What to Know About Online Group Piano Lessons for Adults
There are a lot of ways to learn piano these days.
Especially when learning piano as an adult, you can teach yourself piano without a piano teacher, using how to play piano videos online, piano apps, and piano method books. There's also the traditional model of private piano lessons, where you work one on one with a piano teacher. One of the best ways to learn piano is through online group piano lessons for adults.
Learning Piano as an Adult
Learning piano as an adult is unique. While we may not soak up new knowledge quite as fast as we did when we were kids, we have some advantages as adults learning piano. For one thing, you know what you like! By learning piano as an adult, you are choosing something that you find challenging and stimulating, and as you learn you can customize your goals to fit your personal interests and musical tastes.
This sounds nice in theory, but if you've taken group piano lessons for adults before, you may have been in a dry community college environment, or taken piano classes with music schools for kids. Both of these types of piano programs provide a lot of value, but they are not necessarily inspiring environments. To make sure that taking piano classes as an adult really sticks for you, you need to find a piano class for adults that was designed to meet you where you are at in your journey learning piano, and to keep you engaged with music that you love to practice.
Something to understand when you are learning how to play piano as an adult is that we learn in a cyclical way. This is especially true if you are coming back to piano lessons as an adult having taken piano lessons as a child, or trying to learn piano again after starting piano lessons and falling out of the habit of practicing piano. Our learning is a spiral, and we revisit skills and understandings again and again, deepening our knowledge of those concepts each time. That means that, while in an online piano class for adults, some piano skills may be review for you while other music knowledge is brand new, you will be deepening your understanding with each pass at the topic. This is one of the reasons that you are never too old to learn piano.
One challenge of learning piano as an adult is reframing your emotions around practicing piano. Learning piano as an adult should feel joyful: it's play, after all, not punishment. Adults in our lives may have taught us a different lesson as children, so in some ways we have to learn a new lesson, and practice feeling joy, delight, and curiosity each time we play piano.
This reprogramming is one reason that people wonder, is it harder for adults to learn piano? The truth is, the biggest obstacle between adults and learning how to play piano is fear. As adults learning to play the piano, we fear embarrassment. Many people are embarrassed to play alone, for themselves. We feel like we should sound more sophisticated, even when we are learning beginner piano as adults. That fear is magnified when we attach learning the piano to larger goals. Many people already have immense anxiety attached to letting themselves down. Find a way to challenge yourself to embrace that fear, and to reframe it. In many ways, that fear that is holding you back from learning piano can be a motivating force.
Group Piano Lessons vs Private Piano Lessons. Are private lessons better than group lessons?
A lot of people default for private piano lessons. But I've been surprised to notice that some people actually thrive in the group environment. Some differences between the two include price, attention and accountability, social environment, group feedback and discourse.
Are group piano lessons effective? Sometimes more so than private piano lessons! One reason that some people thrive in online group piano lessons for adults is that you are receiving really clear and structured information. In private piano lessons, often times you take the lead in what styles of piano music you want to learn, and the lessons is dictated by how much time you spent practicing the piano, and what you worked on during the week. In group piano lessons, there is a routine and flow that might now exist in private piano lessons.
Another reason that group piano lessons are effective is that there is group accountability. Something about the routine of meeting as a group each week, and the process of sharing your growth and challenges and listening to others share the same is a really great way to help keep you committed. Some people prefer to double up with group piano classes and private piano lessons because of the different levels of accountability present in each one.
With that group accountability comes group learning. There is something very different about following the flow of a discussion and chasing unique questions in a class environment than the individual conversations happening in private piano lessons. Both are immensely valuable, but I have been fascinated to see learning deepen and evolve in online piano classes as people ask questions, and others in the class share their own experience to help each other grow. This model creates a truly collaborative class environment, which I love.
Another perk to the online piano class option is the price point. For gaining a depth of piano knowledge, musical skill, piano resources, and community collaboration, you often pay less than you would for comparable private piano lessons. I've created a sliding scale price point in my own online piano classes to help make these group piano lessons even more affordable.
Learning Piano Online
Something you need to know about online piano lessons vs in person lessons in the online group piano lesson context is that in person piano classes often have a virtual element to them anyway. In person piano classes can some times be more isolating that online piano classes because each person is working from their own keyboard, their own station, with headphones and a microphone. This often creates an independent learning environment that keeps you removed from the people around you. One of the huge perks to zoom piano lessons and classes is that we can communicate with each other in a variety of ways. From having a group conversation at the beginning of the zoom piano lesson, to using the chat function to comment throughout, ask questions, or message someone in class directly. Another huge perk of having group zoom piano lessons is that we have breakout rooms as a way to connect with each other. Some of the most effective group remote piano lessons that I've facilitated have had a component where people collaborate in a breakout room during the zoom piano lesson, either sharing their work and asking questions together, or working through new piano knowledge, like music theory, or annotating their music together.
So there are perks to remote piano lessons, but what do I need to learn piano online? Do I need fancy equipment to learn piano online? Whenever it's time to learn something new, I see people stall while they do things so that they feel "ready" to learn. While preparing for remote piano lessons will help you stay focussed and committed to your piano practice, also know that you don't need to spend weeks and months planning to start taking piano lessons. The secret to starting a new practice is just that: start. Go ahead and make the commitment, and start prioritizing your new learning. All you need to take zoom piano lessons is a device to connect on, and a keyboard of your own. One of the great things about taking group zoom piano lessons is that there is less pressure to be "ready" on your end. If you have a conflict come up, you can watch the replay. If you didn't get to practice that week, you can still join the class the next week and review your skills and move ahead in your learning. Taking online group piano lessons is a great way to commit to playing piano regularly and learning new things with less pressure and financial investment than private piano lessons.
How do group piano lessons work?
I can't speak to what all group piano lessons are like, but I can talk about my online piano classes. Each online piano class for adults is designed with an overarching theme that transcends the tedium of method books and helps us to connect to music in a way that we recognize. After all, you probably want to learn piano as an adult because you love a certain style of music, or dream of playing your favorite song on piano. It takes time to get to that place, but through regular piano lessons and classes, eventually you will have the skills to explore piano music on your own terms. To keep piano classes interesting and motivating, my online group piano lessons use a variety of styles of music, all linked together by a common theme. The Keyboard Collective is an online piano class that uses the circle of fifths as a connecting thread. This foundation for the online piano class provides a clear structure to deepen our musical understanding and develop our piano skill, while leaving room for music of all styles. This online piano class for adults provides each person with a wealth of knowledge and regular piano practice, but also a wide repertoire of piano music, that extends outside of method book songs and classical music.
One of the things that makes my online piano class for adults stand out from others is that it is designed for collaborative learning. This class is not a place for you to sit on mute silently and listen to me talk at you. You will be invited to share your personal experiences, challenges and successes, and given very gentle and safe ways to share your playing if you are comfortable doing so. Learning carries much more meaning and impact when it is done in community, as it is in this online piano class for adults.
How long should I practice piano? How do I start practicing piano?
One great perk of learning piano as an adult through an online piano class is that you will have access to the recording of the zoom piano lesson afterwards. This is such a valuable tool for practicing piano. If you're not sure where to start when practicing piano, you can follow along with the recording as guided piano practice and review. This is standard practice in music conservatories, and even if you're learning piano as a hobby you can still benefit from referring back to what you learned. This is also awesome if you take some time away from piano and need to come back to it, and aren't sure where to begin. By using a recording or the structure from the piano class to plan your piano practice, you will have an easy starting place for practicing piano 10-20 minutes each time to sit down to try it. A loose goal for how long you should practice piano is 20 minutes a day, 3-5 times a week. I say loose goal, because the most important thing is that you are coming back to piano again and again, and sometimes these metrics are limiting for people. Always aim to find joy and to celebrate your progress when you practice, and don't punish yourself when you don't meet these goals. Just come back to the piano, or back to your piano class, with a fresh pallet, ready to dive back in and enjoy the process.
A unique perk of remote piano lessons is how easy it is to make and access recordings of piano classes and lessons. Another advantage towards planning your piano practice is that often times in a piano class, a section will be broken down in slow and detailed focus in a way that it may not be in private piano lessons. The process for breaking a musical component down in great detail is often one of the best ways to practice and learn that musical passage. By playing along with these sections as they are being explained, you will be experiencing a process that will be very useful to use in your own piano practice. This creates efficient practice strategies, so that 10 minutes at the piano can pack the same punch that 30 minutes would otherwise.
