Piano lessons for adults

I offer private piano lessons for adults at my home studio or via Skype. I teach beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. My students learn how to play classical and popular music.

I taught many adults, men, and women, from college students to senior citizens. The oldest student I worked with was an 83-year-old woman.

Many of my adult students told me: I wish I listened to my parents when I was a child and did not quit piano lessons. You cannot turn time back, but don’t worry. It is never too late to start learning. Now you are taking lessons because YOU (not your parents) want to learn how to play the piano. It is your chance to make it “right” this time.

Why do you want to learn to play the piano?

The possible reasons are:

* You love music (great reason!)
* You think it will improve your memory (it will)
* It will keep your mind sharp as you are getting older (it will)
* You deserve it (you do)
* You want to entertain other people (learn one piece really well)
* You want to impress other people (why not)
* You want to help your child/grandchild to practice (very important!)
* You need enjoyable and intellectual relaxation (use easy arrangements of your favorite pieces)

Advice for brand new beginners

Some adults dream about learning how to play the piano but think that they are too old to learn a new skill. In reality, they will stay younger if they WILL learn a new skill. All research indicates that people’s brains stay active if they start learning a foreign language or playing an instrument.

Learning how to play an instrument will keep your mind alert and will give you an enjoyable hobby. When you learn how to play some beautiful song, not just you, but your friends and family will be able to enjoy it as well.

There are lots of easy arrangements of classical or popular compositions. Of course, being a brand new beginner, you can’t expect to play the piano well in a couple of months. Give it at least a year. Keep in mind, the longer you continue, the better you will get. Learning how to play an instrument is not just for young kids.

How to find a good piano teacher?

First of all, find a teacher who will teach you how to read music. Some teachers show their students how to play this or that note, this or that chord. Students of such instructors start copying teacher’s fingers without learning how to read music.

Without the ability to read the music, you will not progress and will not figure out new compositions on your own. Remember the old saying:  “Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime.” This is my philosophy in teaching piano.

I always make sure that my piano students (kids or adults) are good sight-readers. To achieve that, I make them work with the flashcards and give them several manageable pieces to work on at home instead of giving just one or two difficult compositions that students will learn by route instead of reading it.

Being a mature adult, you probably will be picky about the personality of the teacher. You will want to make sure that you two have the right chemistry. I agree. It is difficult to learn if you do not like your teacher’s personality and are uncomfortable working together.

Take a trial lesson before signing up for regular lessons.

I advise you to ask a prospective teacher for the trial lesson before signing up for weekly lessons. Personally, I do not offer free trial lessons. My time is too valuable to me.

I also think that my education (8 years in music school, plus 4 years in Moscow music college) and my experience (teaching for over 30 years) earned me the right to be paid for my time.

I taught hundreds of piano students in Los Angeles, Vermont, the US Embassy in Moscow, Lake Placid (NY), Boca Raton (FL), and now – in Washington, D.C.

Do you plan to practice regularly?

If you skipped a day or two at the gym, it doesn’t mean that you are a failure and have to quit. If you missed a day or two, or even a whole week practicing piano (vacation or an extra busy week at work), it does not mean that you have to cancel your next lesson and tell the teacher the reason, “I did not practice this week.”

The only secret to succeeding in a piano is not canceling lessons and not quitting. Just pick up where you left off. If you missed practice, there is always tomorrow when you can start practicing again.

It is important to inform your teacher that you skipped the practice. Your teacher will help you to get back in shape. People who want to be in good physical form hire personal trainers. They need the trainer’s help not just for showing different exercises but also for pushing them forward. That’s why people who want to learn how to play the piano will need their teacher not only to teach but to encourage and inspire them.

Advice for adults who used to play piano as a child

You might think that you forgot absolutely everything. Don’t be discouraged. In such cases, I always start students from the very beginning. It is much better to start with very easy beginners’ books and progress quickly, not missing anything, than to start with the books, which will be more difficult and go slow.

A few real stories from my teaching practice

Betsy (83-old, never played piano before

I started teaching piano in the United States about a year after we emigrated from Russia and settled in LA. One of my first adult students was an 83-year-old woman, Betsy. She was a brand new beginner and was afraid that she is too old to learn.

She progressed slower than some younger adults, but she wanted to learn Christmas carols and play them at her church. I still remember how we were working on “The First Noel.” She could not learn many carols, but she learned about 5 or 6 and played them decently. The only one she played at the church was “The First Noel.”

Taz (age 55, never played piano before)

Another piano student in Los Angeles was an Egyptian man, Taz. His two sons attended my Music Workshop classes, which prepared these boys for the private piano lessons. Taz never played the piano but always dreamed of learning how to play.

After he bought the instrument (for the kids, as he said), he timidly asked me if I would be his teacher. I was swamped with students, but I liked Taz and his family and decided to take him. Taz was a very busy person – business, family, church – but he was very determined. After a year of diligent work, he could play some compositions, classical and popular.

A couple of years later, his sons played in a piano recital. Suddenly, at the end of the recital, Taz asked me shyly: Elena, can I play my piece too? It was a total surprise for me. Even if I always encourage my adult students to participate in our piano recitals, Taz never volunteered.

He was working on his favorite song at that time – an advanced arrangement of “Besame Mucho,” and he handled this composition very well. Since I  considered Taz to be a shy person, I was shocked by his request. I did not show my surprise and announced that we would listen to a famous song.

Taz sat at the piano and played “Besame Mucho” by heart! It was another surprise for me. I did not know that he memorized it. My eyes were filled with tears by the time Taz played the last note.

Nestor (age 44, never played piano before)

Another adult student, Nestor, decided to start piano lessons in his early forties because he was inspired by his two daughters, who were already advanced pianists.

I explained to Nestor that he would never play the piano as well as his daughters because they started at age 7, and he began at 44. But if he will practice, he will learn enough to enjoy playing the instrument.

Nestors’ daughters practiced regularly. Seeing their father playing the piano, both girls started practicing even more. He became an excellent example for them.

Nestor ended up being a courageous man. Once he could play easy but beautiful pieces, he started to participate in all our piano recitals. His girls were very proud of their dad!

Claudia (age 56, did not play piano for 30 years)

When we lived in Los Angeles, I got a new adult student, Claudia. She was a very colorful person. A widow in her mid-fifties, she recently buried the husband, who was 15 years younger than her. Claudia was beautiful and always impeccably dressed.

She graduated from Canadian college with a degree in piano performance and pedagogy. When she was a student, she even performed on the Canadian radio!

However, life took over. Claudia had multiple lovers, three or four husbands, moved from city to city, and even from her country to the US. Now, more than thirty years later, she couldn’t remember how to play the piano!

Claudia asked me to give her lessons three times a week. She was determined to play Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart as she did so many years ago. We had to start from scratch. I showed her how to play scales, how to read simple songs.

In about 5 or 6 months, she was ready to play easy pieces by Chopin! A year later, she was quite proficient on the piano. We developed a great relationship, and she ended up being my student until we moved from Los Angeles.

For more information about piano lessons for adults
please call Miss Elena 561-989-0920 or email elenamig11@gmail.com.