'Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is never enough for music.'
– Sergei Rachmaninov
'Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.'
– Tom Lehrer
CONTENTS
Private & Partner Lessons
The New School’s piano and keyboard curriculum is intended to build not only a solid technical facility but also a broad musical knowledge. Tuition is available for students of all ages and abilities, those learning for pleasure and others preparing for grade examinations from preliminary to diploma level. Piano and keyboard tuition can also include preparation for Junior Cert. Music and Leaving Cert. Music practicals, and counts as the 'personal skill' challenge area for Gaisce - The President's Award. Lessons are also available at the school in jazz piano and piano accordion.
Weekly private (one-to-one) lessons are 30, 45 or 60 minutes in length. Taking place in the school's digital piano lab, group piano lessons are designed for students at the same level of proficiency who enrol together. They are available as 30-, 45- or 60-minute ‘partner’ lessons, as well as 60-minute lessons for 3 or 4 students. Single 1- or 2-hour Intensive Lessons are also available.
Go to Tuition Options for more information on private, partner and group lessons, and Enrolment & Fees for tuition fees and enrolment forms.
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Comments from Students
'My teacher is so enthusiastic, encouraging and knowledgeable.'
– S. Horan
'My lessons helped to ignite an interest I thought I had lost. Give it a go!'
– T. O'Mahony
'Our son, eight years of age, thoroughly enjoys his lessons and he wants to practice! Thank you!'
– H. Williams
'Taking piano lessons at Waltons has given me the skills and confidence to take my musical aspirations to an unexpected level.'
– J. Coleman
'I like the structured approach and empathetic teacher with the ability to identify and help areas of weakness.'
– J. Lovatt
'My son's teacher has a great approach and teaching skills for all levels. Would not change her in a million years. Concerts which are held in the school are fantastic preparation for stage or exams.'
– L. Rusmanis
'I was nervous about taking up the piano as an adult, but I enjoyed it even more than I did when I took lessons as a child. I have a very good teacher who has given me the confidence to continue. It takes time, effort and practice but is well worth it.'
– S. O'Connell
'My teacher very quickly discovers a student's best way of learning and uses that to the student's advantage. She is also very approachable.'
– T-F. Bewetis
Have you taken – or are you taking – piano or keyboard lessons/courses at the school? We would appreciate your feedback!
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Group Courses for Beginners
We offer two courses for absolute beginners:
- Introducing Piano/Keyboard for Adults introduces students to the fundamentals of keyboard technique – as well as basic music theory, sight reading and chordal accompaniment – while progressing through a varied and interesting repertoire ranging from classical to pop.
- Designed for children aged 6-8, Introducing Piano/Keyboard for Children is a lively and enjoyable first experience with keyboard instruments.
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Group Courses for Intermediate-Advanced Students
Taking place in the New School’s piano/keyboard lab, Jazz Piano Basics is a hands-on course designed to give classical piano students of at least intermediate level (Grade V or equivalent) a solid foundation in jazz piano.
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Ensembles & Sessions
Students of jazz piano may be interested in joining one of our Jazz Ensembles.
Friday Casual Concerts
The New School’s Friday Casual Concerts are a great opportunity for students of all instruments (and all musical styles) to play in public, in a relaxed and supportive setting, before friends, family and other students. These brief concerts, which take place once a month on Friday evenings at 7.30 pm in the school, allow individual students and ensembles to perform in public, show off their skills and learn how to cope with nerves. They are also highly recommended for students preparing for grade exams.
Theory, Musicianship & Music Technology
- Beginning piano and keyboard students should also consider taking Music Fundamentals, designed to supplement private tuition with the basics of music theory, and piano and keyboard students at all levels are encouraged to attend separate theory classes or extend their lessons by 15 minutes to include some theory tuition.
- Jazz Improvisation Basics, intended for students with at least one year’s playing experience, is an ideal introduction to improvised music making. Students completing the course can further develop and apply the skills they have learned in this course in the ten-week Jazz Blues Ensemble Workshop (students can enrol for both courses together at a reduced fee) followed by Jazz Ensembles I and II.
- Piano/keyboard students may also be interested in our Music Technology programme.
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Recommended Instruments & Payment Plans
In association with Waltons music shops, we have selected several recommended instruments for piano/ keyboard students at the New School. Because the cost of instruments shouldn’t deter students from starting lessons, we have also created payment plans for instruments priced €150 or more that allow students to purchase beginners' instruments or upgrade their existing instruments without a large financial outlay. Payment plans consist of an initial deposit and six monthly payments. Go to Recommended Instruments for more information.
Piano Practice
Piano practice rooms are available for hire at the school (currently enrolled students receive a discount). Tickets worth ten hours of practice time (and valid for one calendar year) may be purchased or rooms hired by the hour. Go to Practice Facilities for more information.
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The Kurzweil Piano Prize
At the end of each school year, a Kurzweil digital piano, valued at approximately €1000, will be awarded to the most promising piano student at Waltons New School of Music. Go to Scholarships & Prizes for more information.
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Faculty
Majella Boland (Introducing Piano/Keyboard for Children course)
Marta Burns
Vita Galla
Liza Hingerty (Introducing Piano/Keyboard for Adults course)
Andrew Hogan
Beata Kmak
Niamh McCormack
Michael MacLennan
Elisabeth Meuleman
Gloria Mulhall
Anne Orr (piano accordion)
Ronan O'Sullivan (Introducing Piano/Keyboard for Adults course)
Lenka Pinterova
Anni Rorke
Johnny Taylor
Therese Ward
So-Young Yoon (Jazz Piano Basics course)
Agnieszka Zimniak
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Jazz Piano
'If it has more than three chords, it's jazz.'
– Lou Reed
Although many students currently studying jazz piano at the New School already have some classical training, jazz improvisation has often been neglected in the teaching of classical piano. A common misconception is that improvisation is either something you have or you don't. Jazz piano lessons at the New School prove that it can be learned, and teach a number of surprisingly effective and easy-to-apply techniques for the composition and decoration of music.
Entry into jazz piano lessons requires only a basic knowledge of musical notation (treble and bass clefs, key and time signatures) and piano technique (around Grade 2 or equivalent). Improvising at the piano can be split into two main areas: improvising on a given theme (or within a given song) and free improvisation. Lessons generally concentrate on the first, providing students with a wide variety of melodic, harmonic and rhythmic techniques that they can use to make a song their own. Students learn:
- how to approach a melody, distinguish its main notes from its less important ones and improvise on those;
- how to move from one chord to the next by building up their harmonic vocabulary;
- how to vary a song through accent and rhythm.
In addition, many people who have taken lessons in 'classical' piano find that while they can imagine an improvised line, they can't actually play it. One aspect of the lessons is familiarising students with hand shapes and fingering patterns that help students to create their improvisations directly at the piano.
Taught by Anni Rorke, Johnny Taylor and So-Young Yoon, jazz piano lessons can be taken alone (through 30-, 45- and 60-minute private lessons) or as a supplement to regular piano lessons. Go to Enrolment and Fees.
Located in Dublin city centre, Waltons New School of Music is a comprehensive music centre, combining music tuition of the highest standard with innovative approaches to music education. The New School offers tuition in the broadest range of instruments and subjects of any music school in Ireland, for students of all ages, levels and abilities.
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