Lesson Packages
Individual
Individual weekly piano lessons are offered to students who are at the late elementary level to advanced.
Weekly group classes are also included for the student to get more instruction time outside of their individual lessons.
At this time, individual lessons are not offered for beginner students. Beginner students accepted into the studio under the age of 8 are required to start in a group class (see Small Group rates).
Rates:
60 Minute Lessons: $236/month
45 Minute Lessons: $189/month
Registration Fee: $100 per academic year
Included with Tuition:
-Weekly individual lessons
-Weekly Friday Group Class: reading skills, musicianship, and choir
-Weekly practice videos for use at home
-Digital library of listening assignments
Partner
These weekly lessons are perfect for families with more than one child starting piano lessons or for students who want to take piano lessons with a friend. These lessons would have both students participating in the lesson at the same time. Duets, improvisation, rote learning, and playing for each other will be part of the lesson experience. While students will have time to play on their own, these lessons are primarily collaborative.
Weekly large group classes are also included for students to get more instruction time outside of their partner lessons.
Rates (per partnership):
60 Minute lessons: $336/month
Registration Fee: $100/student per academic year
Included with Tuition:
-Weekly partner lessons
-Weekly Friday Group Class: reading skills, musicianship, and choir
-Weekly practice videos for use at home
-Digital library of listening assignments
Small group
These weekly lessons are collaborative and students will be learning in different ways, whether at the piano or away from the piano.
Weekly large group classes are also included for students to get even more instruction time outside of their group lessons.
Beginner students accepted into the studio under the age of 8 are required to start in a group class. No individual lessons are offered for beginner students.
3-4 students per group.
Rates (per participant):
60 Minute Lessons: $167/ month
Registration Fee: $100/student per academic year
Included with Tuition:
-Weekly small group lesson
-Weekly Friday Group Class: reading skills, musicianship, and choir
-Weekly practice videos for use at home
-Digital library of listening assignments
Why Group Lessons?
Why do sports sometimes seem more fun than music lessons? The friends you get to interact with!
Music is a collaborative activity that is way more engaging and fun when peers get to interact and play with each other.
Also, research shows that when students observe each other learning a new skill, they learn too! (And MUCH faster.)
SEE us in action!
F.A.Q.
It’s normal to have questions! Hopefully these answers will help you before your first lesson!
In the first 4-6 weeks, we are actually more away from the piano than one would typically expect. During this time, we are beginning to acclimate ourselves to the language of music through singing, chanting, movement, and listening. These patterns will be essential when we transfer them to the piano and make music from what we hear inside of our heads!
While we are immersing ourselves in the language of music, we are also doing exercises away from the piano that involve body awareness, and tuning into the muscles that we use to play the piano. We will slowly learn the fine motor skills that it takes to play one note, two notes, three notes, etc.
Then, we put the the two skills— aural and technical— together!
From then on, lessons will still consist of weekly singing, chanting, and movement, with opportunities to improve and use the patterns we have sung, chanted, and heard for weeks already at the piano. Rote pieces and other repertoire appropriate to the motor skill level of the student will also be used weekly after the initial stages of lessons.
In group lessons, the lesson format is the same, but students will get to observe and play with one another, and will perform duets and trios, either taught through repertoire or through improvisation!
If you are just starting out in piano lessons, it is not necessary to have a piano or keyboard right away. The first few weeks of lessons focus on aural development (singing and chanting and moving) and body awareness to play at the piano. After the first 4-6 weeks however, you will definitely need a piano/ keyboard to continue progressing!
To really invest in this journey towards a long life of music-making, you will need the following:
- A piano/ keyboard
- Piano books (Music Moves for Piano by Marilyn Lowe or others as assigned)
- A full-length mirror (a dorm mirror is perfect!)
- An adjustable piano bench (MUST HAVE! You’ll thank me later for it!)
- A means to access recordings and PDFs (Google Drive, YouTube, etc.)
- An enthusiastic attitude for learning and improving!
If you are just starting out and are shy around others, an individual lesson, or even a partner lesson may work perfectly for you! If you are a few weeks into individual lessons and want to continue one-on-one sessions but also be a part of the group, you can add the group lessons later on.
If you have a young child that wants to be in a social environment and still learn the foundations of piano, a group lesson may work the best for you!
If you or your child have a friend or sibling that they wouldn’t mind learning alongside in piano lessons, a partner lesson may be a fresh take for you! They will essentially have the same format as a small group lesson, but in a more intimate environment. If they also want to be in a group setting, they are also welcome to join a group with the “Team Player” add-on.
For transfer students, individual lessons with a group lesson add-on may be best in order to acclimate and adjust to this new learning environment, since this is not a traditional format of piano lessons!
From the Gordon Institute of Music Learning:
Music Learning Theory is an explanation of how we learn when we learn music. Based on an extensive body of research and practical field testing by Edwin E. Gordon and others, Music Learning Theory is a comprehensive method for teaching audiation, Gordon’s term for the ability to think music in the mind with understanding.
The primary objective is development of students’ tonal and rhythm audiation. Through audiation students are able to draw greater meaning from the music they listen to, perform, improvise, and compose.
Awesome question!
I believe wholeheartedly in this method of teaching, otherwise I would not teach this way.
Therefore, I find it very important that all students (including transfers) go all in for this new way of learning. This might mean taking time away from the piano to work on technical (physical) aspects of playing the piano, but I know that students come out on the other side experiencing more ease of playing at the piano, and more importantly, more MUSICAL playing at the piano.
Even if students are already reading more intermediate or advanced repertoire, I still want them to continue singing, chanting, and improvising, because there is no other way to become independent musicians than being able to create your own music from your head! (I wish I had that when I was a student!)