At Upbeat Piano Studio, we offer 30-minute, 45-minute, and 60-minute lessons.

We recommend that young children ages 6 and under begin with 30 minute lessons. However, we recommend 45 to 60-minute lessons for teenagers and older beginners.

Because adults have a longer attention span, we recommend that adult lessons be 45 minutes or 60 minutes.

We have teachers available to teach at The Leaside Presbyterian Church and The Church of the Transfiguration. Some teachers are also teaching from their home studios. This also provides an opportunity for students who regularly practice on keyboards to play a piano once a week. We also offer virtual lessons through online platforms. Students will experience our full program whether online or in-person lessons are taken.

It will depend on your child. At Upbeat, we have students as young as 4 years old. As long as your child has an attention span and focus for a 30 minute lesson, they can get started right away! Our teachers are skilled at teaching students of all ages and levels.

Definitely not! Piano is an instrument you can start learning even late in your life. Check out our blog post here about picking up the piano as an adult: Adults Picking up the Piano: Better Late than Never | Upbeat Piano Studio

Yes! At Upbeat Piano Studio, we offer you or your child a 30-minute trial lesson free of charge to give you an opportunity meet us and make sure you find the right teacher before you decide to register for lessons.

In a nutshell, yes. Even if you have had no musical training, we expect you to keep your child accountable for their assigned homework and practice for the week. This can be as simple as reserving practice times in their schedules. This way, we can guarantee that your child will progress with every lesson.

We recommend at least 4 times a week. These can be 10-20 minute practice sessions, depending on the level. Older beginners and teenagers should be practicing 45 minutes-60 minutes every practice session. Some students prefer to practice in the morning (right before school), afternoon (right after school), while dinner is being prepared, or right after dinner. We realize that all our students have busy lives and arranging their schedule for a consistent practice time ensures quick and efficient learning. Check with your Upbeat teacher to make sure your practicing time is adequate for you or your child’s level.

Yes, we offer in-home lessons when allowed by health officials. Our teachers will show up at your door for the scheduled lesson time. We will follow health protocols per government covid-19 guidelines where required.

In non-pandemic times, yes, we have teachers available to teach at Leaside Presbyterian Church. Some teachers are also teaching from their home studios. This also provides an opportunity for students who regularly practice on keyboards to play a piano once a week. However, due to the current pandemic, teaching at the church has been temporarily put on pause. We will keep you updated when the church opens back up for teaching. We also offer virtual lessons through Zoom. Students will experience our full program whether online or in-person lessons are taken.

We charge $36 for 30-minute lessons, $54 for 45-minute lessons, and $72 for 60-minute lessons, up to and including RCM Level 8. Fees for Levels 9, 10 and ARCT are based upon the teachers' expertise. These fees are the same whether in-person or online. Students pay for books separately.

We understand that pianos are expensive. At the bare minimum, we require that you have a piano (whether it be acoustic or digital) that has 88 keys, weighted keys, a pedal, and touch sensitivity. However, as the level of playing increases, we would recommend that you practice on an acoustic upright or grand piano. You can find more information on our blog post here: Tips Before Buying a Piano | Upbeat Piano Studio

All the teachers at Upbeat Piano Studio have excellent academic and professional backgrounds and experience teaching. They carry musical training from different countries, universities, and esteemed professors. All of Upbeat Piano Studio’s teachers are flexible in their teaching style and they bring a load of personality and fun to their lessons. We also make sure that every teacher has been police checked.

Yes, in fact, we have many students following and taking exams with the RCM curriculum. Our teachers provide instruction up to and including RCM level 10 piano. The Royal Conservatory of Music curriculum is taught as students advance beyond the beginner levels. There is a great deal of appealing repertoire at increasing levels of difficulty, including popular music. Taking exams with RCM is not mandatory; the decision to take exams is made with the parents, student, and teacher at the appropriate time for each student.

Our teachers are flexible. Depending on your interests and goals, our teachers are happy to teach a variety of genres—including classical, jazz, pop, rock, etc. The instructional books that we use are highly recommended and contain familiar and creative pieces, finger exercises, sight reading, ear training and written work, presented in a fun and appropriate manner. We often encourage students to learn to play popular music of their choice. Improvisation is taught even to young beginners to develop their musical creativity.

In Ontario, one Grade 11 university/college course credit may be awarded for the successful completion of the RCM level 7 practical examination and level 7 theory examination. One grade 12 university/college course credit may be awarded for the successful completion of the RCM level 8 practical examination and level 8 examination.

Yes, we teach RCM theory up to level 10 in classes online and in-person (when pandemic restrictions allow).

Yes, we offer lessons year-round, including the summer. To get the most out of your lessons, we recommend that lessons be taken year-round. However, some of our students choose to take their summer off and resume their lessons in the fall.

At Upbeat Piano Studio, we traditionally have three studio recitals every year—the Halloween recital, the Christmas recital, and the year-end recital in June. Even with the pandemic, we are continuing our tradition online! We have been holding virtual recitals with recorded performances from all our students.