If it’s your first time having a piano lesson, simply bring an empty folder or if online, set up a

music folder on your laptop / tablet. If you’ve had lessons before from a different teacher,

please bring any music or resources you were working on. All students should bring a list of

goals for learning the piano, as lessons are tailored around this information.

Online lessons are taught through Google Meet. You will receive an invitation through email to join the Google Meet call.

Please set up your camera so that your hands and face are visible. Its recommended students set up a high bench next to the piano to sit their laptop / tablet on.

Absolutely. Ben has been fortunate enough to have taught many adults throughout the

years from working at local university Jazz Music Institute. He is specialised in helping those

with busy work / life schedules develop strategies and plans to achieve their goals.

Lesson notes and lesson reminders are sent via email. You can access all lesson notes, upcoming lessons and account balance/payment by logging into the 'Student Portal' on the website. Use the username and password sent to you to log into the 'Student Portal'.

Smaller but consistent sessions are better than longer, but more intermittent ones. Your

teacher can advise how much practise you should do each day and help with an allocation

for each activity if need be. Think of it as a sliding scale. A beginner

should aim towards 10 minutes a day where as an experienced player should be doing

upwards of 40 mins.

For younger students, encouragement from parents to practise and helping them obtain /

not lose materials is paramount. When parents become involved in helping their children

practise, they are guaranteed to experience more success.

In order to keep track of progress, keeping an ‘audio journal’ is a recommended practise

that all students should develop. When you start learning a new song, you make a recording

of yourself trying to play through it, even if it’s an intro or a few bars. Once you’ve spent

time refining it and have it finished, re-record yourself and compare. Allow time for self

reflection, think about the skills and concepts you honed through the performance of the

song. Your teacher can guide you through this.

Another option is progressing through a series of examinations such as AMEB or ANSCA. As you pass through each exam the components within them become more challenging. You can work all the way up to a certificate or diploma!

It depends! Whether you learn to read music or not will depend on what your goals are as a

musician. There are many examples of great piano players who never read music (Paul

McCartney, Errol Garner) and those who made careers based entirely on it (Frans Liszt, Felix

Mendelssohn).

If you wish to share ideas with other musicians, arrange music, learn theory or have

something tangible that represents what you’re hearing, then basic reading and notation

skills are highly recommended.

Of course you can! Different skills are required such as learning chord charts, lead sheets,

theory and developing your aural / transcription abilities. As the famous jazz pianist Hal

Galper said “All change is global” meaning, practising any of these skills improves your

overall musicianship.

It is highly recommended that students who have started learning get a piano or keyboard

to practise on at home in between their lessons. Ben has worked in music retail before and

is familiar with the best products for your set of circumstances.

If you’re starting out and don’t wish to invest too much, the recommendation is to start off with a

non-weighted 61 note keyboard. These keyboards have a retail price of $300-400 and will be fine for a beginning student for the first 2 years.

If you’re after something that will last longer and have a more pleasant feel, consider

getting a full size 88 key weighted digital piano. The recommendations are the Roland FP10

and the Yamaha P45. These keyboards have a retail price of $700-900 and will suit players of

any skill level. You can spend more on different models to improve aesthetics and gain

additional bells and whistles, but these keyboards have what’s most important, a good

action and sound.

If you’re after further savings, remember to look in second-hand market places such as

Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace.

There are a number of community pages on facebook that are worth joining if you’re

searching for other people to play music with. Jam nights are held at different venues

throughout the week. Some are completely improvised sessions and others may only focus

on jazz or blues repertoire. If you’re after a larger ensemble experience, there are many

local community big bands that you can apply to play in (the ability to read music in these

groups will be a requirement).