Piano Lessons in Miami, FL

About the Institute

An Overview

The Philadelphia Piano Institute, founded by two piano pedagogy graduates who went on to earn masters degrees at TCU, has three locations: one in Pennsylvania, one in Nashville, and one here in Miami. We enjoy our diverse student base of kids, teens, adults, beginners, and advanced pianists, and we love helping individuals find a meaningful experience in music. For a fundamentally sound piano education suited specifically to your goals, please get in touch.

Our Piano Teaching Faculty

Teachers at the Institute are degreed pianists with years of teaching experience, and each plays the piano at a professional level. We believe in leading by example, so our teachers will demonstrate musical concepts to you rather than purely lecturing.

Each teacher has worked with kids, adults, beginners, and advanced musicians, and we require instructors to pass a background check prior to working with students.

Our Piano Teaching Philosophy

We Provide a Foundation For Independent Musicianship

We want to help you or your child become a self-sufficient musician. The goal is not for you to be dependent on a teacher for learning music in the future - a good teacher helps students learn how to practice and learn pieces on his or her own. After a period of time in lessons, you will be able to hear a tune or buy sheet music and be able to learn those notes independently.

That doesn’t mean we don’t want a long term relationship. In fact, most of our students stay with us for years. However, we want our students to be able to work on musical side projects and additional repertoire that we don’t cover in lessons.

Piano Lessons Tailored to the Individual

We don’t force our keyboard students into any particular method, piece of music, or technical school of thought. We understand pedagogy, piano literature, and method materials deeply, and because of that, we can assess each student’s needs and assign a unique mix of practice practice material.

Fundamentally Classical, But Genre-Agnostic

You don’t have to play Bach or Prokofiev in your lessons (unless you want to!) - we can help you learn Bob Dylan, Rick Wakeman, the Beatles, and more. We teach reading, rhythm, music theory, and all of the other fundamentals of piano playing, so whether you want to join a jazz combo, perform as a rock keyboardist, or enter piano concerto competitions, we are happy to help.

That said, our classical training has taught us that reading, a fundamental skill of classical pianists, is absolutely necessary. We will make sure you read notes and can sight read, even if your goals are more aligned with chord-based contemporary genres.

No Dogma - Your Goals Are Our Goals

If you enjoy music to a greater extent, and if you have gained more self-confidence as a musician after working with us, we have accomplished our mission. We don’t force our students to play particular pieces or follow certain methods, and everything we do is tailored to your goals in music.

Lessons At Our Miami Piano School or In Your Home

Our Studio Location

Our piano studio is on Coral Way, just south of Shenandoah Middle Magnet School. We have students from Coral Gables, Shenandoah, Two Roads, Riverside, Coral Gate, and more, and there is plenty of parking. For your safety, the Institute is appointment-only; if you would like to get started with lessons, please get in touch.

In-Home Piano Lessons in Miami

We also offer in-home piano lessons in Miami. The lesson fees are the same as in-person lessons, and we will assess the travel fee when we learn your address. Generally speaking, we are happy to visit Coconut Grove, South Miami, Downtown, and other neighboring parts of Miami.

Piano Lessons in Miami, FL For All Ages

Piano Lessons For Kids in Miami

We enjoy working with young students, and we prioritize creativity, discovery, and joy in music. We’ve found that students who enjoy both the music they are playing and their relationship with their instructor will be more likely to practice!

Your child will learn note reading, counting, proper playing technique, and ear training, but we will also take his or her interests into account. We often arrange level-appropriate versions of our students’ favorite tunes, and while we do use method books from time to time (like Faber), we do not rely on methods for the bulk of our curriculum.

Piano Lessons For Adults in Miami, FL

Each adult comes to us with a different set of goals, and we love creating lesson plans accordingly. Whether you want to learn how to play pop songs by ear, sight read Mozart, or compose we will help you improve and achieve great things at the piano. Young professionals, busy parents, and senior citizens all enjoy lessons at the Philadelphia Piano Institute.

What Curriculum Do We Use in Our Miami Piano Lessons?

As mentioned above, we don’t assign the same curriculum to everyone. Some kids enjoy working through the Faber Piano Adventures books, while others prefer graded arrangements of classical music or parts of the RockSchool method. We rarely use method materials with adults, as there are plenty of helpful exercises and “real” pieces of music to put to use. Some specific examples of things you will learn:

• How to read notes on the bass and treble clefs

• How to identify notes on the piano keyboard

• Sharps and flats (accidentals)

• Counting and time signatures (ex. 4/4 time, 6/8 time)

• How to play music by ear

• Chords and music theory

• Proper hand position, posture, and other technique

• Interval identification

• How to sight read music

• How to analyze, break down, and practice difficult works

In all cases, we work with the student or parents to understand your goals. If you don’t have direction at the piano, we will help you! Then, we will commit to a learning progression that won’t move too slow or too quickly for you.