Here are some of the questions I frequently get from new students.
Is learning to play the piano difficult?
Learning to play the piano is a challenge and requires regular, intentional practice. However, a student may find piano study difficult if they aren’t being taught at their level or they don’t put in the required practice. An experienced teacher will give an assignment that is a challenge early in the practice week, but that can be successfully mastered with the necessary time and effort.
What kind of commitment do I need to learn the piano?
Most students commit to weekly lessons and regular practice at least four days a week in order make satisfactory progress. Faster progress is possible with increased practice. Without regular practice, the lack of progress may result in decreased motivation and the inability to maintain skills previously learned.
Beginning students should be willing to commit at least two years of study in order to acquire the basic skills necessary to achieve success in playing and learning the piano independently.
I am an adult with no piano experience. Can I succeed?
Yes, you can! I have many students who are professionals, already successful in their own occupations, who are taking lessons for the first time in their lives. Some of my best students are adults with no previous experience who quickly mastered the foundations of music and started studying the easier classics within their first or second year of study. So, if you are committed, you will learn and enjoy the piano.
Do you work with children?
I love working with kids and it’s one of the few things I miss after moving to an online piano teaching studio. While online piano lessons work great for adults and even late teens, I believe that children need an in-person piano teacher to make adequate progress as well as activities like studio recitals and community performances.
What about seniors?
It’s been my pleasure to work with seniors for my entire teaching career. Now that I am a senior myself, I certainly can appreciate what adding an activity like piano study can do. It’s joyful, reduces stress, increases personal satisfaction, challenging, and fun for students throughout their later years. And, there is a growing body of research in neuroplasticity that suggests that music study can establish new and strengthen existing neural pathways which helps with cognitive decline and recovering from injury.
What are learning styles?
Learning styles are the ways each of us perceive, process, store, and recall new information. They include visual (relational graphs and color) auditory (hearing explanations and listening to music), reading/writing (reading music scores and writing music), and kinesthetic (playing music) learning. Although we may prefer one style, most people use a mixture of styles. And, it benefits a student to broaden their perceptions beyond their preferred in order to understand music even more deeply. For example, if a student learns music by ear, they will do more comfortably by hearing the music but should also follow a score while listening in order to integrate that style into their learning. This helps the student perceive music in their preferred style while also seeing how the sound is represented in a written music score. Your best bet is to find a teacher that creatively uses all four approaches to meet a student’s needs and expand their perception and musical understanding.
What kind of piano do I need to take lessons?
You should have a piano that stays in tune, has a mechanism to change volume by varying the pressure on the keys (touch sensitivy), and has an appropriate touch (weighted keys) that will allow you to develop your technique. Your piano will also need to have at least two pedals (damper pedal and una corda). These requirements can be achieved with a good quality acoustic or digital piano. However, if you plan to study the piano intensely and develop advanced techniques, you might consider investing in a quality acoustic piano.
How well do online piano lessons work?
They work amazingly well! I have used online learning for students who have second homes, or travel on business, for over fifteen years. At first, we only used the speaker setting on our telephones, but then moved over to FaceTime and Skype when they became popular. Now, my students and I use upgraded streaming Zoom technology that almost eliminates dropouts and technical difficulties that occur when using FaceTime and Skype.
The online piano system is simple. A few minutes before your scheduled time, you’ll sign on to your laptop or tablet to connect with me using the Zoom app. We will then check audio and video quality to make sure everything is working properly. After that, it’s on with the lesson just like an in-person lesson.
Are there disadvantages to online piano lessons?
I wouldn’t call them disadvantages, but online piano lessons are a different experience for those who have taken in-person piano lessons. The biggest difference is that I am not sitting next to you at the piano while you take your lesson so Ican’t point to your score on your piano the way I did when I taught in-person. Instead, my students and I use measure numbers and measure beats to intelligently discuss locations in the score just like orchestral, band, and choral musicians do every day. In addition, I have innovated and now I can put up a copy of your score on the screen and annotate it while you are playing.
Another difference is that I can’t play an example at your piano. But, I can play it immediately on mine without pushing you off of your bench. Then, you watch a camera that is above my hands playing the same octave as you play the same passage. Or, from various side and front views that you would not be available to you in-person.
Finally, I won’t be making lots of scribbles on your music the way my teachers did all over my music. Instead, you internalize corrections and suggestions by writing them yourself. And, after each lesson, I also email you lesson notes. The notes include the specific changes needed, how to make those changes, and what is expected to be accomplished at your next lesson.
Are you taking new students?
Yes, but I usually have only a few openings. Like all experienced teachers, I generally have more students wanting to take lessons than I have time for. I would like to take more students, but teaching is physically and mentally demanding and I want to make sure I give every student my personal best. The students I accept are those who demonstrate a commitment to the piano and the desire to learn this amazing musical instrument. There is no audition. If you already play the piano, I will ask you to play something current so I can assess your level of study. If you are interested in piano lessons, I urge you to contact me to tell me about yourself.
I’m ready to start lessons. What happens next?
I am delighted that you want to start piano lessons. The next step is for you to contact me using the web form on my Contact Page. I will review your information and if it appears that I can help you reach your piano goals, I will contact you to arrange a meeting on Zoom to talk about lessons. If I feel I don’t have the right set of skills to teach you, I will also respond with suggestions or piano resources you can consider.