Home Piano Lessons in the Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Finsbury Park vicinity
Hello there, I'm Alvin.
I am a piano teacher offering lessons at your home. You can also have remote lessons via Zoom, Skype or Google Meet.
I travel to Crouch End, Hornsey, Muswell Hill, Islington, Finsbury Park, Highgate and Wood Green. The range of postcodes I cover includes N4, N5, N6, N8, N10, N17, N19 and N22.
You'll learn to play adaptations of well-known music, across genres such as classical, pop, rock, anime, metal and jazz. The music you'll play in lessons is familiar, current, and at a suitable level of difficulty.
You'll also learn how to improvise your own version of existing songs.
If you like, you can prepare for
Why Learn the Piano With Me?
You'll learn positively, with music tailored to your abilities.
We'll work from music that you can play and move on to more difficult repertoire as your skills and concentration improve. The focus is positive, on what you can do and what you can aim for.
You'll develop your current piano skills so you can continually play harder, impressive-sounding music. I'll also show you how you can improvise your own versions of your favourite songs.
You'll get to play music you like.
Piano playing requires co-ordination of six or seven independent tasks, and it is always reassuring and satisfying to know you are playing the correct notes.
Playing songs you are familiar with also helps with improve the reading of musical notation, because you'll have already have an idea of what the music should sound like, and hence know what the written notes, rhythmic symbols and expression marks are trying to convey.
In my own time, I write out and arrange your favourite songs at a suitable level of difficulty for you to play, at no extra charge to you.
Do you know any other piano teacher who does that on a regular basis?
I charge reasonable rates and am flexible.
My rates vary depending on your location, but they are comparable to rates charged by local music services for children's piano lessons in schools. The current rate charged by Haringey Music Service is £33.00 per hour for the academic year 2020-21.
In some cases - such as when siblings have lessons, and if I'm already in your area - I charge the school lesson rate, or less !
I teach in areas such as Crouch End, Hornsey, Finsbury Park, Muswell Hill and Wood Green, and my travel costs are shared among students. Please contact me to ask - my rates are frequently lower than most teachers who do home visits.
I have no cancellation fees.
I am particularly understanding if you need to cancel at short notice (e.g. due to child illness). Or maybe you've suddenly remembered about another appointment - as long as I've not appeared at your doorstep, that's fine!
Other music schools or tutors may require you to give 24 hours' notice for cancelling a lesson. I don't - no one plans an illness in advance! - and I understand that life sometimes just gets a little bit complicated for our liking!
Need a recap?
Music you like
A positive learning process
Very reasonable rates
No cancellation fees, no contract, no notice period!
Today's blog snippet - see more in the Posts section!
There are two main exam boards in the UK that piano students sign up to do exams with. The first is the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, commonly abbreviated to ABRSM. The second is with Trinity College, which also conduct exams in other areas such as dance and language.
Which of these boards you sign up to do exams with influences what you learn in piano lessons.
It may be a slightly generalised statement but many people follow the ABRSM syllabus.
The ABRSM exam is marked out of 150. A score of 100 is needed to pass, while scores between 120-129 constitute a Pass with Merit and anything higher is a Pass with Distinction.
There are three pieces to play and each of these is marked out of 30, giving a total of 90 marks from exam pieces.
There are three sets of pieces; A, B and C, and each set comprises three pieces: 1, 2 and 3. The pieces you play have to each come from a different set.
For example, you can play A2, B1 and C1. Or A1, B1 and C1. But not A2, C2 and C3.
What are the differences between the pieces and why are they grouped that way?
The pieces in the A group are generally more focussed on technique. They usually come from the Baroque or early Classic era, and include technical elements such as scales.
The pieces of the second set are generally selected for their expressive range. A candidate has to demonstrate control and capability not just to play loudly or quietly, but navigate the gradations between the two.
The third set of pieces are drawn from jazz, modern or ethnic pieces. They are meant to be different from the previous pieces and are usually the catchiest of the lot - children really enjoy them!
The remaining 60 marks of the exam come from the technical exercises and sight reading (21 marks each) and the aural test (18 marks).
The idea behind assessing students based on a wide range of pieces, technical exercises, sight reading and aural tests means that they have to display a range of musical (not just performance) skills for the grade.
There are three exam sessions every year: mid Feb to mid March, mid June to mid July, and mid November to mid December. Registration can be done online at the ABRSM website, and the closing date for entries is usually around six to eight weeks before the exam sessions begin.