Andrea Yau

TRIAL LESSON

All prospective students will take a $25 half hour trial lesson / meet and greet session with me prior to acceptance into my studio.

SCHEDULING

I teach Mondays-Fridays from 11:00am-9:00pm, holidays excepted. No weekend lessons.

Lessons may be scheduled Weekly, Biweekly (every other week), or on a Consultation basis (every 3 weeks plus).

IN PERSON LESSONS FROM TORONTO’S FINANCIAL DISTRICT

In Person Lessons are taught at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 73 Simcoe Street. Located in the heart of the Financial District, along TTC Line 1, across from Roy Thomson Hall.  Students will learn on a 1982 refurbished Kawai UST-7 Studio Upright, tuned several times per year by a Registered Piano Technician.

Synchronous Online Lessons are taught via Skype or Facetime.

Hybrid Lessons are taught in an alternating schedule of In Person Lessons and Synchronous Online Lessons.

STUDENTS

I accept students age 5 and up: Including elementary, middle school, high school, post-secondary school (non-music majoring) students to working professionals, parents, and retirees.

I specialize in terrified beginners, rusty pianists, piano learning app dropouts, and anxious over-thinkers. 

I adapt to all types of learning styles and celebrate neurodiversity in my studio.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

1. Piano repertoire – the core material is music in the Western Classical Music tradition, supplemented by Contemporary Music.

2. Healthy piano technique – how to play the instrument effectively & expressively.

3. Comprehensive musicianship skills – how to listen to music, to play by ear, to read music notation, to compose, arrange and perform.

Learning programs are tailored to each student’s unique learning needs.

I loosely follow the Royal Conservatory of Music and Conservatory Canada piano certificate systems and will blend in other materials – the amount and content of which will depend on each student’s particular goals.

LESSON STRUCTURE

All lessons are taught privately on a 1:1 basis.

A typical lesson is structured as follows in a flexible and low pressure environment:

1. Warmup – mental and whole body physical exercises

2. Review – homework and previous concepts

3. New Piece(s) – new concepts, steps for practice.

4. Other – Ear training, Music theory, Improvising, Composing

Lessons for particularly wiggly children will be a mixture of off-bench and on-bench activities. I also enjoy throwing in the occasional “off-script” lesson.