Effective, convenient, and fun piano lessons from an experienced
​award-winning online piano teacher

I offer two streams of online piano lessons.
  1. Recreational keyboard lessons where you learn at your own pace and have fun without pressure. 
  2. The "Achievers Program" is designed for those preparing for piano exams, jazz camps, and post-secondary entrance auditions. Some students are keen to play in a band. But the largest category of adult students in my studio are musicians who abandoned piano lessons in their youth and are now ready to resume their studies. In 2022 students have taken piano exams from level A to level 10, while another student is off to New York City to study jazz. We will work in the following areas: Repertoire, sight reading, aural skills, theory, technique, ensemble skills, and performance. In short, you will receive a well-rounded musical education within the constraints of weekly lessons. 
 
​Career Guidance for Private Music Teachers
  • 3 hours over two 1.5-hour sessions
  • We will discuss goal setting, sales, marketing, skill development and business planning.
Connecting the heart with the hands, ears, eyes, and intellect. And, staying safe.

Adult piano lessons are the primary focus of my online studio in Toronto. My goals are to provide empathetic instruction and fun lessons in a safe environment.

Student Profiles
​
  • J. from Portugal is a retired professional who plays the violin. I'm helping with her keyboard playing so that she can play her choir parts to practice and teach others.
  • G., from Burlington, is a retired Professor. Last century he earned his RCM Grade 8 certificate. Thought he would check jazz piano off the bucket list. At age 81, he now plays weekly in two jazz bands. Go Champ!
  • W. is an engineer from Oakville. who recently sat for his RCM 8 piano exam. (We started in grade 2). Update: William switched to jazz drums after grade 8. He killed it, as they say in the jazz world. Now, using the insights from jazz drum lessons, he is back working on RCM grade 9.
  • A., a judge from Ontario, takes lessons before court. A., a beginner, finished RCM Level A and is now preparing RCM level 1. 
  • G., a young computer engineer from Naples Italy who loves Early Jazz and Ragtime. Our online lessons have skipped back and forth between Canada and Italy. 
  • C., from Toronto, is a semi-retired, amateur classical singer, arts lover, and classical piano student dabbling in Be-bop jazz. He successfully sat for his RCM grade 8. Another Champion! 
  • M., from China, is a businesswoman and piano beginner. She brings passion to class each week. Some weeks she practices, some weeks she doesn't. But every week she enthusiastically dives in. Our lessons also have jumped continents.
  • J., a retired energy executive who divides his time between Canada and Mexico. Our online lessons jazz and theory lessons follow him around the world. 
  • N., from Markham, was a young adult with musical aspirations. He was preparing for music school.  Update: He has now graduated.
  • J. and K., from the Hamilton area, are professional piano teachers and studio owners who are learning new skills. They want to keep it fresh for their own students.
  • E., from Ontario, is a piano studio owner who is exploring the fine art of American and Brazilian jazz so that she can play in her husband's band.
  • R., a federal government consultant in Toronto, is resuming his lessons, after a long break, in jazz piano.
  • A., an international entertainment lawyer from Canada, takes online piano lessons with his son each Thursday at 8 am. 
​Learning Plans
A learning plan is an interactive or on-line document that is used to plan learning, usually over an extended period. Any entity can have a learning plan. Individuals often use them to plan and manage their own learning, but they can also be used by teams, communities of practice or organizations.
Learning Plan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning Plan
 
What might your learning plan look like? 
​
Classical student
Goal: Sit for my Grade 4 exam in June 2021

My Plan:
  1. I will have my technique in place by Christmas.
  2. By including sightreading in each practice session I can address my shortcomings in this area.
  3. I will have three of the 5 required pieces playable by Christmas and all pieces by April.
  4. I will have memorized my pieces by May.
  5. I will create a weekly practice plan with my teacher.
  6. I will keep a practice journal.
  7. I will anticipate and plan for mock exams in the spring.
  8. I will listen and watch online one masterful performance a week.
  9. I will attend a classical music concert from time to time.
  10. I will joyfully work on theory.

​Jazz Student
Goal: Be able to jam in a community group within a year.
​
My Plan:
  1. I will learn my chord systems by Christmas.
  2. I will learn my one octave major scales by Christmas.
  3. I will memorize one tune a month from my list of beginner tunes.
  4. I will practice comping the chords from the same list at the rate of one tune a week. I will write out the chords on a “chart” to facilitate learning.
  5. I will purchase play along software or an app.
  6. I will learn 5 simple licks in 12 keys.
  7. I will study one transcription per month.
  8. I will create a weekly practice plan with my teacher.
  9. I will keep a practice journal.
  10. I will keep my up piano “chops” by regularly playing written music of my choosing.
                                                ©2025 David Story