Guildford Piano Lessons – Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to travel anywhere for my piano class?

At Piano Lessons In Your Home, our trainers teach you in your own home, ensuring you don’t waste time stuck in Guildford traffic to get to your piano class.

Do your piano teachers come to Guildford? And on which days of the week?

Please enquire for more information as well as for information on Saturday and Sunday piano class.

Do I need to own a piano or keyboard?

We know pianos can be out of people’s budgets, that is why a budget keyboard is great for beginners.

Introductory keyboards are an easy and affordable option for households without a piano.

When do you offer Guildford piano lessons?

We typically offer after school lessons, on weekday afternoons to evenings, our Guildford piano teachers are very flexible and will always try to accommodate the time that suits you best.

Weekend lessons are also readily available, please enquire for more information.

How old should my child be to begin piano lessons?

Children as young as 5 can begin learning the piano and basic music theory.

Our Guildford piano teachers are experienced in tutoring young children who are complete beginners, and have all the patience and personality needed to encourage your child and give them best start in their piano journey.

What styles of piano music do you teach?

Our Guildford piano trainers are qualified to teach all styles of music, whether you’re interested in popular, contemporary, classical, jazz, musical theatre or even Nintendocore (yes, this is an actual genre). However, we encourage our students to explore all genres to show them just how interesting the piano can be.

Why enrol my child in 1 on 1? Why not Guildford group  piano lessons?

Group piano tutoring are a great way for your child to socialise, but that’s about where the perks end. Private piano lessons ensure that your child won’t get left behind, and can learn at their own pace.

In personal experience, piano students learning in individual lessons progress a lot faster than students learning in group tutoring.

Am I too old to start learning to play piano?

NO! There is no set age to begin learning a musical instrument, and the best time to start is right this moment – ie Now!

Learn to play your favourite songs, learn how to read music, learn theory, or just about anything you’d like to know about the piano.

Playing the piano is a fun and great way to exercise your creative abilities so don’t just dream about it, start learning.

What are your Guildford piano teachers qualifications?

Only the best Guildford piano teachers work with our students.

Our piano teachers:

• highly experienced in teaching all ages and skill levels
• are experienced in playing the piano themselves
• have undergone a NSW Government certified “Working with children” police check
• are very friendly and patient to make students comfortable with learning at their own pace.

Typically students take piano lessons once a week.

But if you just give me a minute of your time, I’ll tell you why that’s often not the best way to go.

I personally think the best way to response to this enquiry is to look at the best of the best and see how often THEY took courses.

Some of the best pianists in the past likely had lessons on a everyday basis. We will often find that main writers and pianists came from a musical family and their first trainers were frequently one of their parents. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven just to name a few had parents who were musicians and probably gave them everyday lessons.

Piano Rehearsal is NOT Enough

This is how weekly piano lessons ought to work. The coach listens to what the student practiced in the previous week. The coach would then give ideas on how to improve or impart new ideas to improve the new pianist both technically and musically. From there, they may add some training tips and recommendations on what and how to rehearse in the succeeding week. The student would then rehearse for a week according to the teachers suggestions and this would carry on from week to week.

Sadly this is very hardly the way classes happen. This all assumes one very vital thing. That the student actually trained. Unfortunately more often than not the tutor will come to a lesson only to discover that the student did not rehearse. Oh no! What does the trainer do now? Practice with the student of course!

That’s what turns out if the student just did not train, but unfortunately even if the student DID rehearse this could still be the result. Why? Because practicing is difficult.

Why Practicing is Difficult

Let’s think about what we’re asking young children, perhaps as young as 5, to do. The best way to rehearse is to take out all diversions sit down at the piano and work on parts of music that the student cannot yet play.

Playing from the start of a piece is more often than not an unproductive use of time. Playing a minor segment bit by bit and correctly is often a requirement of good train. Then recapping it over and over and over. Then they would need to find a different minor section they are not contented with and do it once more.

I’m finished simplifying here, but the point is to help us understand how tough that is. How long should rehearse be? I would be pleased with 15 minutes from a young child and 30 minutes from an elder child. How many five year olds do you know that could be attentive effectively for 15 minutes without getting distracted. Or even better, how many adults do you know that could do the same?

And yet coaches expect that style of practice every week from their students. Realistically it is seldom if ever going to happen that way. But an exciting thing happens when the trainer is sitting there. You have the trainer leading the student telling them what they need to practice and how many times to repeat it. The teachers can correct bad habits and improper stance. These are things a young child, or even an adult would have a difficult time doing in a determined way.

How Frequent Should Lessons Be?

For maximum effectiveness lessons should be held as frequent as possible. If a student can allow lessons day-to-day, they’ll advance many multiples earlier than a student taking lessons once a week. It’s as easy as that. Most of the lessons will be the tutor just practicing with the student. But that rehearse is undeniably invaluable.

Realistically

No not many of us can afford to take a lesson daily with their coach. Not only that, but not everyone needs to become the next Mozart. So determining how often to take lessons really varies on your goals. Think about exactly what you’re looking for in lessons. Let’s outline some collective ambitions.

Objectives for Piano Lessons

• Play one certain piece
• Play for my wedding
• Be able to play as a pastime
• Study serious as a lasting pursuit
• Make it a career

If your objective for piano lessons is just to play one piece, obviously lessons day-to-day really aren’t desirable. You may really be capable to even study on your own!

A piano tutor will always be ready to lend a hand and create the music sound the best it can. If fund is a problem though, see if you can find a lecture of the piece on YouTube. If you never desire to study anything else, then it matters a lot less whether you are playing absolutely correctly or not.

But this all changes if you want to, or you desire your child to take this really sincerely. It doesn’t occur often, but I have a few students that would take an hour lesson three days a week, and then extra hour of music concept for a total of 4 hours a week of lessons. These students are at all times the best.

You become what you put in. If you don’t take lessons very sincerely, you won’t get as much pleasure out of lessons as if you put your complete spirit into it. As a pianist I can tell you that the happiness that arises from playing mesmerising music is immeasurable. Don’t miss out!