This page is meant as a resource for our recommended musical instruments, books, and accessories, as well as practicing tips, and ideas on how to get the most out of your child’s musical adventures.
Musication Cancelation Policy: You are allowed 2 excused cancellations per semester. An excused cancellation is a cancellation notified at least the day before the scheduled lesson. You will be charged for any same-day cancellations and/or no-shows. If a teacher cancels, you will be credited for any missed lessons. At the end of each semester, we will notify you of any and all credits due and those will be applied towards the following semester. This cancellation policy balances both families’ different schedules and the need to keep consistent schedules for our teachers.
Where do you teach in-person lessons? We currently offer in-home lessons in the NYC area.
What instruments do you offer lessons with? We currently offer piano, guitar, voice, and ukulele lessons.
Are lessons one-on-one? Yes, lessons are one-on-one with one of our expert teachers.
What ages are lessons for? Lesson are for children ages 5 and up for piano/keyboard and ages 7 and up for guitar, Ukulele, and voice lessons.
What online video platform do you use? We use the Zoom platform for online lessons.
How experienced are your teachers? All of our teachers are highly trained music educators. They all have college music degrees with years of experience in teaching music to children.
How do we set up our devices at home for the lessons? Students are asked to use 2 devices to join in the lessons via Zoom for piano/keyboard lessons. One device is put directly in front of student and the other device is positioned so the teacher can view the students hands on the instrument.
Are there any tablet/cell phone holders we need? Yes, we recommend a few different device holders, you can see them listed below.
How are payments made? We currently bill on a month to month basis. You can pay online with any major credit card.
Recommended Keyboards
This keyboard from Yamaha is our top pick for beginning students considering price and features. It has “touch sensitive” keys, which make it closer to a piano as far as getting loud/soft sounds out of it depending on how hard you press the keys. It also includes a stand, power supply, and headphones. This is a great choice for those just starting out who are looking for an affordable beginning instrument package.
2. Yamaha PSREW300AD 76-Key Portable Keyboard
Yamaha keyboards are always top of the line. Here’s another great starter package that has “touch sensitive” keys, as well as a stand and keyboard. This model has a little bit more of the “bells & whistles” on it as far as the different sounds it can make, drum beats, song library, etc… In other words, this keyboard has more buttons on it! Not always a good thing though, as lots of buttons can sometimes be a distraction, but can also be fun for students to explore. This is a great choice for those just starting out who are looking for an affordable beginning instrument package.
3. Yamaha P=125B 88-Key Weighted Action Bundle
One of our top picks as far as a keyboard that can emulate and feel like a real piano. This Yamaha has “weighted” keys, so the keys are not only “touch sensitive” but also have the actual feel of pressing down a note on a piano. This keyboard is not only great for beginners to start off on, but is the next level for students looking for a more genuine piano feel, and it won’t require you to invest tons of money.
4. Yamaha P125 Digital Piano Black Bundle
Best sound and feel all around. This Yamaha digital piano is our top pick for those looking for a keyboard that has the touch, feel, sound, and look of a piano. The deluxe bundle comes with a bench and deluxe stand.
Recommended Accessories
1.Yamaha PKBB1 Adjustable Padded Keyboard X-Style Bench
It’s always important to have an adjustable bench for your keyboard.
2. Sustain pedal
Quality sustain pedal that works with most keyboards.
Recommended Accessories
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Tips for Getting The Most Out Of Your Child’s Lessons
PRACTICING – Even if your child is a 3-year-old beginner, it’s important to encourage practicing/playing at home. Of course this will not happen overnight; it may very well take months to establish a good practice routine where your child is comfortable playing/practicing at home. It’s best to try and encourage your child to practice/play their instrument everyday. For the young beginner, this might mean trying to sit with your child at the instrument for even just 5-10mins everyday (or most days) and asking them what songs they’re learning. The beginning pieces for young children are easy enough for the non-piano playing parent to understand and try and play with your child. Below are a couple activities you can do with your child at your instrument. These are activities that do not need any musical training at all by parents.
*THE COPY GAME – While sitting at the piano/keyboard with your child, play 2 or 3 consecutive notes in a row, then have your child try and copy you. Have them now play a few notes and you copy and play back. It’s a fun way to explore the sounds of the instrument while exercising the music muscle.
*THE STUDENT TEACHER – While getting your child to practice can often times seem like a chore, one way that can bring some fun to it is a bit of pretend/play. Try having your child pretend to be the “music teacher”. Have them try and show you how to play one of their songs, having them take pride in what they’ve learned and shown to you is a great way to encourage playing at home.
*REWARDS – Often times having a reward when children play/practice can work in order to establish a practicing/playing routine at home. We often encourage a reward when a child completes our 30-day practice challenge. Many times, the challenge turns into a daily habit and students start to play every day even after the challenge is up.
ENVIRONMENT – Providing a good environment for your child’s practicing/playing is essential. Make sure not only to have a proper keyboard or piano with a properly sized bench, but also a quiet room, good lighting and freedom from distractions such as television, radio and other people’s activities. Make sure other members of the family know and respect how important your child’s piano time is.
LISTEN to piano music! Playing piano music at home is so very important and an easy way to inspire and open up your child’s ears to piano music. Whether it’s the jazz stylings of Duke Ellington or Thelonius Monk, classical works by Bach and Mozart, classic pop/rock songs by Billy Joel or Bruce Hornsby, music from Hamilton, or even watching Youtube videos of young children playing “Twinkle Twinkle”, listening to music at home is a great way to help support lessons. Also, taking the time to go and see/hear live concerts is another great way to inspire.
DON’T GIVE UP – It can be hard to know how much to push with music lessons. You don’t want to have to force practicing and lessons on your children, but at the same time you don’t want to give up too soon just because your child is not practicing and playing at home regularly. How many adults have you heard say, “I wish I would have stuck with music lessons!”? Maybe it was even you, but you stopped because you didn’t like to practice and then lessons didn’t seem worth it anymore. There is still a lot of value in taking lessons even if your child is not practicing regularly at home. Practicing and playing at home will come with time.