An app is a fine way to find out if you like it. A teacher is how you actually learn to play. Private piano lessons for adults and teens in Ukrainian Village, built around the songs you want to play.
Unwrapped one this holiday? First lessons start Tuesday, January 5.
Whether it came wrapped, came from a neighbor, or came home from a weekend at the music store, a new keyboard is the most motivated you will ever be to learn. The next few weeks decide whether it becomes an instrument or a very nice shelf. Here’s the honest version of how to make it the first one.
Probably. The ideal first instrument is 88 keys with weighted action and a real sustain pedal, because that’s what makes the skills transfer to any piano you’ll ever sit at. But a 61-key keyboard is a fine place to start, and plenty of students begin on one and upgrade later. The two things worth fixing right away: get a proper sustain pedal if yours is a little plastic square, and set the keyboard up at the right height on a stable stand with a bench, not a kitchen chair. Bring the make and model to your first lesson and I’ll tell you honestly whether it will carry you through the first year. The full rundown is in the first keyboard guide.
Both have a place. An app is a cheap way to find out whether you like it, and it’s genuinely good at note-reading drills. What it can’t do is see your hands: the collapsing wrist, the bracing thumb, the fingering that makes the next piece twice as hard. Those habits are what stall most app learners somewhere in the first year. A teacher catches them in week one and builds the path around the music you actually want to play. The longer, honest comparison is in piano lessons vs. apps.
Thirty minutes, $25, at the studio in Ukrainian Village. Bring a song you love, or nothing at all. We start with a conversation about what you want to play, get your hands on the keys right away, and you leave with a one-week practice plan for the keyboard you have at home. No audition, no preparation, no pressure. Here’s exactly what happens, minute by minute.
If it clicks, most students go weekly: one 50-minute lesson a week, same teacher every week, $100 a lesson billed every 4 weeks, cancel anytime. There’s also a flex 4-pack if your schedule is unpredictable. Every option is on the pricing page. Lessons are in person, Monday through Thursday, 3 to 9pm, on a real acoustic piano, with a Fender Rhodes and a Hammond B3 in the room.
Adults and teens (11 and up) welcome, complete beginners most of all. If you’re starting in January, the New Year guide explains why most resolutions fade by March and how to make yours stick.
No. A weighted 88-key instrument is ideal, but a 61-key keyboard is fine for the first months. Add a real sustain pedal and a stable stand at the right height, and bring the make and model to your first lesson for an honest read on whether it will last you the first year.
No. Lessons start from what you can actually do, keep everything the app taught you that’s solid, and target the gaps, usually hand technique and musical shaping. App learners often move quickly because the motivation is already there.
Any week of the year. Over the holidays the studio is closed until the week of January 4; first lessons start Tuesday, January 5, and you can book now. January evening times fill first, so earlier is better if you want a 6 or 7pm slot.