Willoughby East Piano Lessons – Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to travel anywhere for my piano class?

At Piano Lessons In Your Home, our teachers teach you in your own home, ensuring you don’t waste time stuck in Willoughby East traffic to get to your piano classes.

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

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

Do I need to own a piano or keyboard?

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

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

When do you offer Willoughby East piano class?

We typically offer after school lessons, on weekday afternoons to evenings, our Willoughby East 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 Willoughby East piano teachers are experienced in teaching young children who are complete beginners, and have all the patience and personality needed to engage your child and give them best start in their musical journey.

What styles of piano music do you teach?

Our Willoughby East piano teachers 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 one-on-one lessons? Why not Willoughby East group  piano classes?

Group piano lessons are a great way for your child to socialise, but that’s about where the perks end. Individual 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 private lessons progress a lot faster than students learning in group classes.

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 Willoughby East piano tutors qualifications?

Only the best Willoughby East 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 courses 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 believe the best way to answer this question is to look at the best of the best and see how often THEY took classes.

Some of the best pianists in history likely had lessons on a everyday basis. We will frequently find that major writers and pianists came from a musical experience and their primary tutors were often one of their parents. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven just to name a few had parents who were musicians and likely gave them everyday lessons.

Piano Practice is NOT Enough

This is how weekly piano lessons should work. The teacher listens to what the student rehearsed in the previous week. The coach would then give recommendations on how to develop or explain new concepts to develop the new pianist both technically and musically. From there, they may add some training tips and recommendations on what and how to train in the succeeding week. The student would then practice for a week according to the coaches suggestions and this would carry on from week to week.

Sadly this is very rarely the way trainings happen. This all concludes one very vital thing. That the student actually trained. Unfortunately more often than not the trainer will appear to a lesson only to find that the student did not rehearse. Oh no! What does the tutor do now? Train with the student of course!

That’s what happens if the student just did not rehearse, but sadly even if the student DID train this might still be the outcome. Why? Because practicing is tough.

Why Practicing is Difficult

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

Playing from the start of a piece is more often than not an unproductive use of time. Playing a small section bit by bit and precisely is often a requirement of good train. Then recapping it over and over and over. Then they would want to find a different minor section they are not happy with and do it again.

I’m over making things easier here, but the point is to assist us know how challenging that is. How long should practice be? I would be happy with fifteen minutes from a young child and thirty minutes from an older child. How many five year olds do you know that could concentrate well for 15 minutes without getting unfocused. Or even better, how many adults do you know that could do the same?

And yet tutors expect that type of rehearse every week from their students. Realistically it is seldom if ever going to happen that way. But an exciting thing occurs when the tutor is sitting there. You have the tutor leading the student telling them what they need to rehearse and how many times to repeat it. The teachers can rectify bad habits and incorrect posture. These are things a young child, or even an grown-up would have a challenging time doing in a determined way.

How Often Should Lessons Be?

For maximum success lessons should be held as often as feasible. If a student can allow lessons daily, they’ll develop many multiples sooner than a student taking lessons once a week. It’s as easy as that. Most of the lessons will be the teacher just rehearsing with the student. But that rehearse is undeniably precious.

Realistically

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

Ambitions for Piano Lessons

• Play one specific piece
• Play for my wedding
• Be able to play as a hobby
• Study serious as a lifelong pursuit
• Make it a career

If your objective for piano lessons is just to play one piece, clearly lessons everyday really aren’t wanted. You may actually be able to even study on your own!

A piano tutor will continually be helpful and make the music sound the best it can. If budget is a problem though, see if you can discover a lecture of the piece on YouTube. If you never desire to study anything different, then it matters a lot less whether you are playing absolutely accurately or not.

Although this all changes if you want to, or you want your child to take this indeed honestly. It doesn’t occur frequently, however I have a few students that would take an hour lesson 3 days a week, and then additional hour of music theory for a total of 4 hours a week of lessons. These students are always the finest.

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