Bernard Shaak and Carolyn Shaak
Bernard and Carolyn Shaak, founders of Shaak Piano Music, are the creators of the original Piano Partners, I Love Coffee I Love Tea and Events for Piano. These beloved books have been tried, tested, enjoyed and appreciated by thousands of students and their teachers for years and have been the first piano books for many beginner pianists.
The late Bernard Shaak, pianist, teacher and composer of numerous books of instructional piano music and favorites such as, Spanish Dance, Toccata and Ping Pong has truly become memorialized in the hearts of all the piano students, teachers and parents who have played, taught, and listened to his repertoire of piano music. Carolyn Shaak is an accomplished pianist, composer and beloved music teacher to hundreds of piano students and is known for her interactive games and activities for group piano lessons. She is the co-creator of The Shaak Technique Book and the one-of-a-kind musical game, The Bean Bag Game.
The Shaak Piano Music Method & Technique
The Shaak “method” first started to evolve in the 1950’s when Bernard and Carolyn Shaak met in New York City while completing their Masters of Music and Music Education Degrees at Columbia Teachers College. While studying prominent early childhood teaching methods they became inspired by the Group Teaching approach as expounded by Robert Pace and saw a need in the contemporary piano literature for music that young children could play and feel satisfied harmonically, rhythmically, melodically and physically. Learn more about the history and philosophy.
Together, they developed a unique approach to teaching piano and learning to read music which lays a foundation for important musical and technical skills while fostering a lifelong love for playing the piano. In the 1960’s they moved to Denver, CO and founded the Shaak Piano Music Studio based on their unique methodology and over the next 40 years developed an extensive collection of piano books, activities, technique exercises, and original compositions.
Learn more about Bernard Shaak and Carolyn Shaak
Jamie Shaak
Jamie Shaak, composer, pianist, teacher and daughter of legendary Bernard and Carolyn Shaak, has shared her “finely textured playing” (Chicago Tribune) all around the world. As a composer, Jamie Shaak’s most recent works include I Do, for soprano and voice, and Penelope’s Dream, selected for the NFMC 2020-2024 Festivals. She has made appearances on Chicago’s Live from WFMT with radio premieres of her composition Renaissance, featuring soprano Maria Lagios, as well as her arrangement of Lee Holby’s Lento for piano and string ensemble.
Jamie has released two albums: The Sun is Love with soprano Michelle Areyzaga, performing original works by composer Gwyneth Walker’s “extravagantly scored accompaniments [that Shaak] dispatches with astonishing effortlessness” (NATS Journal); and The Romance of Spain (Cadenza Classics) with soprano Maria Lagios and guitarist Paul Henry. Her concert hall appearances include the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and Lincoln Center in New York City, and she has toured East Asia and India as a Musical Ambassador with the United States Information Service.