Medieval History Lesson

I am 17 and a senior in high school with 11 years of piano experience(I am quite good). My dads friend wants me to give his son lessons once a week but I have no idea how much money to charge! I am not a professional, so I don’t want to charge too much. I’ve taught children piano lessons before but they were for volunteer hours. I was thinking $20 for a 30 minute lesson. Is this reasonable, too much, too little? Please tell me what you think!

It’s your time that you’ll be spending, so charge what it’s worth to you. If you view your time as that valuable, I’d say $20 is perfectly reasonable.

I’m planning to learn piano, self taught and from a tutor, but I’m limited to spending £10 a week on lessons. The teacher charges £20 an hour so I’m planning to have them once every 2 weeks.

Is this OK to get the most out of my learning? I’m 20 years old.
Thanks - but from browsing various teachers, £20 an hour is the cheapest rate I could find in my area.

If the teacher charges £20 an hour, then have half hour lessons, once a week, for £10. You won’t need one-hour-long lessons for a few years.

I have some students who in these financial times can only come once every 2 weeks. It is not ideal, and progress is generally steady, but more difficult than it was. And you will need to practice every day so you can consistently build up your ability and your knowledge.

I just signed a lease on an apartment. I give about 5 or 6 piano lessons a week to students who normally come to my apartment. My landlord saw me moving my piano in the building, and asked why I had a piano. I told her about the lessons, and she told me that I was not allowed to give lessons. My lease does not address the issue. Is this something she is legally permitted to prevent?

"Can a landlord prevent you from teaching piano lessons out of your apartment?"

Yes. Here’s a little background.

Contrary to what some others are saying it is not illegal to run a small business from one’s apartment in many jurisdictions. I’ll explain:

Some zoning bylaws do permit certain types of small businesses to be run from one’s apartment. In the state of California for example there are millions that do it and it is done legally however, it does require the consent of the landlord and the landlord must make sure that all legalities/criteria such as zoning bylaws, additional insurance etc. are satisfactorily met.

Your landlord may have told you it is not allowed where you live because local zoning bylaws prohibit a small business being operated from an apartment or because your particular business is not permitted. Even if running a small business is permitted, the landlord will consider other factors:

- will there be ongoing people traffic and if so how much weekly foot traffic will there be [in your case it will be going 5 or 6x on a weekly basis]
- is there potential to cause disruption and disturbance/excessive noise to other tenants [in your case there is as far as the landlord is concerned]. It is one thing to play your piano occasionally. It is very much a different case to having it being played with great frequency. Even if you were playing it privately for personal enjoyment or for practice, a landlord must assure that other tenants are not being unduly disturbed.
- insurance liability issues/security issues

Though your landlord may not have detailed this particular condition in your lease, if you were to research and find that zoning bylaws allow for a small business to be operated from one’s apartment in your area it will still be up to the discretion of the landlord whether he wants to permit it or not. For example if you were to challenge him on this and say it is not against the law and there was nothing in the agreement prohibiting it your landlord could simply tell you that such activity is creating an inconvenience and disturbance to other tenants and tell you to discontinue.

Your landlord’s main concerns would be: disruption/disturbance to other tenants, amount of foot traffic coming in and out of the building, security, concerns about others running other types of small businesses if he were to allow you to do this, insurance/liability issues and zoning bylaw issues.

I’m about to start teaching piano lessons to a kid around the block. (Yes, we’re friends already.) He is 10 years old, and doesn’t like sitting still for long. He always wants to show me his new toys and such. I will be giving him a 30 minute lesson once a week. Does anyone have any tips on how to keep him interested in the piano and how to teach him? He has never played before, so it will be from the very beginning of teaching. Thanks everyone!

Can he read music? Or will you be teaching him without music? I would start off the lesson by asking him to fool around on the piano, and see if he can ear out a song. If you lose his attention due to his difficulty with playing, offer to play the piece for him to hear. Or start working on something else. I never could focus for the entire half hour either, and my piano teacher allowed some small talk, but never for more than a couple minutes. And don’t let him bring his toys to your house. (Or make him put away his toys if the lesson is at his house).

I just want to a really really good site for piano lessons. I have a piano at home. I already have synthesis. It has to have like lessons levels and everything. Tnx

PS. Please make the online piano lesson free
What i meant was what was the most popular, and best online free piano lesson.

I’m afraid all real pianists, who know what it needs to become at all good, think there are no worthwhile on-line lessons that are free - even for those with the ambition to play a bit well at amateur level.

[ I've seen on-line piano lessons for a fee, one offered by a graduate of a reputable Eastern Jazz conservatory, his playing not at all good, and with, after "Twenty years experience," his fifth finger waving in the air like a flag of surrender, his hand position not at all correct. Such are some who are offering lessons, free or paid, online! ]

It takes a real person and real interaction, the pupil being watched, listened to, and spoken to directly and personally for any real success of progress.

All those who say those lessons are great? Well, you need to hear the results - hear them play.

When those who have studied and are at all good hear most links with those self-taught pianists playing, it is plain to the ears they did not have lessons.

You can learn a bit about the note names and reading music on line, only at a basic beginner’s level. After that, they’re worthless, exactly as they are priced, at $0.oo.

Best regards.

I want to know where can I get piano lessons in the Raleigh and what will the cost be. Thanks to anyone for replying.

Good places in any community. Check with the church and see if their pianist gives lessons.
Check with the community or any other nearby college for a music department teacher or advanced student. and Check anywhere they sell pianos.

I already play the violin, but I wanna start taking piano lessons. My mom said she’ll buy me a keyboard for christmas, but I still want lessons. She said she doesn’t want me taking other lessons until I master the violin but I really want to. Shouldn’t she be happy I’m trying to get involoved in music?

I already play the violin and I’ve wanted to start piano and singing lessons for a long time. I told my mom I’d pay for the piano lessons and she said she’d pay for singing lessons if one of us (children, hers of course) wanted to take them. Now I do not pay pay for violin lessons I take them in school. So why is my mom so against it and how can I convince her to let me take them?

1 is in college: private piano for 30 min
1 is outside of college: private lesson for 30 min

My schedule is: mondays-private lessons and wednesdays-college piano

I have been doing piano for 1.5 years and intermediate level. I am 19. I am using 4 different books for private lessons.

What’d you think? Will I improve?

I see no harm in it if it doesn’t cost too much, and it could help; you might get 2 different perspectives.
I can see where there would be a problem if you were learning the same piece from two different teachers; maybe if that happens you should tell your private teacher and ask for something different. It might make more sense if you were learning classical from one teacher and jazz from another teacher. Students usually take 5 or 6 different classes at the same time; history, science, math, etc; I don’t see why it would be a problem to take two different music classes at the same time.

Piano lessons are very expensive (at least where i live) and i have little time because of the studies and stuff, but i’m earning money to buy a piano keyboard just because i really want to learn how to play piano, so is it possible for me to learn by practicing, watching tutorials on youtube and eventually reading books or i should rather wait till i have vacations and money earned for lessons? I mean, because i learned how to draw by practicing and drawing for life since i was a kid without ever having lessons, so i tough that maybe for piano it should be possible too.

Here’s the deal: You can learn a certain amount by yourself. There will be things you can’t figure out by yourself. If you’re content to stick with what you can figure out on your own, that’s fine. If you ever want to get past that point you’ll need instruction.

I know a really talented kid who mostly taught himself piano, sometimes asking his (non-custodial) dad for help. He played pretty well for a eighth grader. At some point he decided that he really wanted lessons, and that’s when he took off. He made more progress in a year of lessons as he had made in five years of teaching himself.