Potts Point 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 Potts Point traffic to get to your piano class.

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

Please call for more information as well as for information on Saturday and Sunday piano classes.

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 Potts Point piano classes?

We typically offer after school lessons, on weekday afternoons to evenings, our Potts Point 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 five can begin learning the piano and basic music theory.

Our Potts Point piano teachers are experienced in tutoring 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 piano journey.

What styles of piano music do you teach?

Our Potts Point 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 one-on-one lessons? Why not Potts Point group  piano lessons?

Group piano tutoring 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 one on one lessons progress a lot quicker than students learning in group tutoring.

Am I too old to start learning to play piano?

NO! There is no set age to start 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 Potts Point piano tutors qualifications?

Only the best Potts Point 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.

Usually students take piano courses once a week.

However 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 myself believe the best way to answer this enquiry is to look at the best of the best and see how often THEY took classes.

Some of the best pianists in the past likely had lessons on a daily basis. We will often find that major composers and pianists came from a musical upbringing and their first teachers were frequently one of their parents. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven just to name a few had parents who were musicians and possibly gave them daily lessons.

Piano Rehearsal is NOT Adequate

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

Sadly this is very hardly the way lessons happen. This all concludes one very important thing. That the student in fact rehearsed. Sadly more often than not the teacher will appear to a lesson only to find that the student did not practice. Oh no! What does the trainer do now? Train with the student of course!

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

Why Practicing is Tough

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

Playing from the beginning of a piece is more often than not an unproductive use of time. Playing a minor segment gradually and precisely is often a condition of good practice. Then recapping it over and over and over. Then they would want to find another minor section they are not comfortable with and do it again.

I’m finished simplifying here, but the point is to assist us realise how hard that is. How long should practice be? I would be glad with 15 minutes from a young child and 30 minutes from an older child. How many 5 year olds do you know that could focus effectively for fifteen minutes without getting unfocused. Or even better, how many grown-ups do you know that could do the same?

And yet trainers anticipate that type of rehearse every week from their students. Realistically it is seldom if ever going to happen that way. But an interesting thing occurs when the tutor is sitting there. You have the coach leading the student telling them what they need to rehearse and how many times to repeat it. The teachers can put right bad habits and improper stance. These are things a young child, or even an adult would have a difficult time doing in a fixated way.

How Frequent Should Lessons Be?

For full effectiveness lessons should be held as often as possible. If a student can allow lessons day-to-day, they’ll progress many multiples quicker than a student taking lessons once a week. It’s as straightforward as that. Most of the lessons will be the tutor just practicing with the student. But that practice is undeniably invaluable.

Realistically

No not many of us can afford to take a lesson everyday with their coach. Not only that, but not every person needs to become the next Mozart. So deciding how often to take lessons really varies on your goals. Contemplate about just what you’re looking for in lessons. Let’s describe some shared goals.

Goals for Piano Lessons

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

If your goal for piano lessons is just to play one piece, clearly lessons day-to-day really aren’t needed. You may actually be capable to even learn on your own!

A piano trainer will always be helpful and create the music sound the best it can. If fund is a problem though, see if you can discover a lesson of the piece on YouTube. If you never desire to learn anything new, then it matters a lot less whether you are playing absolutely correctly or not.

Although this all changes if you want to, or you desire your kid to take this really honestly. It doesn’t happen often, but I have a few students that would take an hour lesson 3 days a week, and then extra hour of music concept for a total of four hours a week of lessons. These students are always the best.

You get what you put in. If you don’t take lessons very seriously, you won’t get as much satisfaction out of lessons as if you put your complete spirit into it. As a pianist I can tell you that the happiness that comes from playing beautiful music is boundless. Don’t miss out!