Piano professor João Paulo Casarotti and student Tom Lee take in a lesson in Casarotti’s one-of-a-kind lab.

Music Professor Turns to Technology to Inspire Burgeoning Pianists

Piano students around the world are benefiting from new teaching techniques developed by João Paulo Casarotti (Music). In 2009, he began to research new ways of incorporating technology into his music classroom, and 13 years later, that research has led to an innovative, tech-laced piano lab on the St. Norbert College campus. Casarotti’s setup was captured by St. Norbert’s videographer Thomas Janssen and featured by NBC 26 News in Green Bay.

In the right key and the right lens
Casarotti’s studio is outfitted with cameras to capture every angle of his piano. He uses a tablet to switch which camera is fed through to his students, learning with him in real time through video conferencing.

“When you’re sitting down here in the studio, students can only look at the score or only look at your hands. With this technology, you can put a lot of things in one screen,” Casarotti says.

For students around the world, the innovative, one-of-a-kind lesson method helps visualize hand placements, techniques and mistakes to correct. Tom Lee ’25 first sat on a piano bench when he was 6 years old. He says that Casarotti’s teaching method has helped him realize certain areas for improvement: “Oh I did this wrong, I didn't have a weight on my arm, I’m just using a lot of fingers. The sound is totally different using fingers and using weight.”

These tips, as reported by NBC 26, are helping Lee on the path to his ideal profession. “My main dream that I want to do is actually a director working with different groups of ensembles,” Lee says.

Teaching across the globe
Raised in Brazil, Casarotti’s family nurtured his passion for piano. He said, “She wrote it down in the baby book that when I was 1 year old, she was walking me around the neighborhood and my eyes shine when I heard the piano playing by a neighbor.”

That passion has taken him across continents playing and teaching, fine-tuning his methods and lessons. When the pandemic struck, Casarotti found himself well-positioned to help. “During the pandemic when all of the music schools shut off, I was able to help a lot of music teachers around the world,” he said.

What’s next for the digitally minded professor? Plans are in the works for a full piano lab at St. Norbert with 20 cameras and more teachers to reach more students.

March 7, 2023