Establishing orientation through listening, contact, and choice.
The Core is where we come from and where we return for our vitality, inspiration, and sustenance. We will explore and play with the essential skill of navigating the unknown capably by playing and experimenting with it through an intuitive approach to improvisation on piano.
You will be introduced to tools to use regularly to notice your foundational creative connection and how to retune and realign it.
In this Core course, you will:
nurture and become more deeply familiar with how to improvise in all 12 keys
develop a physical and auditory sense of where you are at all times
use sound as a reliable way to orient, ground, and respond
Choose the Core if you want a clear beginning, and a foundation you can stand on, on the piano and elsewhere, regardless of what comes next.
Having had a very negative experience with my piano teacher in childhood, which left me with a strong internalized critic, Daniel helped me work gently with those critical parts. I was guided to access deeper listening, sensing, and feeling — and to express that musically.
This is a massive, massive process for me as a human being.
It was really easy, and I thought this is the easiest way to play.
What I was not expecting at all was the whole, sort of therapeutic aspect of this, trying to express myself, learn about myself through the piano, coming to the piano with whatever feelings I was having or whatever story I might want to express.
There was a lot of emotional healing here. It's a lot of permission to be expressive... learn about myself in a safe environment.

Just do it! There is nothing to fear here. If there is, you get to play that out on the piano.
What I've discovered about myself and about music and getting out of my own way and if there is any creativity, letting it emerge. Yes, that's been a lot of fun for me.
When the student's ready the teacher will appear and you were the teacher and you appeared and it could not have been a better fit for me.
It is a very unusual program, and i am applying the keyboard and thinking and relating to it, in my inner being, very very differently than I ever have in my life.
The battery that makes it run is sitting down and playing. And feeling what it feels like, I had never... sat down at the keyboard in order to feel what I’m feeling because something I don’t understand is going on in my life, or something I don’t like.
To me the healing part of it is honestly being able to arrive at a keyboard, sit down with an intention of playing out something that I am not happy about,
I’m watching something unfold in me that I’ve never seen before.
I really needed a very psycho-spiritual perspective to what we were doing, because that was what was safe for me. If you give me a bunch of chords and finger exercises, I wouldn't have felt the soul in it, and it just wouldn't work for me.
I guess the biggest thing you gave me was just that it liberated me from my fear of music.
Music has allowed me to get one step closer to touching my divine perfection and expressing it in a way that makes my life feel more whole.
There's a lot more accepting and a lot more trust in my process of unfolding... doing this work has taken me further into my growing edge.
It was that invitation of just that, that it's fluid. It doesn't have to sound like anything. It's a reflection of your emotions and feelings... It was a welcoming space of like, okay, there's no judgment here.
I'm so much more forgiving with myself... I don't have to get stuck in my being pissed off and say or judging it or irritated about... the next note is informed by what I choose.
...(to) see if it might create a shift for me. It was very refreshing to be able to observe the piano keys for example in an entirely new way like a completely new map of consciousness as if you're walking through nature.

Daniel's method of teaching has allowed me to explore my creativity, my resistance, and so much more, in a completely relaxed and joyful way.
I have taken his valuable feedback and my insights from our lessons and made connections to other areas of my life. I encourage you, if you are interested and can make it happen for yourself, to dive in with Sound Your Self!
Daniel is a wonderful human, teacher, coach, and musician, and has a multifaceted gift to offer you.
The drum circle is an opportunity to step into and have a taste of this rich experience.
I started to 'see' the dissonance, harmony, melodies, patterns, tempo, notes, tones, etc. in who I was, and in the relationships I have... I applied what I had learned to my life and I began to know the power and wisdom contained within 'The Music.'

Very beginner-friendly and I have witnessed people who have been classically trained having so much fun discovering new ways too.
There is nothing to fear here. If there is, you get to play that out on the piano. I am allowing the music to reflect what is going on inside and the world around me. Yes!
When self-doubt creeps in or I get nervous, angry, or confused, I take that to the piano and play it out!
As I progressed, I noticed that the more confident I became, my relationship to music and my family was so much better.
I believe this course is suited to anyone who has even the tiniest interest in playing music. This is not just about playing the piano
Just do it! His way of teaching allows for each person to proceed at their own pace. The progress is all up to the individual.
Centering myself and becoming aware of what I hear and what is going on around me has become a way of life.
I am eternally grateful to Daniel Barber for his guidance, patience, and humor. This course would be good for anyone who ever looked at a piano and said, " I could never play that thing."
It is a precious gift that keeps on giving! I have learned that without action there is no creation.
Enjoy!
I wanted to play piano again and make it FUN! (and learn to improvise without making it complicated!) So now I'm playing!!!
On a personal level, sharing and being witnessed was such a big leap for me, very empowering and nurturing.
Such a precious space to be in!
Thank you for persistently being there! Thank me for finally diving in!
My brain shifted … I don’t know what, why, or how and that’s absolutely Great. Whatever is taking place within my Unified SoulMindBody Field is brilliant and looooonnnggg prayed for. Benefits are Present in my newsletter and brochure … a Miracle of ‘publicly voicing my Self’.

Everything I feel badly about myself, about music, shows up in my life... But you're going to realize that through music, I'm going to experience aspects of myself I've never known existed. And that is the truth.

Before working with Daniel I felt disconnected from most things in my life. I just was not sure what I wanted to focus on. Daniel was recommended by a dear friend of mine. I trust her so it was a no-brainer. I am not a piano player. I had an interest in his method because it sounded so doable.
As I progressed, I noticed that the more confident I became, my relationship to music and my family was so much better. The relation between the piano as a way to really express what I hear and feel has been revelatory.

These lessons have taught me to play and listen and enjoy the music that comes out of my heart and soul. very liberating! I feel more confident now when I sit at the piano. Practicing for 10 minutes per day opened the door to seeing how easy it is to accomplish other tasks if I concentrate and have awareness and good intention. Centering myself and becoming aware of what I hear and what is going on around me has become a way of life.
I feel much more confident to play along with others, I can hear rhythms more clearly, and I'm listening more deeply in many dimensions of my life, not only when I'm making music... there are times now when I actually feel lost in the music... in the vibrational field that surrounds me.....and that is pure joy!
I was a one-on-one consultant, which was coaching before there was a coaching word, for 30 years. I've worked with a lot of coaches. I've trained a lot of coaches. We've got healers here who also do coaching. ...
I just have to say, you are such a f***g good coach! You really are so good at what you do. You have such a skill in listening and caring for your students. It's just, it's a blessing to work with you. Thank you.
It's reassuring to be supported by Daniel who is not only a skillful musician but also a very generous and sweet person doing everything he can to help and support people. The group was also quite supportive, respectful, and sweet.
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
I have not done anything similar before. It is a unique approach. It's fun; it does not require hard work nor does it take a lot of time each day. It can bring unexpected valuable benefits and insights for your life, which may vary from one person to another.

Also, noticing patterns in how I approach things, do things, perceive things--just really confirms who I am and have always been. Also envisioning other possibilities............ It goes beyond piano playing, can be challenging to self, but ever so enriching.
Doors have been opened..........lots! wide! Thank you for persistently being there! Thank me for finally diving in!

Daniel teaches with an ease that allows for imperfection that ties into every emotion I feel.