“A special thank you to Simon. I sing out of tune and am ham-fisted, if I can be taught to play then anyone can!”
Dr. Mark Porter, Broadcaster and Medical Correspondent for The Times
Start Your Journey
We all know what conventional wisdom has to say about old dogs and new tricks, and adults often tell me that they wish they had learnt to play the piano when they were younger. My reply is always to start now! Every day I work with adults who, to their delight, are succeeding and thoroughly enjoying their musical journeys.
People come to the piano as adults for all sorts of reasons. Some are returning, having had lessons when they were younger, while others have wanted to learn for a long time but not had the opportunity. Others might have a musical partner, or be drawn to a particular piece of music. Everybody is different!
The physical and mental benefits of playing the piano are well documented, and with the right support adults can make striking progress. They often have an edge on children, drawing on past learning experiences to grasp new concepts quickly. They are also self-motivated, learning only for the simple pleasure of making music.
Few people realise how easy it is to take that first step, so when you look up from your busy schedule in a years’ time and say “I wish I’d learnt to play the piano” just think… if you’d started last time you said that, you would be playing well by now! My oldest beginners have started in their seventies, so it really is never too late.
Plato first recognised the benefits of learning to play a musical instrument two and a half thousand years ago, and modern research has confirmed that music-making combines visual, motor and auditory skills to produce a wash of stimulation throughout the brain. This in turn boosts academic performance. Many studies have linked playing an instrument to improved learning, particularly in languages and mathematics.
The social benefits of learning a musical instrument are also many and varied. Making music brings new purpose, and a lifelong interest that is hugely rewarding. It opens a child’s mind, and promotes focus and concentration. Best of all though it’s great fun, and for me that will always be by far the most important reason for learning. However, while it’s never too late to start playing it can of course sometimes be a little too soon.
If your child is not ready to begin formal music lessons, there is still plenty that you can do to encourage their musical interest. Make music a part of your everyday life: turn on the radio, listen to music and, because nothing beats live music, go to concerts. Many orchestras give ‘teddy concerts’, performances created especially for younger audiences. Most importantly though, play together, explore the piano and have fun!
Developing minds pick up new skills quickly, and once a child can absorb ideas and understand the concept of practice they are ready to begin lessons. For some children this may be as young as four or five, while others might not be ready until they are eight or nine. What matters is the desire to play, and children who want to learn will see their confidence flourish as they learn how to express themselves in new ways.
Supporting your child’s musical development can seem daunting, especially if you haven’t played an instrument yourself. Children have a natural desire to demonstrate their learning though, and the best way to help them progress is simply to take an interest! I always encourage parents to sit in on lessons, and to sit in on practice sometimes. Practicing can be a lonely job, and the simple act of listening accelerates progress considerably.
Many children continue to have lessons during their teenage years, when music becomes a more pronounced part of their identity. During these sometimes challenging years music builds self-esteem, confidence and pride. More than ever it becomes a means of self-expression, whether as a solo pursuit or through school or community ensembles. At the higher grades, music examinations are also a rich source of UCAS points.
Online music lessons have come of age since the coronavirus pandemic, when so many people were forced to stay at home. Online piano lessons aren’t exactly the same as face-to-face lessons, but they are remarkably effective and many people now enjoy a mixed model of learning which captures the benefits of both.
Like many music teachers, I have developed new strategies for teaching online to ensure that students learn everything that they would if I were in the room with them. Sheet music is sent in advance and marked up exactly as it would be during a face-to-face lesson, one of the many efficiencies in fact of working in this way.
It is also helpful for me to be at my piano during lessons, demonstrating at will without having to swap places. Online lessons can be particularly effective for people with demanding schedules who might need to change an appointment at short notice, who relocate, who cannot find a local teacher or even during bad weather!
No expensive equipment is needed. All that’s required is a laptop, a smartphone or a tablet with a built-in camera and microphone. I teach using a number of the most popular free platforms for business, pleasure and learning, including FaceTime for Apple devices, Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp.
As every musician knows, learning to play a musical instrument is both hard work and immensely rewarding. Satisfaction, and the celebration of hard-won progress, can take many forms. It has always been my belief that people should be free to engage with the piano in whatever way they prefer. About a quarter of my students still choose to take exams, while the rest learn purely for pleasure.
Exams are, as much as anything, a question of personality, and suit some learners better than others. Some are entirely self-motivated and, driven by the pieces that they want to play, work hard to achieve their goals. Others prefer something more specific to work towards, with an independent assessment of their progress and demonstrable proof that they have reached a recognised level.
The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music is the world’s largest music examining board, and some 650,000 candidates (of all ages!) take their exams each year. If you think you might enjoy the challenge of sitting an exam, John Holmes, ABRSM’s former Chief Examiner, has written an excellent guide that will tell you everything you could want to know. You can download a copy here.
According to data from the Music Industries Association only about 5,000 acoustic pianos are sold in the UK each year now, compared to 30,000 in the 1980s. Annual sales of digital instruments, however, have risen to an estimated 25,000 a year. Add these numbers together and total instrument sales are largely unchanged, but our lives are very different today and this is reflected in the instruments we buy.
Acoustic pianos are often ill-suited to declining urban space and transient living. They are also heavy and difficult to move. Staircases are not as big as they used to be, and often don’t have the ‘turn’ needed to accommodate acoustic instruments (I speak from personal experience!). Factor in central heating, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that modern homes are conspiring against the acoustic piano!
So, what about digital pianos and keyboards? Both have a number of advantages over acoustic instruments: they require no ongoing care, are easy to move and can be played with headphones to name just a few. They are also quite reasonably priced (with digital pianos that begin to replicate the touch of an acoustic piano starting at about £400), and hold their value well on the second-hand market.
Nothing beats the sound and feel of an acoustic piano, and I wouldn’t be without mine. However, many of my lessons are taught on digital pianos and keyboards and I am very happy indeed to do so. For all sorts of reasons, they are the best option for many people. What matters is finding the right solution for you, so that you can start to experience the pleasure that comes from learning to play a musical instrument.
Acoustic pianos are highly durable, but they are also one of the most complicated pieces of machinery that you are likely to own. They are far more complicated than the car you drive or the device you are using to read these words, and they (quite rightly!) tend to lead a pampered life in the best room of the house.
Pianos can be handed down from generation to generation, and their size and weight give them the illusion of being indestructible. However, while they do last a long time they are only made of wood, plastic and metal. As the years go by seasonal changes take their toll, stressing parts, straining joints and slowly corroding metals.
Felt hammers are pounded flat thanks to thousands and thousands of collisions with the strings, and years of friction eventually wear out the felt bushings in the instrument’s action. How long a piano lasts will depend on the climate that it lives in and its maintenance and repair, so a number of important factors are within your control:
- Your piano should be tuned at least once a year (it will go out of tune whether it is played or not). Older instruments can be less stable, and may require more regular tuning. Because new strings stretch as they are being worked in, a new piano will need to be tuned three or four times in the first year.
- Pianos don’t like to be too hot or too cold. In warm, humid weather the strings and moving parts expand, causing the pitch to rise. In cool, dry weather though they contract, causing the pitch to drop. As the parts don’t expand and contract at the same rate, your piano can easily sound out of tune with itself.
- A constant 18 to 21°C (65 to 70°F) is ideal. You should keep your piano away from radiators, fireplaces and direct sunlight. Prolonged periods of changing humidity will eventually cause wooden parts to crack and glue joints to fail and, more seriously, lead to loose tuning pins or a split soundboard.
Tell me what you like, and once the basics have been covered that’s what we’ll play. My tastes are many and varied, so I’m sure we’ll be playing music that we both enjoy whether it’s classical, jazz or anything else!
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Theory is regularly incorporated into lessons, in order to be able to play. You can study theory as a separate subject if you wish, and those who progress to the Grade 6 practical exam will need to have passed their Grade 5 theory exam. I also help students with the practical elements of their GCSE and A Level music courses.
That depends on you. Everyone has musical ability, but learning to play an instrument well requires commitment and you won’t get very far if you don’t practice! As with exercise, a little and often gets the best results. These are my top tips for effective, pain-free practice:
- Never practice every day, time away from the piano is important too.
- If you get stuck, stop! Come back later, and try again.
- Sometimes play straight through your pieces, returning to the hard bits later.
- Sometimes begin with the hard bits, practicing small sections thoroughly.
- Always remember, if you can’t play it slowly you can’t play it quickly!
- Practice makes permanent, not perfect. Don’t practice your mistakes!
- Enjoy what you play and vary your work by having easier pieces to hand.
- At the end of each practice session write down your plan for the next one.
Children usually have half an hour’s tuition each week, and adults forty-five minutes or an hour. If you’re enjoying what you’re doing the time will fly by, and we can of course adjust the length of your lessons as we go to make sure that they’re just right for you.
My lessons are individually tailored and taught on a one-to-one basis. The first lesson is always free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking the plunge and starting your journey today!
You will no doubt have questions that you want to ask, and I will want to find out what (if anything) you have done previously before suggesting how we might best move forward to achieve your musical goals.
Beyond that, lessons are arranged in blocks of four. Many teachers work to terms or half terms, but I find that monthly is more convenient for everyone. In the event of cancellations, I ask for seven days’ notice.
No, I’ve never charged a fee for travelling. Adults often prefer to come to me though, to escape the ‘distractions’ of home. With younger children it can be helpful to work in a familiar environment, and that is often more convenient with siblings. Many people also now prefer a mixed model of learning with both face-to-face and online lessons, to capture the advantages of both.
As with all music teachers, the majority of my new students are beginners. Some have a little musical knowledge, others none at all. When you find a teacher that you like, it is unusual to change. Of course, circumstances do sometimes dictate otherwise, for example because of a need to relocate.
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You will need an instrument to practice on, if you don’t already have one. However, I don’t recommend spending any more money than you need to to begin with, and have suggested various options here. Music should be open to everyone to enjoy, and acquiring and learning an instrument need not be prohibitively expensive.
Not at all, music is a universal language after all! As long as you have time to practice both instruments, learning to play the piano will benefit all of your musical activities. It is an excellent second instrument, so much so that it’s almost unheard of for any experienced musician not to have a good working knowledge of the keyboard. You can also see all of the notes laid out in front of you, which makes it an excellent tool for communication.
Yes I do. I am an ISM Registered Private Teacher, meaning that I have been both reference and DBS checked by a professional body and have signed up to its Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy, Code of Practice and Procedures. My certificate of status from the ISM is available to view on request, as is my Enhanced DBS certificate (which is automatically renewed each year through the DBS Update Service).
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