Helps studied at the universities of
Columbia (1947–49) and
Berkeley (1949–51) He was one of the most distinguished pupils of
Abby Whiteside and perhaps the most well-known practitioner of her theories of
rhythm and of a technique directed from the
humerus rather than the
fingers. He studied composition with
Roger Sessions, who exerted a strong influence on his career, and whose music he often performed and recorded. He cultivated a lifelong interest for
Frédéric Chopin's
Études as well as
Leopold Godowsky's
Studies on Chopin's Études which informed both his piano playing and his composition. Helps taught piano at the
New England Conservatory of Music, the
San Francisco Conservatory of Music,
Princeton University,
Stanford University, the
University of California, Berkeley, and the
Manhattan School of Music, and the
University of South Florida. At the end of his life he divided his time between the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of South Florida. When in California he resided in
Berkeley, a city with which he felt a strong affinity. ==Awards and recognition==