When Payam Khastkhodaei began teaching piano to a family friend’s daughter in his Bothell home at 16, he relied on the same method he had been taught as a kid—classical songbooks, rigid practice, and pieces he never connected with. It didn’t take long to see she was losing interest. “I had learned from the Alfred and Faber piano books, and the disconnect that existed with me in my learning journey was there with my students as well,” he recalls.

In 2025, eight years after opening Payam Music in that Bothell house and 16 years after the first lesson, the school added new locations in Santa Monica and Los Altos. Nearly 500 students now study across four sites. Washington expansions are planned in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond/Kirkland, and Issaquah/Sammamish, with waitlists open in more than 20 states.

When Khastkhodaei was in graduate school, studying developmental psychology and pediatrics—including how the brain learns language—he began questioning why beginners were asked to read sheet music before they could play piano. “Music’s the only language that’s taught backwards,” he says. He spent several years developing an alphanumeric method built on letters and numbers that teaches patterns, chords, and melodies first. The curriculum now spans 18 levels, from beginner to post-diploma level.

Some classical instructors questioned the method early on, but students stayed engaged because they were having fun. They chose their own songs to practice—Lady Gaga, video game themes, Dua Lipa—and they learned to compose. After he quit lessons as a kid, Khastkhodaei stayed connected to piano through writing his own music, which became a core component of how he teaches. Payam Music reports that students learn piano three times faster than in traditional lessons and 97% continue beyond their first year, compared to 15-20% in conventional programs.

“If you love the instrument, if you love the teacher, and if you love the song you’re learning, there’s no world you’re not going to be successful in,” Khastkhodaei says. He hopes to see his books on store shelves one day, beside the method series he once used.