No. If you put your keyboard in your closet, close the door, and play with a flashlight and headphones for the rest of your life, music and music lessons are still worth it. For those that wish, there are opportunities to play for occassional group studio classes, state solo festivals or contests, as well as playing for their own school talent shows and family gatherings.

I use 6 years old as a bare minimum for child-on-the-bench lessons because this is the youngest I have ever had students show the attention span and genuine personal interest for one-on-one instrument lessons.

If you are interested in starting a child younger than 6, you as a parent can take piano lessons and teach your child at home in increments that work for them.

Many children don't click with individual study until 7, 8, 9, 10, or 11. They must want to play the piano (even if attention wanders sometimes) and not have to be cajoled or bribed every few minutes. I find that younger children often benefit enormously from the energy of group music classes, dance, and choir, rather than individual lessons.

In-person lessons have many advantages, and on the whole I find them to be noticeably more effective and fun than online lessons, especially for kids. (I don't even try to teach kids younger than 9 online.) When in person, all the interactive communication benefits like body language come through more clearly, which builds stronger and sooner relationship. We can play music together, talk simultaneously (which is natural), use a whole room with movement, and hear and feel musical sound waves through genuine, acoustical air. If at all possible, I recommend in-person lessons.

That said, there are many reasons why online lessons may be best on a regular or intermittent basis. I use Zoom and Facetime regularly in teaching and have had dozens of online students.

You have a reserved time slot on the same day of the week at the same time, and, with 24 hours minimum notice, we flex as need be for sport seasons, travel, or work schedules.

If you are unable to attend a lesson for any reason, you have the option of either an online lesson at your usual time, or an asynchronous lesson where you send me a video of everything you're working on and I respond in writing, video, or both. 24 hours notice is required to make use of these.

Students purchase monthly blocks of lessons. Tuition is due the day before the first lesson of the month.

With 24 hours minimum notice, a lesson may be rescheduled within a week of its original date (either live or asynchronous depending on our mutual availability). With less than 24 hours notice the lesson credit is lost. Lesson credits do not carry over into the following month.

It is always a good idea to book a single introductory lesson at the start to see how we work together.

The short answer is: yes, except for beginners. Consistency and momentum are very important to acquiring the fine motor skills needed with keyboard study, especially at the beginner level (at least the first two books). Like learning to read or ride a bike, in the beginning you have to do it often to become fluent. After you're fluent, it's different.

Apart from tuition, students should expect:

• to buy their own method books and repertoire books. This is part of the cycle of how composers and pedagogue experts are paid for their work in society. Most books are less than $10 and last for months.

• possible minimal costs associated with online practice apps if we decide those are a good fit for you

• registration fees if you choose to participate in contests, festivals, or exams at the state level

For beginners, 10-15 minutes a day depending on age, 5 days a week. (Consider your lesson to be on the 6th day, and take one day off besides.) Students working on more advanced repertoire may need to plan 20-45 minutes a day, 5 days a week. If you can't tear yourself away from the piano and it's the only thing keeping you sane, choose your own length! Almost all students under age 18 need help scheduling their practice time, but most students ages 9 and up don't need a parent to practice with them.

Piano students need a piano or keyboard at home in good working order in a room that can be free of distractions while they practice. Acoustic pianos need to be tuned once a year.

If you have a keyboard, it should:

• have 88 full-sized keys

• be touch sensitive, meaning that if you play with more weight the note sounds louder

• have weighted keys so that students learn to use arm weight and can move from instrument to instrument successfully, since keyboard players typically have to play an instrument provided by someone else

• have a sustain pedal hooked up

Organ students need regular access to a pipe or digital organ with full pedalboard.

Anything you want. If you are a total beginner, lesson material is the same no matter what style is driving you because we'll be focusing on how your body works, the parts of the piano, and the basics of music like rhythm and pitch. As you master the basics, we can go anywhere you want.

Yes. Come as you are in any state of identity or exploration. Developing any kind of artistic expression happens best in an environment where you feel safe in being yourself.