FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I prefer students to be at least 5 years old. Yes, I teach adults also. It's never too late to learn something new.

Students need to have an instrument to take lessons on whether at home or remotely and to practice on between lessons. Keyboards are fine and if you don't currently have an instrument it is the most cost effective way for a beginner to get started. I will be happy to make a specific recommendation regarding a purchase.

I am a life long musician. I took formal piano lessons for 7 years starting at the age of 7 and received classical training. I have been playing regularly ever since. Later I taught myself basic guitar and some flute and I sing regularly at the piano for my own enjoyment as well as at karaoke venues.

I began giving lessons in students homes since 1993 and have been exclusively self-employed as a freelance piano instructor, employed a whole staff of instructors for many years and spent 8 years playing and singing 8-10 hours professionally in nursing homes and assisted living facilities from 1993-2001 as well as for a regular Sunday church service from 2006-2013. I also played occasional solo engagements in the 1990s in clubs and a local cafe.

Lessons are 30 minutes once a week. Longer lessons also on a weekly basis are available, but are only recommended for more advanced / experienced students who are ambitious about mastering challenging pieces. 

Weekly lessons are important for consistency in learning and progressing and also since this is my livelihood and there are usually many families contacting me who are interested in and can commit to weekly lessons - I only work with students / families that can make that can make that commitment.

Students progress at a faster pace when there is a consistent practice routine. However, students will still progress just by virtue of instruction time so if you are / were wondering about less frequent lessons based on such a concern - know that I am patient and understanding and that a student can and will always benefit from instruction time as long as they are attentive to the instruction and following directions during their lesson time. 

There is not a long-term commitment required as far as a business policy or contractual obligation goes. This is just a simple month-to-month agreement. However, if your goal is for you and / or the student(s) in your home to develop / build life-long skills it is a process for which you & your family should be dedicated to the idea of remaining enrolled for at least a few years if not longer. I am happy and grateful to work with any family regardless of how much they are looking to benefit from the opportunity that taking lessons presents. 

I realize that parents are looking to enroll their child(ren) on a wait and see basis. I also understand that there may be competing priorities and that each family must determine for themselves how well and for how long piano/keyboard lessons fit into their life.

Many students, including adult students and parents of your students are just looking to learn the basics and for themselves or their child(ren) to become more well-rounded.

In this kind of most common scenario - playing through assigned pieces a few times at a setting a few times a week is adequate enough to ensure steady forward progress.

I do not take a conservatory approach - I'm thrilled with students that kind find a half hour a week to practice - even just in three 10 minute sessions.

I have had families that are happy to make a little time to do that - I would just need to ask them first. You are also encouraged to read my Google reviews.

Since my first student & family I ever worked with way back in April of 1993 and ever since not only have I offered the free meet & greet session but I require this prior to our first lesson.  I think it is important that we get to know each other better and that you have the chance to have any further questions you may have answered. This also gives me the chance to demonstrate my musical skills which I hope will inspire you and / or the student(s) in your home about being given the opportunity to learn to play.

Every student is unique with a different aptitude combined with variations in how much time they are willing and able to set time aside for regular, consistent practice. This is also an open ended question because there is a big difference between playing something like Yankee Doodle with single notes and something more advanced like Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

Most students are typically playing simple songs in which they are reading real notes on the music staff within the first 3 to 4 weeks and songs with both hands together within the first year - and sometimes within as little as 6 months. 

Students who are less than 6 years old will often spend some months in a book in which reading real notes will not begin for a few to several months, but they will still be playing simple songs and beginning to understand rhythm and timing fairly early on as well.

When I first began offering remote lessons I was not sure at first until I gained some experience in teaching that way. Most of my students who were on my schedule at the time of the pandemic shut downs elected to try this and not only did all of them stay with it when health and safety concerns were more serious for many of us with adherence to social distancing and other precautions, but their families chose to stay with this new way of connecting with me for lessons. None of those many families ever requested to resume having lessons in person at their homes. Now that I have been actively promoting that option for a few years, I have been able to witness first hand that beginner students can progress through their lesson books as well as supplementary music in s similar fashion to students who take lessons with me in person. Most of them have also been in and continue to participate in Zoom recitals.

The bottom line is that my students and I can see and hear each other, are both at our instruments and have the same books and music in front of us and as long as I can clearly see them and hear them, then I can even be sure to adapt to and be sensitive to how they are feeling since I can then still pick up on facial expression, body language and other cues that I had been more used to tuning into in person.

Recital participation is not mandatory, but strongly encouraged. Even total beginners that started just a couple of months before recital season started may play one or two short pieces from near the beginning of their first lesson book. New students and families who may prefer to wait until the following recital season to participate are more than welcome to connect to one of the events so they can get a feel for them the season before the student(s) in their home perform for the first time.

My Zoom subscription allows up to 100 connections to any event I host so I also welcome anyone that has been considering lessons for themselves and / or their children to join and watch.

I accept payment through CashApp, Zelle and Venmo. Whatever you prefer. I can also accept cash and / or check from those clients that I visit in person. In the case of cash,            I always send a text confirming receipt of cash.  I prefer a monthly payment and most of my clients prefer that as well, but a weekly payment is also acceptable. I close out my books at the end of each month. My clients who pay monthly may choose to pay towards the beginning or middle or end of the month. I require that tuition for the prior month is current before the first lesson in a new month. Since I do not send invoices, I send (a) text reminder(s) regarding tuition as a courtesy and know that these can be helpful as I know that there are many other priorities, obligations and things that everyone has to attend to in their daily lives.

I understand that things come up. Like the vast majority of music schools and private music instructors, tuition charges are based on enrollment, not on attendance. So no credit is given even if the missed lesson(s) is / are not made-up / rescheduled. It is also my policy, however, to offer options for rescheduling / making up the missed time. However, since I have been scheduled with more than 50 private students as of the fall of 2022 forward, these options have become limited. As such I am willing and able to allow clients to "bank" these missed lessons for which timely and full payment is still due, but to take advantage of times such as winter break, spring break or summertime when school aged students might be available during the day - to make up lessons that may have been missed as long ago as a few months prior to doing the make-up lessons.

I provide lessons year round - and staying consistently officially enrolled and actively taking lessons is strongly encouraged for maximum benefit. Keep in mind that since I do not work outside of my business and the vast majority of my students are school aged children that this means I can be very flexible during the day to make up 1 or 2 lessons that a family may miss due to a one or two week vacation. If you still elect to due to more extensive travel or other plans and / or you simply would like to give your child(ren) (or yourself) a break from lessons during the summer months - then no charges apply for taking anywhere from 4 weeks up to as much as 3 months off from lessons. In many cases, simply because I have a lot of students, and feel a loyalty towards committed clients/families and it tends to be a matter of a handful of families who take an extended break - I know historically about what to expect and am wiling and able to "hold your spot" for you until the fall and will not release it to anyone else. 

I worked with adults with developmentally disabilities in group homes as well as at a residential school for children with autism for 4 1/2 years from 1989-1993 before I began may long standing music education career. I continue to work with special needs children and young adults who are enrolled in piano / keyboard lessons with me, both at their homes as well as remotely. It has been a very personally rewarding way for me to have moved forward in this long journey as a free-lance business owner without leaving the cause of and my strong sentiment of advocacy and support for those special people whose qualities remind us that each of us is truly unique and differently abled and just how interdependent we actually really are... 

I have experienced this a year or so after I first started giving piano lessons in 1993.

Now that my focus since 2019 in making the decision to allow the employment arm of my music school to unwind - As we head toward the 2023-2024 school year I appear to be headed in that direction again as I am booked with 54 students as of the spring of 2023 and nearly at full capacity in the after school and weekend hours.  I do have 3 long-term teachers that are still on staff who are able to accommodate up to about 15-20 students between them. I am considering perhaps adding one or two more staff members, but since I will never return to running employment ads, it would have to be either former staff members rejoining me or a musician that I meet or am already acquainted with as I see how things evolve. If I am fully booked and / or have a waiting list in addition to not having any openings, I will be happy to see if I might be able to have one of my staff members work with you. If you still want to consider waiting for a bit because you feel strongly about working with me, then please now that just as in the past, I will be good at keeping people on a waiting list informed on a fairly regular basis- and while not giving guarantees - I can give a ball park estimate of openings and certainly understand if students and families wish to consider other options, especially if they are eager to get their child(ren) started before they lose interest. I am strongly considering having a 2 hour long instructional video I had co-written with my late wife that was released in 1995 and was written up in The Baltimore Sunday Sun converted to DVD and placing it for sale on this website.