Mark Valenti comes with my highest recommendations. I would encourage anyone who's curious about the piano to speak with him about discovering music through his lessons. Mark, my teacher for nearly three years now, is also a successful professional pianist; he's been broadcast live over the air numerous times, performs locally here in Chicago, and frequently all over the U.S., Canada, and other countries. His performance and approach are met with wide acclaim: While other pianists obsess over benchmarks, Olympian technical feats and academic elitism, Mark delivers the sound--the sound that tells a story, the sound that moves, the sound that shows he understands his audience and cares for his listeners' experience. These sensibilities carry over to his teaching well. Mark's number-one concern, as he has told me often, is keeping the rapt attention of the audience and never losing them. In speaking, it's hard to lose an audience if you're confident in your message and you know how to say it, and Mark instills that sort of confidence and ability in his students by emphasizing the importance of knowing the music: its structure, its patterns, and its message. Far from teachers who stand by four-hour long practice sessions and endless repetitive drills, Mark will stand by activities like reading the music away from the piano and thinking about transitions between phrases or sections. He will still stand by practice--there's no getting around that--but will suggest you engage in the kind of practice you're in the mood for: slowly with the metronome one day, breakneck speed the next, all pianissimo the day after that. Like a varied gym routine, these different practice styles each build different areas a student can call upon in performance. Drawing on his experience in jazz piano, he says this variation also helps to keep a piece of music "alive", and will aid students in finding new aspects of their pieces to exploit. Mark was a student of classical piano, and is very well-versed in other styles of Western music. He has students of many ages (from 9 to 85 at a recent recital) and of varying skill levels. To him, it seems, knowing what fits--the right practice approach for the day, the needs of a student, or the disposition of the audience--is his unique selling proposition. read more

Mark Valenti has been my 8 year old son's and my husbands piano instructor since Jan 2015. Both my son and husband had no prior music knowledge and were apprehensive starting a new endeavor. Mark gave them the confidence to find their own music style, and tailor it with their age differences. He has a vast knowledge of music and was able to relate to my 8 year old with a range from reading notes to the history of music. I have seen my son's confidence with his progression in Mark's class relate to his personal well being and confidence in school. Mark has been able to translate the virtues of patience, practice, learning, and focus, over to my son (and my husband in some parts !) through his piano instruction. Thank you Mark. I like hearing my son talk about Sonata's and Cantata's......Baroque to Classical....and dropping big words like Fortissimo. Thanks for making both my men passionate about music and the piano. (I have not posted anything on social media before. This is a first as a direct counter to the fake review by "Sue K" that was posted in this review list). read more

Mark Valenti is a cutting edge piano teacher. He takes great care to develop within students an intimate relationship with whatever music it is the students wants to play. He opens up students' individual feeling for, and understanding of, their music. Each student then has great potential to find their own musical personality in the music they want to play. Mark's teaching method eschews the traditional classical approach based on rigid rules which doesn't leave much room for the individual student's artistic feeling for the music. Mark is very different from most teachers in this regard. His method respects personal touch for music and students feel greater freedom for their individual expression. For me, this principal needs to be present in all art. I am also a teacher from the Czech Republic and I think this approach is the basic principal behind John Amos Comenius' method of applied effective teaching based on the natural gradual growth from simple to more comprehensive concepts. read more

Sue's review is fake and I wanted to share my experience taking lessons with Mark. I was Mark's student for a decade. He is intelligent, passionate, patient and encouraging. He has an uncanny ability to use almost any type of music that his students want to play to help them get better -- classical, show tunes, jazz, pop music, standards etc. His focus is always on using technique to bring out the emotion and passion in music. So, working with him never gets bogged down in boring exercises. Instead, he uses the student's selected repertoire to teach a variety of techniques. At one point, Mark encouraged me to have friends over to my home to hear me play and, in the months leading up to the event, we focused on preparing for the performance. Throughout the process, he was incredibly encouraging. I think that experience did more than anything else to make me a better pianist. Thanks Mark! read more

I've been playing classical piano as an advanced amateur for a couple of decades now, and after bouncing around between a few different Chicago-area teachers without really finding someone who had been able to appropriately challenge and guide me, I have been so lucky to find Mark. He has been my teacher for almost two years now, and I've easily learned more in this short time than in the10 years prior. He is so good at pushing a student's creative boundaries, and always has new technical and practicing tips just from his own experience in practice over the last week. I've brought other musicians I play with to his lessons, and he's been a great chamber coach. I would absolutely recommend Mark to anyone looking to learn a little bit more about the piano; no matter what level of pianist you might consider yourself to be, he's going to be a very valuable part of your musical life. read more

Mark is a great teacher with wealth of performance and teaching experience to share, both for students of classical and jazz repertoire as well as musicians generally. His teaching-style is never formulaic and he is great at coming up with creative ways to practice that can bring your playing to the next level. He focuses on musicality and expressive performance above all and opens up possibility for creative interpretation and improvisation. He is also able to teach music theory as well, through piano study. Importantly, Mark provides opportunities for all his students to get performance experience at very fun piano parties at his home studio. As an adult learner, my musical understanding and confidence performing even advanced pieces by Chopin, Bach and Beethoven has greatly improved in just over a year of working with Mark. Highly recommended for students of all levels. read more

Mark is a talented teacher and performer. I am an adult beginner student who took up piano from scratch last year and Mark did an excellent job teaching me the basics without getting too technical and overloading me with music theory (he understands I don't want to be a professional pianist, but rather I'm doing this for enjoyment). With that said, he is very knowledgeable about music theory and will answer questions and teach theory when appropriate. I also appreciate that he lets me learn at my own pace and is very understanding that I don't have hours and hours to practice every day (although a small amount of practice is a must!). I have also seen/heard his advanced students perform and their performances were amazing, so I'm sure he's also a great teacher for more advanced students. It goes without saying that I highly recommend Mark! read more

I'm an adult beginner who has always dreamt about learning to play piano. I knew nothing about music though, and so I felt a little intimidated prior to going in. I didn't know a flat or sharp from a round! Mark was wonderful- he immediately put me right at ease, sat me down at the piano, and together, we took it from the beginning. He is so patient as a teacher, and has a wonderful ability to see what it is I'm struggling with: then creates either an exercise or a way of looking at it, which helps me to overcome the obstacle and move forward. I am now playing piano! If you always wanted to play, I would suggest not letting your 'head' interfere! My teacher will guide you through it. Mark is a very gifted performer and teacher. It's very obvious that he loves what he does. Go for it!!! read more

I also have been very impressed with Mark's passion, fund of knowledge, as well as talent as a teacher. He's thoughtful, patient, and fosters a true love of piano. Mark is remarkably diverse, having extensive experience playing classical and jazz. As a relative new comer to piano, Mark's been fantastic...he helped make the whole learning experience much less daunting. His patience and gentle approach has fostered a fantastic learning experience. He's genuinely concerned with each student and tailors teaching to every level of playing. To top it off, Mark's got a great sense of humor. I can easily recommend Mark to anyone interested in learning piano from every level of experience. read more

I've been studying with Mark since 2005, and he is an exceptional teacher. I've been playing since age 9, and consider myself a very advanced amateur pianist, yet I continue to learn new ideas and techniques from him at every lesson. Mark is great at helping break down music to its simplest terms and understands its structure better than anyone I know. He is always finding new ways to apply practice techniques to keep things fun and interesting, and he is most concerned with growth and improvement above all. He is a top notch performer as well, as I've heard many of his recitals over the years. I can't recommend him highly enough! read more

Mark is a great teacher and I am very happy that my husband was able to connect with him and start taking lessons. I purchased a new digital piano for my husband at Christmas and he started to play on his own, but after a few days it was evident that he needed to take some lessons. Mark has been a great teacher and has taught him a great deal in a fairly short amount of time. I have also attended a recital by Mark's students and the quality of their playing and progression was very impressive. I would highly recommend Mark for piano lessons if you are new to playing or have a couple of decades of experience. read more

Mark is a patient and flexible teacher, expert in all styles of music. He allows me to adjust lessons times according to my variable schedule. Mark is encouraging with a very mild temperament. His average student has continued with him for many years. There is no way that Sue K's. fake review is accurate. I know this to be a retribution review. Mark's students would not stay with him for years upon end if these things were true. Likewise Mark is not washed up as the fake review claims since he travels all over the world to play concerts at the request of classical composers. read more

If you have ever wanted to learn how to play the piano, do not hesitate and contact Mark. I started taking lessons with him a few months ago as a complete piano novice. He is an absolutely fantastic teacher, very positive and encouraging while still getting the message across. Mark always finds a way to help you learn and grow that does not involve pointing out what you did wrong; rather he gives you exercises that help in the area that needed improvement. He is an accomplished musician who has obvious passion for music and teaching. I cannot recommend him enough. read more

As a beginner piano student, Mark offered a relaxing atmosphere with emphasis on my experience and freedom of expression. His teaching style was akin to my style of learning. Oftentimes, when I doubted my ability to learn the piano, Mark would ground me and reassure me. To Mark, there was no right or wrong, but rather the interpretive experience you gained from playing the piano. Definitely a wonderful instructor with a vast knowledge of music. Would reccommend for any level student. read more

I have known Mark for quite some time now and his performances always amaze me! His passion for the piano and music shows thru every piece he plays. His performance of Prokofieff-Sonata#7 was moving and exquisite. As a teacher, he is patient and has the students best interests in mind. He can guide you thru a lesson with such enthusiasm that you think YOU are the professional pianist!! I highly recommend him for all styles of piano music. read more

It's been a year and a half that I'm getting my piano lessons from Mark. I've had several piano and guitar instructors so far and he is definitely the most knowledgeable and friendly teacher I've had. He is very knowledgeable in music, and always gives me a deep insight through each piece. Class scheduling is easy with him. He is not only a very good teacher, he has become a very good friend for me and my husband. Definitely recommend him!! read more

Mark is a gifted and innovative pianist and piano teacher who I've had the pleasure to work with for over 15 years. I continue to recommend him to prospective students both young and old. His teaching style is based on practical methods he has developed over the years and he exercises great flexibility based on students' needs. He can perform and teach many different types of music which is unique in the world of piano instruction. read more

Mark is an extremely dedicated pianist and piano instructor. He lives and breathes the piano. His dedication to his students comes through during the parties that he throws for them, during which they get to play in an informal setting - much more fun than the your typical piano instructor's recital. Mark's deep knowledge of theory and passion for music performance will be obvious to anyone who has seen him at work. read more

Mark is an unbelievable teacher and such an inspiration to not only be taught by, but also to watch perform. He is patient and brilliant when it comes to knowing musical history and technique. He keeps things interesting when he ties theory back to other forms of art. Based on my experiences with other teachers over the years, he's the best one I've come across and I look forward to every lesson I have with him! read more