessing and providing us with your training material. May God continue to bless your ministry.”
“I have been working on the lessons and enjoying them and learning a lot. Even though I’ve been playing a long time, there are holes most everywhere I turn. Thank you for doing such a great service for people who want to do music.”
“I have played piano for years in my church, self-taught by God’s grace. Your videos have already enhanced my playing abilities.”
“Thanks for all your instruction over the past 12 or so weeks. I appreciate all you’ve helped me understand, and soon I want to enroll in AP 102 to become an even better player for Christ.”
“I’m really grateful for the sheet lessons, they are really taking my playing to another level. Thanks man!!”
“I began using your music program almost three years ago. I went from knowing virtually nothing to becoming the music director of a home missions church. Thank you for this program, and thank you ESPECIALLY for the Apostolic Chord Sheet Database!”
“I have completed lessons 1, 2 and 3. I am really excited to have learned all the chords that go with each key you are playing in. I want to learn all I can. Thank you!!”
“My daughter has taken traditional piano lessons for over 4 years and recently lost almost all interest. I signed her up for your courses. She has finished 4 lessons since Monday, and she is playing the piano ALL THE TIME now!”
“I have to tell you these lessons are more than a BLESSING for me. I am not learning how to play a song, I am learning how to play music and understand what I am doing.”
“I have completed 6 lessons with AP 100. I never dreamed that I would understand the way that I do. I am upset at all the money I’ve spent in the past with instructors who seemed to make it so difficult. Thank you so much.”
“I’ve spent tons of money on lessons with teachers in person, on the internet, books, DVDs but I have never seen one like this! Your program for teaching church musicians is AWESOME! You have provided a systematic way to success for musicians!”
“After being only half-way through the first term, I feel that I am seeing doors open to patterns in chord usage that I have long struggled with. Thank you for sharing your short-cuts to learning with those of us who have longed to become a better musician for many years.”
“I really enjoyed this first lesson on 9ths! I can tell they’re going to add way more dimension to my playing.”
“It’s only because of your lessons that I am playing in church today. Can’t wait to continue on in lessons.”
“I bought a keyboard like 3 days ago and I’ve learned things I never thought I’d know. I actually know chords and the names of keys! I’m going to be playing in church one day, I’m claiming it!”
“Thank you for sharing the gift the Lord has blessed you with. It has been worth every penny spent.”
“You have no idea how you have blessed me. I will be the “one” thanking you my whole life. I have completed Lessons 1 and 2 and I’m practicing every day!”
“Love all your stuff. It’s an incredible resource to church musicians. I studied music in college, but this is exactly what church musicians need!”
“APSOM is the same as if you were to take piano in college or a university. But instead of studying secular music and trying to apply it to Pentecostal music, I am studying songs I can already play in church. It’s AWESOME!”
“I don’t know if you realize what a true blessing you are to all us pastor’s wives that have been put into the role of music director just because there is no one else to do it. All the great stuff you send makes our job easier!”
“I joined the group because I’d hit a plateau in my playing and wanted to work through it. I’ve lost track of time numerous nights because I was enjoying practicing so much.”
“I haven’t heard this song before but I got so caught up playing and learning this song I just had an absolute awesome time! I’ve probably played with the recording 20 times.”
“I LOVE the organ course and I am making GREAT progress! I am praying for and looking forward to the day when I can play in church for God’s glory. Your course is helping my dream come true!”
“Thank you for your service, support, diligence, and passion!!!!!”
“One of the youth on the praise team challenged me to learn this song. Couldn’t find any chord chart, so I tried to put into practice what I’ve been learning in ear training. It’s not perfect but I figured out the chords in about 3 minutes. God is so amazing, I’m so grateful.”
“After playing for service this morning, I felt that inversion practice paying off. My hands were a bit more “automatic,” making it easier to play and worship.”
“Hey, Bro. Richard. I wanted to say how much this program has blessed me. When I started with you, I had no confidence as a pianist. I second guessed everything I did and consistently felt unworthy to be in our band. Everything has changed. My confidence along with my dreams has skyrocketed. Thank you, Bro. Richard, for bringing this miracle program into my life. I’ve enjoyed it so much!”
“Hello everyone, I am glad to be here. When I saw the video of Richard playing shouting music I knew I needed this class. Thank you so much for allowing God to use you to help others Richard. May His favor be upon you and this class!”
“Today’s master class was awesome. I learned so much. The turn around from the 4/5 to 5/7 then to the one is my favorite. I hope to use it as often as possible. Such a soulful sound. And the ninths! How to think about moving the root to the bassline and adding in the ninth note. Yes!”
“I just want to share this win with you. I just played a new song I had never heard before, it’s called Walls Fall Down by Michael Perry. And I was able to pick out a part of the melody which I was able to guess out the song. Thank you for this program, things are clicking and I’m so thankful God is helping me.”
“I owe a lot of what I’ve learned to this program. While in your program I have grown as a musician in one year more than I did in five years through traditional music lessons.”
“Not me playing, I just MD. This is a shout we got from Bro. Smith on YouTube. We had all of our musicians learn this and call it “The Selah.” I really appreciate all of the resources he shares, it has helped our church so much!”
“Just to let you know, I have great regard for you as a musician, teacher and by now, FRIEND. You’re the best. I thank God that I was able to connect some years ago with you online. You were a ‘God Send’. Also, the virtual experience has been awesome. God has truly equipped and covered you. Even though I have been playing for years, the most measureable music growth has come from my APSOM / Building Blocks Study. Thank you.”
“Okay I’m definitely not having time to practice. BUT! I did have to praise singer altar call solo and they chose Break Every Chain. It was cool because I knew no matter where I wanted to go, I did not have to give the musicians advanced notice bc the chord progressions are the same for the whole song.”
“To me, that session was a solid example of why Bro. Richard is such an intuitive coach. He fine tunes the Mastermind session to address our growth as church musicians.”
“You know this it’s self says to me it was worth joining.”
Your Gift Is Calling. Let's Develop It.
One membership. Every instrument. Every lesson. Learn to play gospel music by ear — at your own pace, on your own schedule.
1 User
Everything you need to go from beginner to confident — anytime, anywhere.
- Every course on demand, unlocked — no waiting, no gatekeeping
- Monthly Q&A Call included
- Real, personal feedback on your playing — not just a video library (up to 2 recordings per week)
- Hundreds of step-by-step video lessons, PDF guides, quizzes, and practice tracks
- Piano, bass, guitar, organ, drums, and choir parts — all included
- A growing library of free chord sheets, with real songs taught in almost every lesson
- Weekly emails to keep you motivated and moving forward
- Bring your spouse and kids along — one membership, the whole household
- No contracts. Cancel whenever you want.
- Full access to the Apostolic Praise Chord Sheet Database — beginner to advanced
Coaching
For musicians who want to grow faster with live coaching, not just videos.
- Everything in On Demand, plus live weekly Q&A calls
- Real, personal feedback on your playing — not just a video library (up to 2 recordings per week)
- Get unstuck faster and skip months of guesswork
- Hundreds of step-by-step video lessons, PDF guides, quizzes, and practice tracks
- Piano, bass, guitar, organ, drums, and choir parts — all included
- A growing library of free chord sheets, with real songs taught in almost every lesson
- Weekly emails to keep you motivated and moving forward
- No contracts. Cancel whenever you want.
- Full access to the Apostolic Praise Chord Sheet Database — beginner to advanced
Multiple Users
Built for church teams, ministry musicians, and families learning together.
- Train every musician on your team under one membership
- Hundreds of step-by-step video lessons, PDF guides, quizzes, and practice tracks
- Piano, bass, guitar, organ, drums, and choir parts — all included
- A growing library of free chord sheets, with real songs taught in almost every lesson
- Weekly emails to keep your whole team motivated
- No contracts. Cancel whenever you want.
- Full access to the Apostolic Praise Chord Sheet Database — beginner to advanced
of Church Music
The Ultimate Learning Experience to get rid of frustrations and accelerate your playing.
Spots Limited Book a Free Strategy Session Now →- Everything in On Demand, plus live weekly personal coaching, Q&A, and bonus lessons
- Access to our exclusive learning platform with exclusive content and Building Blocks community
- Personal strategy implementation to navigate your obstacles and achieve your goal

Ready to Take Your Playing to the Next Level?
Try your first two lessons on any course — completely free, no card required.
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