Piano Lessons for Beginners of All Ages

Beginner Piano Lessons

Learn Piano with Merriam School of Music

There’s never been a better time to learn how to play piano. With more families spending time at home, and more convenient ways to take piano lessons than ever before, this is your best chance to start yourself or a family member on a life-changing journey.

Merriam School of Music has the professional instructors and the proven lesson programs to have you playing piano faster than you thought possible.

Piano Lessons

Preschoolers • Kids • Teens • Adults • Seniors

Piano Lessons For All Ages

Piano Lessons for Complete Beginners

We welcome total beginners at any age into our school, whether it’s in-person lessons or online instruction. Each tutorial is specialized for the age of student we teach, as is each goal you work towards, and the songs you learn to play.

In just your first lesson, you’ll learn the perfect hand position, how to play major and minor chords on your own, the names of all the white keys and black keys, how to find middle c, what a treble clef is, and maybe even a little “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”.

For younger learners, we know from decades of research and experience that social relevance and peer-to-peer competition are powerful drivers of motivation and excitement, and we build them right into each and every lesson.

Beginner Piano Lessons

Good Fit Guarantee

Love Your First Piano Lesson, or It’s Free

Your first lesson with a new tutor is protected by Merriam’s Good Fit Guarantee. If you’re not satisfied with your lesson, you don’t pay. No questions asked.

Expert Instructors

Get matched with the perfect teacher, who understands your style of learning, the type of music that excites you, and who can encourage and coach you towards your goals. Every one of our 100+ teachers undergo 3 interviews, 80+ hours of training, and extensive background checks.

Convenient Scheduling

With a variety of lesson formats including in-studio, in-home, or online video lessons, Merriam Music ensures that you will be able to study music at your convenience. We offer lessons 7 days per week and have an extensive faculty of over 150 instructors to select from.

RCM Exams

For students in middle and secondary school, Merriam offers RCM preparation classes for exams, as well as the ability to directly earn full university-eligible secondary school credits through Merriam High School.

HD Performance Videos

Students that participate in performance opportunities will receive a personalized High-Definition Video Log of each and every one of their performances each year. Even if your close friends and family have to miss that day of one of your concerts, you will still be able to share the magic of the moment with them.

Ensembles & Bands

Merriam Music has one of the largest selections of ensemble and band courses of any music institution. Some courses are free while others are paid. These important opportunities allow piano students to apply their piano technique to real-world performance situations with other musicians.

15+ Recitals

All of our students have the ability to perform piano pieces in over 15 concerts each year. While beginner students may be a bit nervous to participate, the supportive concert environments give them a unique opportunity to showcase their newly developed skills on the piano keyboard.

No Long-term Contract

We know that the joy you experience through your lessons at Merriam will mean that you will be with us for many years. However, in the case that you need to pause or stop your music lessons with us, all we require is 30 days written notice. No hassle. No penalties. No catch.

5-Star Google Rating

Merriam Music provides lessons to over 3000 students each week and our numbers continue to grow. With a 97% customer satisfaction rating and the most reviews of any other music school in the area, we are proud to be the highest rated music school in the GTA.

Piano For Beginners

Lesson for Toddlers, Teens, Adults

In-Studio, In-Home & Online Piano Lessons

Life is busy enough as it is, so piano lessons should never feel like a chore. That is why Merriam Music offers a variety of convenient lesson options 7 days a week to ensure that you can schedule lessons in the way that suits you best. Whether you are taking in-studio, in-home, or online lessons, you will have the opportunity to study with one of our experienced and highly-educated music teachers.

Enroll in one of our many piano course options today to learn how to play piano at a level you never could have imagined. In joining the Merriam Music community, you are joining the largest and fastest-growing private music institution in Canada.

Piano Teachers With Degrees

Perfect Piano Teachers For Beginners

With a choice of over 100 piano teachers to choose from with a variety of specializations, Merriam Music guarantees that you will be matched with the perfect teacher that aligns with your goals and learning style.

While online piano tutorials may teach you how to locate middle C, name all the white keys or play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, a piano teacher will assist you at a level of detail that is incomparable. From the tiniest nuances of your hand position, learning to read sheet music, and learning every major and minor chord and their possible versions on the keyboard, they will help you become a complete musician.

Having the right teacher is instrumental in a student’s success. A teacher should be well matched to the learning and musical styles that interest you. This is why Merriam’s hiring process is extensive and rigorous.

Beginner Piano Teacher

Step-By-Step Piano Lessons

Exceptional Customer Service

Merriam Music heavily prioritizes your customer service experience. That is why we have a full-time team of dedicated customer care personnel that are available 7 days a week both on-site and remotely. They are closely connected to everyone within the Merriam Music community and work with the teachers, administrators, and students to ensure that everyone’s experience within the Merriam community is truly amazing.

Given this attention and focus on customer service, Merriam Music is able to offer piano lessons at the highest quality for all ages and levels.

Earn School Credits with Music Lessons

Earn Highschool Credits

The Merriam School of Music is a certified private high school that gives its music students the unique opportunity to acquire Ontario High School credits through their studies. There are very few high schools in North America that have been given this accreditation.

This is only one of the many reasons why the experience provided at Merriam Music is truly singular. Join our internationally recognized and endorsed programs today to earn high school credits through your musical studies.

Piano Lessons for Beginners

Piano Classes & Programs

Private • Group • Enriched • Online

Private Piano Lessons

One-On-One Beginner Piano Lessons

For 99% of beginner piano students, connecting with that perfect teacher can make all the difference in the world. Which is why Merriam spends more time searching out that perfect teacher than any school we know of.

Your weekly experience will consist of feedback on the techniques and piano pieces you’re working on, introduction of new assignments and songs that will propel you forward, and assigning the right goals and helping you achieve them.

Private Beginner Piano Lessons

Group Piano Program

Group Piano Lessons

Merriam School of Music students are more inspired to learn, more motivated to excel and more confident as a result. We believe the best way to nurture music education and personal growth is in a social setting as a part of a group classroom. Personal development and socialization are a big part of what we do. 

Publicly endorsed by multiple university deans, this program has been called one of the most innovative music education programs on the continent.

Group Piano Lessons

Online lessons are here to stay, and our experience offering them has been amazing. We began building our online offering pre-pandemic, in November 2019, with the goal of bringing our classrooms to the world. We worked with dozens of our top teachers, and thousands of students, analyzing every aspect of the lesson to understand how we could make an online lesson even more fun and more effective than an in-person one. 

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with most teachers and families reporting that they appreciated many aspects of our new online lesson offering more than in-person lessons. 

Online Piano Lessons

Learn Piano Online

Best Piano Lessons in Toronto

Piano is Fun. Piano Lessons Shouldn't Be Any Different

Learn piano with Merriam School of Music and unlock a world of creativity and self-expression. Stay in tune with Merriam School of Music piano lessons & unleash your inner pianist.

You may have been having some fun with piano learning apps (Android & iOs) like Skoove or Flowkey but nothing comes remotely close to learning piano from an experienced professional piano instructor perfectly suited to your learning style and musical aspirations.

With our proprietary teaching system that expertly combines short and long-term goals and a groundbreaking curriculum, you’ll develop a solid foundation to further your piano skills and achieve your musical dreams faster than you thought possible, and become a true musical superhero.

If you are looking to learn to play the piano, increase your cognitive abilities, or become the next great piano composer, Merriam Music has the selection of programs and instructors to get you there.

The sound of a piano brings magic to any room or household. Whether being used as an accompaniment instrument, solo instrument, or element of an ensemble, the piano is one of the most versatile instruments there is. It has been scientifically proven that learning to play the piano improves performance in all academic subjects as well as instills students with a greater sense of confidence.

Through your piano studies at Merriam Music, you will learn music in a holistic way. In addition to being able to play your favourite songs, you will learn to improvise, compose, and express music which will help you develop true mastery of the language of music. If you have been considering taking up the piano, join one of the largest and fastest-growing music communities today by enrolling at the Merriam School of Music.

A Piano School Beyond the Notes

The musical component of music education is certainly important. However, there is much more to proper music education than just learning how to play a C major scale or the different clefs. The real magic exists in the life skills that one unlocks as well as the ability to utilize and speak the language of music.

There has been plentiful research to support the notion that piano playing is one of the best possible workouts for your brain. By combing heightened cerebral activity with difficult physical coordination, playing the piano helps develop your mind and body in a truly unique way.

A student stands to gain even more superpowers when they learn to speak the language of music through improvisation, composition, and ensemble playing. And, of course, you will become an amazing piano player.

When you sign up for lessons with Merriam Music, you will experience every aspect of music right from the onset. This will give you a greater sense of purpose, relevance, and motivation and, in the process, make you a truly complete musician.

The Science of Musical Excellence

Musical excellence is not a fluke. Musical excellence is a delicate science that is established through a culmination of all of the right ingredients being introduced at the right time. Every brick you lay for your musical foundation is integral to your long-term success.

Ultimately, this is why we have invested decades of research and effort into perfecting and refining our proprietary pedagogical process. Whether the student is a young child, teen, or adult, we believe that access to top-rated teachers, state-of-the-art facilities, and an expansive list of programs should be accessible at all times.

Regardless of whether you are looking to have fun, master Beethoven, or become the next YouTube sensation to hit 1M views overnight, we will make your goals tangible through our unique educational process.

Your imagination, creativity, and confidence will be ignited in a way that you could never have imagined. This will set you on a lifelong course to success.

Music is a communal experience. That is why learning to play an instrument at an established school with a proven track record of success is guaranteed to help achieve your goals faster than self-study. Begin to fast-track your progress today with Merriam Music.

The Merriam Curriculum 

A Complete Music Education

The Merriam School of Music’s approach is simply different. You don’t just learn to play music; you become a musician. Being a musician is more than just playing notes. You need to be creative, expressive, and confident. Your time spent within Merriam Music’s classrooms will help you become a complete musician.

private piano lessons

One-On-One Beginner Piano Lessons

For 99% of beginner piano students, connecting with that perfect teacher can make all the difference in the world. This is why Merriam spends more time searching out that perfect teacher than any school we know of.

Your weekly experience will consist of feedback on the techniques and piano pieces you’re working on, the introduction of new assignments and songs that will propel you forward, and assigning the right goals, and helping you achieve them.

Group Piano Program

group Piano Lessons

Sustaining the excitement to learn, and creating new reasons to stay motivated are the most difficult part of learning piano for new beginners. Keyfest for Kids is the most effective group piano program available today – kids stay nearly 4 times longer than in comparable programs and acquire a more comprehensive musical skill set at the same time.

We accomplish this through our own curriculum tailor-made for the program, and an exhaustive library of games, lesson plans, and group-based performance opportunities scattered throughout the year.

"Our mission and purpose is to help foster and inspire creative, connected, and well-rounded lives with the power of music."

- Alan Merriam, President of Merriam Music
Common Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Online piano tutorial videos, piano apps, and self-study method books can all be helpful resources to learn the piano. However, nothing can compare to the personalized experience of one-on-one lessons with an expert teacher. Professional piano teachers have dedicated their lives to helping aspiring pianists like yourself learn the piano faster and more successfully. They have seen it all and observed all of the possible pitfalls through every phase of the process. This invaluable experience will save you time.

While some aspiring piano players may be very self-motivated which will certainly help them learn to play on their own, a teacher provides more than just musical knowledge. They are there to support and inspire you at all times. Everyone eventually gets discouraged. The right teacher can help prevent that from happening through encouraging words and the right shift in lesson plan to help reignite a student’s passion.

While there are a variety of resources out there for aspiring piano players to learn on their own, nothing can truly replace the value that an experienced professional piano teachers adds. Step-by-step method books, websites, apps, and YouTube video tutorials can certainly provide knowledge and information, but a dedicated teacher and one-on-one lessons ensures that your course of study and lesson plans are custom-tailored specifically to your needs and challenges. Not only will this provide a more rewarding learning experience, a student’s rate of progress will be much faster which will also help sustain motivation levels.

There are numerous places to start on the piano. Learning the foundations of music such as the notes of the staff and rhythmic note values is often a good place to start on the theoretical side. From a technical standpoint, learning proper technique and hand positioning from the start will help prevent any bad habits from developing.

You will be surprised at how quickly these core foundations can be established. This will ultimately lead you to play some of your favourite songs and pieces rather quickly. While most students will start with simple melodies like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, the right educational approach will allow you to be playing complicated two-hand arrangements of your favourite songs quite quickly.

This is a difficult question to answer as it will ultimately be determined by a student’s age, level, and course of study. However, piano teachers are unanimous in the fact that consistency will always win out over quantity. A single 6-hour practice may add up to more overall time than a series of 25-minute practices daily throughout the week, but the daily practices will almost always lead to greater success.

The reason why this is true has to do with the way in which our brains are hardwired. Our brains are naturally programmed to prioritize the information we see regularly. With each passing day of no practice, our brain pushes the information we acquired in our most recent lesson farther and farther back.

With that said, very young students should aim to start around 15 to 20 minutes of practice per day and aim to progress up to 30-minute sessions. Older and more advanced students may be expected to be practicing upwards of 60 minutes depending on their level. It is not uncommon for university/college music students as well as professional players to spend anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of practice each day. In the end, it is all relative to where you are at in your journey as well as what your ambitions are.

A great list of 15 easy classical pieces for piano can be found HERE. While these are some of the most well-known pieces of classical repertoire of all time, they are actually quite accessible for piano players with a foundational level of technique and knowledge. For those looking for songs in the pop realm, a list of 15 easy pop songs can be found HERE.

 

Piano students begin on a variety of different instruments ranging from toy keyboards and digital pianos to acoustic uprights and acoustic grands. The decision that a family makes in choosing their first instrument is determined by many factors including budget and the length of time they are looking to use the piano.

More specifically, many families decide to start with a digital piano for their children prior to making the investment in an acoustic instrument. This will give the child a good instrument to begin learning on without breaking the bank. From this point, parents can monitor the first few months or years of a child’s music education to determine their level of seriousness before making the jump to an acoustic piano.

With that said, it is imperative that you get an appropriate digital piano. Some cheap digital pianos do not adequately emulate the touch and sound of an acoustic instrument which can actually have a long-term negative impact on a student’s technique. A fully-weighted 88-key piano is always preferred when going the digital route.

On the other side of the coin, many parents opt to purchase an acoustic upright or grand piano from the onset. While digital pianos have come a long way, they are still an emulation of the real thing. The magic and nuance that actual strings and a resonating soundboard bring to a room are simply unique. An acoustic instrument is usually a larger investment, but the joy and added inspiration it brings can be invaluable.

If you are looking to purchase your first piano, feel free to connect with us via our website or in-person at one of our three piano showrooms (Oakville, Vaughan & Toronto). One of our expert piano sales associates can help you determine what the right decision is for you and your family.

In terms of specific piano models to begin with, there are a few popular options to consider both in terms of digital and acoustic instruments. In the digital world, Kawai, Roland, Casio, and Yamaha are a few of the most popular manufacturers that people choose from when selecting good quality, entry-level instrument. More specifically, Kawai’s KDP75 and KDP120, Roland’s RP102, and Casio’s PX770 and PX870 pianos are all excellent digital offerings to consider when purchasing your first digital piano.

In regard to beginner acoustic instruments, the options are vast as well. The Japanese builders Kawai and Yamaha have long dominated this space as they provide very high-quality instruments at a great value. However, over the years, many European manufacturers have merged with or been acquired by Asian piano companies which have led to subsidiary lines that are manufactured in Indonesia and China. While Indonesian and Chinese manufacturing helps bring the retail cost down, making these attractive options for people seeking their first piano, the quality and value is still quite high with these models. At our piano showrooms, Kawai’s Indonesian-built K15 and ND21 models have become very popular choices because of their price point and excellent quality.

Whether you’re a student practicing at home or a seasoned professional performing on stage, there is a golden rule that all piano players should follow: if you make a mistake, keep going. Mistakes can be both annoying and discouraging, but, by training ourselves to play through them, we are preparing ourselves for how to deal with mistakes in future performance situations. Being able to play with rhythmic flow and fluidity is one of the markers of a good musician, so establishing those habits as early as possible will pay dividends in terms of the development of your overall musicianship.

The benefits of learning piano and music, in general, are plentiful. Playing music is a multifaceted process that requires coordination, dexterity, focus, emotional connectivity, and cognitive energy. Well-developed motor skills will be transferable to a variety of areas ranging from sports to visual arts.

Increased attention spans and the ability to focus for longer durations in conjunction with elevated cognition lead to measurably tremendous results in a student’s academic performance.

Playing music is also a very emotional experience, particularly at more advanced levels when expressivity is paramount to the repertoire. This heightened emotional connectivity leads to increased emotional intelligence and awareness.

One of the best parts of Merriam Music’s holistic approach to music education is that students of all ages and levels will be exposed to performance, composition, and improvisation. The creativity and confidence established through these musical activities are profound. This will translate into students becoming very comfortable with sharing and expressing ideas within a group as well as public speaking. All in all, piano students have nothing to lose and everything to gain by enrolling in music lessons.

The length and consistency of practices are not the only factors when it comes to effective practice. High-quality practices are achieved when the student is fully engaged to the task at hand. Furthermore, having tangible and well-defined short, mid, and long-term goals is imperative as well. An experienced teacher will be able to provide the leadership and guidance required to ensure that you are getting the most out of practicing and that every practice session is leading to noticeable progress. 

 

The best age for a student to begin piano lessons has been a long-debated topic. You will undoubtedly have come across a three-year-old prodigy on YouTube playing a Mozart concerto. However, this is not always indicative of the norm. It is never too early to begin nurturing a child’s interest in music, but it can sometimes be too early to enrol a child in piano lessons. The general consensus is that four to eight years old, dependent on the physical development of the child, is an appropriate age to begin lessons. For instance, a child’s finger span should be wide enough to be able to place all five fingers of each hand across five adjacent white keys on the piano. Making sure they are grown enough to physically manage the instrument is important to keeping motivation levels high and prevent students from wanting to quit lessons.

While four years old is often considered to be the youngest age for a child to begin their piano journey, beyond that, there is never a bad time to begin playing piano. Whether you are in high school starting to take a keen interest in music or recently retired and looking for a rewarding, relaxing, and enjoyable hobby, taking piano lessons can be one of the best decisions you ever make. Simply put, the rewards and benefits of piano lessons are countless. If you have a strong instinct to get your hands on the keys of a piano, contact us today and begin your musical journey with the Merriam School of Music.

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