Requirements: Online Piano Lessons

Nothing to fear—you’ve got this! Teens and adults get used to online lessons quickly. And children do too, once an adult helps with the initial setup. All lessons take place on Zoom. I will email you the Zoom link the night before each lesson. Here’s what you’ll eventually need:

Photo of Paul's downtown studio with Baldwin baby grand piano

Piano: Your piano can be a traditional acoustic piano or an electronic keyboard, as long as both of us can hear it. Weighted keys are better than unweighted keys, and the more keys, the better (at least 40 even for beginners). You will need a sustain pedal, too.

Device: Your primary communication device can be a computer, laptop, tablet or phone that has email access as well as the ability to send and receive audio and video. If the device can have an ethernet connection to the internet, that’s preferable to wifi—but not required. You also do not need an external screen, camera, microphone, speaker or headphones. But if you do have them, it’s actually more preferable to for them to be hard-wired than wireless. Cords are your friend, as long as they are long. The main thing is that I need to see and hear your keyboard and your hands clearly, and you need to hear and see me!

Audio Settings: Be sure to optimize the audio settings that are native to your primary device, as well as the separate ones in the Zoom platform. Remember: turn on original sound, and no noise suppression. The specifics can change with software upgrades, and I can help you.

Printed Music: In the best scenario, you and I will work together to electronically get each of you the same written copy of the songs you play, or the book you’re working through in your lessons. Typically you will purchase, download and email the music, and then print yourself a hard copy. If you own a paper copy already, you can scan it and email the PDF to me. As an alternative, you could play music from a tablet device, using software like forScore that makes page turns easy.

Space: Find a room for your piano that’s spacious, resonant, and free from distractions and intrusive noise. And your device should point at your upper body, your hands, and the keyboard. You don’t need to see me when you are playing. Look at the keyboard and the music!

Questions? Email me and we’ll figure it out!