Table of Contents
Step 1: Setting your goal-based expectations
Before you start taking music lessons, it’s important to think about what you want to achieve.
Do you want to learn Mozart, or are you more interested in music from the last century? Do you just want to be able to play a few songs, or do you want to have a larger repertoire? Do you want to play with a band, accompany a singer, or do you just want to play for fun?
Determining what your personal growth factors are will help you select the right instructor or lesson plan. Keep them in mind when reading below.
Step 2: Setting your time-based expectations
Learning to play advanced classical pieces with ease involves reading two lines of music and perfecting your fine motor function—at least a decade of intense training.
On the other hand, if your goal is to play modern songs as a fun hobby or low-stakes entertainment—you’ll spend just a fraction of the time practicing before you’re able to play with ease and even improvise. Plus, you’ll get to use sheet music with only one line instead of two.
If you want to play modern tunes on the piano rather than classical music, you'll spend a fraction of time practicing before you're able to play with ease.
Step 3: Explore and compare
In-person individual piano lessons
Lesson structure and cost:
In-person instructors usually charge “per lesson,” which runs about $30 – $70 an hour.
Private lessons are typically given on a weekly basis, but the frequency can vary depending on your goals and the teacher’s typical schedule.
Cons:
Online piano lessons
Lesson structure and cost:
While many online lesson environments offer subscription models for payments as low as $20 a month, there are several that offer a lifetime membership to take you from beginner to advanced for less than $1000.
Online lessons offer flexibility to “meet you where you are” in terms of experience level and preferred learning style. Most platforms include libraries full of content—you can choose how often you use them.
The bottom line
Three years of weekly individual lessons will typically cost you anywhere from $5040 – $11,760 plus out of pocket expenses for materials and transportation to lessons. Three years of online lessons will rarely exceed $1000, making it the most affordable option to learn to play non-classical piano.
Plus, with the explosion of online learning, you have a wide variety of lesson platforms to choose from. Just remember, let your goals guide you, and don’t be afraid to shop around before taking the plunge!
If you’re ready to start this phase of your journey, I would absolutely love for you to join me in a free Piano in a Flash class. In this free piano lesson for adults, I’ll show you how my online method works while teaching you to play “Joy to the World” without any complicated sheet music! Simply click the button below to get started.