Piano Lessons

Hi, I’m Annalie and I would love to teach you to play the piano! I’ve been playing for over 30 years (yes, I started very, very young,) and have been playing professionally for over 20 years (again, I started young….) 

If you are here, you are probably already interested in learning the piano, but if you are still unsure – here are a few benefits:

• co-ordination – learn to think independently with both your hands and feet at the same time as using your eyes, your memory and possibly even your voice – if that isn’t good for the brain I don’t know what is!
• expression – learning piano is a wonderful way to express yourself emotionally. Whether you play music composed by others or write your own, there is so much potential for creative expression in playing
• creativity – the piano is an extremely versatile instrument, and many different styles of music can be created and recreated upon it. It’s been around since 1700 and while lots of other instruments from that time did not survive, the piano did! It’s a great basis for learning other instruments, exploring your musicality, learning to compose and learning to sing. 
• fun – playing the piano is some of the most fun you can have on your own! There is always something new to learn and the satisfaction of making progress and expressing your creativity cannot be underestimated!
• mindfulness – Playing the piano could be considered a musical form of meditation. It requires a balance of mindfulness, awareness, relaxation and poise. You learn to focus your mind on playing and following music, at the same time as developing good posture and a relaxed body. 
• impressing people – ok, we aren’t meant to care about this right? But in all honesty, it does help in a lot of situations to be able to pull an unexpected card out of your back pocket in a casual way, and everyone loves a singalong round the piano. 

Why learn with me? 

My approach to teaching is holistic and balances form with play. I learned in a Western classical way as a young child, but soon realised that there was a lack of musical scores available for the things I really wanted to play – such as film soundtracks and pop songs – so I started to train my ear.  Little did I know that this would form a big part of my livelihood as at the age of 15 I got my first job playing piano in the local theatre foyer. Playing piano and singing in hotels and bars continued to fund me through college and beyond. 

I believe it can be helpful to learn the way others have learned, if only so you can throw the rulebook away. Traditional Western classical methods of note-learning have survived because they work. They aren’t the only way, but the most versatile musicians can play both by ear and from written music. I also think that in order to stick at something it has to be enjoyable. Playing an instrument takes discipline and dedication. You have to do the boring stuff in order to enjoy the fun stuff (again this is similar to meditation.) So it’s good to balance learning exam pieces with something you really want to be able to play. There are no limits to this!