FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Buying a Piano, Practicing, and other useful information!

DO I NEED A PIANO AT HOME?

Yes, In order to take lessons, you need a piano at home or a place where your student can regularly practice. Your student must put in effort outside of lesson time in order to make progress. I prefer an acoustic piano, but a weighted full keyboard is fine to start.

WHERE DO I FIND AN ACOUSTIC PIANO?

Many people think that an acoustic piano is very expensive. However, that is not the case! You can find a high quality piano for FREE on craigslist, and only have to pay for moving. All in all, it is much less than paying for a decent quality electric keyboard.

If craigslist doesn't work out, there are plenty of used piano stores with guarantees on their instruments (albeit, a little pricier). Here is a used piano store in the area.

There is also a book called The Piano Book by Larry Fine that is great for explaining the details of what to look for in a piano. You can check it out at your local library. It can also be helpful to bring a piano technician.

Regardless of what type of piano you purchase, make sure that your student has a seat that has correct posture.

IF I DECIDE TO GET AN ELECTRIC KEYBOARD, WHAT SHOULD I LOOK FOR?

If you do decide to get an electronic keyboard, there are a couple of musts for the purpose of classical piano.
1. The piano must have weighted keys, otherwise it can lead to wrist/hand issues later in life.
2. It must have a full keyboard, 8 octaves, 88 keys.
3. I prefer it to have a solid base, as opposed to a stand, otherwise it can make posture iffy.
Regardless of what type of piano you purchase, make sure that your student has a seat that has correct posture.

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED FOR SETUP?

Aside from the obvious piano and seat, your student will also need to have a pencil handy, as well as any worksheets I have sent ahead. It also may be helpful to have a couple of notebook paper sheets and staff paper sheets. In addition, a metronome will be needed at some point. For virtual lessons, it is important to have the camera set up in a way that I can see - this is the best option.

WHAT IS THE CANCELLATION/LATE POLICY?

If you or your family have plans during a lesson time that have been planned ahead, I would appreciate you letting me know in advance. If a student needs to cancel in less than 24 hours before their lesson, I will offer one grace occurrence, and then I will charge you for the lesson. If a lesson is cancelled more than 24 hours in advance, we will try to reschedule for later that week, or just meet the next week. If a student is running late, and I am contacted about it, I will accommodate most late students. If I am not contacted, I wait for 1/3 of the lesson time before I mark it as a no show and will charge for the lesson. I also make an effort to contact students/parents when they are more than 5 minutes tardy.