Pianist and educator Leila Hassan turned one explainer video on maqam-based piano technique into a masterclass series with thousands of enrolled students.
Leila Hassan never planned to become an online educator. A single video explaining how she adapts Arabic maqam scales to piano technique, posted almost as an afterthought, drew far more attention than she expected.
Requests for a fuller course followed within weeks. She partnered with World of Musicians' Blog & Knowledge Hub team to structure a proper curriculum, and enrollment passed 3,000 students within its first year.
"I thought it was a niche topic," she said. "It turns out a lot of classically trained pianists were curious about maqam and had no clear entry point into it."
She's now developing a second masterclass focused on maqam-influenced improvisation, set to launch through the platform later this year.