Who can take piano lessons? 

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We offer piano lessons to students of all ages and levels, ranging from young beginner (4-5 yrs old) to adult piano students. Private piano lessons are customized to the individual needs and preferences of the students. The curriculum differs from student to student and it considers age, developmental stage, previous experience, and goals. We also offer adaptive piano lessons, taught by board-certified music therapists! 

 

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What are adaptive piano lessons? 

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Adaptive piano lessons are offered to students with mental health needs and developmental and learning disabilities. Although instrumental private music lessons are customizable in nature, adaptive music lessons take into consideration the student's health diagnosis. Adaptive lessons are led by a music therapist with a background in psychology and neuroscience. During adaptive piano lessons, the music therapist considers each student's unique set of skills and limitations and determines what accommodations will be needed for the student to succeed. The music therapist takes a creative approach to overcome challenges with the student. Examples of accommodations made during adaptive lessons might include: physically modifying an instrument, using multimodal means of learning (kinesthetic, visual, aural), enlarging sheet music for students with vision impairment, modifying the pacing of the lessons to allow the student enough time to succeed, etc. 

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If you're wondering whether your child or you would benefit from adaptive piano lessons, read more on our music therapy page.

 

What teaching methods do we use? 

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Our teachers are familiar with a variety of pedagogical methods that take into account each student's learning style and potential. We want the learning experience to be rewarding and fruitful. Our teaching style is child-centered, meaning that our teachers are willing to work around the student's musical goals and objectives. The students have a sense of agency in their own learning, which empowers them and allows them to build positive experiences with music and to become successful musicians.  Additionally, our teachers have an eclectic teaching style, meaning that they borrow the best aspects from a variety of methods, as opposed to blindly following a single method with all of its flaws. Our teachers use a variety of method/technique books including Faber, Bastien, Alfred's Piano Adventures, Hanon, Czerny, and more. 

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Needless to say, we take a hands-on approach to teaching music (because what better way is there to do it?!) This means the teacher models the technique and sound they want the student to attain and the student gets to try it out and make modifications during the lesson. The teacher provides verbal feedback, but we believe in the importance of playing music to learn music! 

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What will I/my child learn during a piano lesson? ​

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Piano lessons are not just about playing the piano- we want all our students to be well-rounded musicians! Each lesson covers a variety of musical elements, such as note-reading, sight-reading, rhythm training, piano technique, music theory, music history, and performance readiness.

But what do these all mean? Click here

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Musical genres covered during piano lessons vary. The teacher takes into account the student's objectives and goals for learning piano. Ideally, we want our students to be comfortable with a variety of genres, such as: classical, folk music, and pop music. Students learn music by a variety of classical composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Lecuona, Piazzolla, and Ginastera, while also playing piano arrangements of more popular music by current musicians such as Olivia Rodrigo, Adele, Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran, etc. 

 

Our students love playing film scores. A few examples include the soundtrack of movies such as The Little Mermaid, Up, Frozen, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and more. 

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​Do I need an instrument at home? 

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Ideally, yes! There is only so much the teacher can do during a weekly piano lesson. The greatest growth happens when the student practices from lesson to lesson. This is the time during which they put into effect what they learned during the lesson. Without practice time, the lessons can become very repetitive and stagnant. We want the children to have positive experiences with music and to be challenged to come close to their fullest potential! 

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We are more than happy to help you find an instrument that fits your budget. One can very often find used instruments that are being sold or even given away for free! Please communicate with our professional team and we will assist you in finding an instrument. 

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