Tom Donald is the founder and principal of the London Contemporary School of Piano. A composer, and educator who has revolutionized piano education through his emphasis on chords, improvisation, and real-world experience. A passionate advocate for adult amateur musicians, he helps students tap into their inner genius and achieve musical transformations. Donald has taught over 500 students globally, promoting creativity over rigid exam-based systems. An accomplished performer and composer, his work spans classical, jazz, popular music and film scores.

“Because the Western tuning system is built in such a way that harmonic relationships already live inside the instrument. The keys, chords, and tonalities are deeply connected. So even when you experiment blindly, you are still working inside a framework that has musical logic built into it.

That is part of the magic of the piano.

So I thought I would test this idea properly.

I made a video (see above) where I literally wrote chords down, threw them into a hat, pulled them out at random, and turned the result into music.”