Frequently-asked questions

about piano lessons.

Why do your piano students make faster progress than music students with other piano teachers?

Our students make faster progress at the piano and become more capable musicians and critical thinkers because we teach better than others, we use better teaching methods and strategies, and we provide a joyous learning environment with highly qualified teachers that learn about you and/or your student, understand your interests and goals, and teach the way you learn. We know that it does not need to take 10 years to master the piano and we ensure that all students of all ages and abilities reach intermediate and advanced levels sooner than any other music studio out there.

What piano method do you use?

We use our own proprietary piano method Presto! It’s Piano Magic that Dr. Dennis has created and tested that gets people playing and advancing quickly, with both hands from the first lesson, and singing while playing. Most teachers say it cannot be done, but it can, and we help students do it every day! The Presto! It’s Piano Magic method is supported by curriculum, books and materials, sheet music, teaching aids, supplemental and reinforcing video tutorials, and fun backing tracks.

Do students perform in front of others? (Do you offer piano recitals?)

Yes! We provide many performance opportunities throughout the year, including at least four recitals annually, at varied locations and venues (some very exciting!), and with different themes and formats - some formal and some very casual. Plus students can play regularly in peer performances, forums, practice performances, and master classes. Other teachers offer fewer recitals and opportunities, some only once per year, or never. Recitals are not mandatory, but they are encouraged because ensemble music-making and performing for live audiences can play an important role in student motivation and progress. Our recitals are fun, entertaining, rewarding, and confidence-building experiences!

Do you support Certificate of Merit?

Yes! We support Certificate of Merit and other exam and guild programs, and we have teachers who teach, coach, mentor, and tutor advanced music theory (including AP Music Theory), composition and songwriting, and students who are auditioning for conservatories, colleges, universities, and elite masters and doctoral music programs.

How do your prices compare to other music teachers?

We provide real cost savings over the long run. Because students learn faster and reach advanced levels sooner. Students love learning with us in our joyous and musical environment, and so time is not wasted in lessons that students consider tedious and boring. Students do not take lessons for years with little or no progress, as happens with so many other teachers and schools, and wastes so much money. See “It Doesn’t Take 10 Years to Learn Piano!”

Do you offer scholarships or financial assistance?

Yes! We provide scholarship opportunities and other financial aid to families in need of tuition assistance.

Why do you only offer one-hour lessons? (60 minutes minimum and not 30)

30-minute lessons are too short. And because they are too short, teachers slow down learning, leave out learning, and/or try to artificially speed up learning in ways that are ineffective, inappropriate, and unhealthy. Content is rushed, gimmicks are tried, material is skipped, or glossed over, or presented in tiny increments, and skills are taught in a stressful and anxious way. This style is not conducive to quality and tension-free teaching and learning.

60-minute lessons provide time for deep learning rather than just skimming the surface of everything. Students have time for guided practice so they know very well what and how to practice at home. (Students who do not practice at home have time to practice during lessons and so still make progress.) Students are not given assignments and told to “go figure out how to do it on your own at home and come back next week with it learned.” Students participate in their learning, they are not “taught at.” Learning is not offloaded from the teacher to the student. At Dennis Frayne Music Studio, teachers work with their students on a deeper level than other music schools.

60-minute lessons are cost-effective. Time is used more efficiently in full one-hour blocks rather than two broken half-hour mini-sessions separated by a week. Other teachers charge more per hour for 30-minute lessons. For example, a teacher might charge $70 for an hour lesson, but $45 for a thirty minute lesson, resulting in actual $90 per hour. So, you are not really paying less, you are paying more, just spread out over more time - the same way learning is spread out over more time and thus learning to play the piano takes so much longer and costs so much more.

60-minute lessons provide students the means to develop as well-rounded musicians and not just technical/mechanical tinkerers. Whether students are thinking about careers in music or hobbyists, reaching intermediate and advanced levels of piano playing sooner is more rewarding, develops creative and critical thinking skills sooner, and offers far greater enjoyment.

What if my young child has a short attention span?

Kids don’t have short attention spans. All people of all ages, including adults, struggle to maintain interest in things that are uninteresting, boring, tedious, and require hard work with no reward. All people of all ages, including very young children, who enjoy what they are doing, can do it for hours on end. You’ve seen this! The problem is not the duration of the activities, but the kind of activities, or simply the lack of activities, that are happening in the hour. Even the youngest children can maintain a long attention span (they keep active all day long unless they’re napping, and often they don’t want to take a nap!) when they are interested and engaged, when activities are mixed up, changed, alternated, and kept fresh. And musical!

Lessons can and should be fun, but it’s not necessarily all about experiencing fun. It’s also about experiencing rewarding. Children enjoy learning new things, developing new skills, striving to accomplish things, and feel really good about it. People (including very young children) will spend long periods of time struggling to achieve something – even endure some pain and hardship and repetition and hard work – when it’s something they want to achieve. Consider sports and video games! Musical learning and playing the piano can be this, too!

Can I pay per lesson rather than monthly, quarterly, or annually?

We offer a la carte lessons as time is available, on an ad hoc basis. Prices are higher. We also offer gift packages. (Please inquire).

Do you offer make-up lessons?

Yes! We offer unlimited make-ups according to the following guidelines and considerations. When a student cannot attend their regularly scheduled lesson, we offer the following options and opportunities:

First, we can conduct the scheduled lesson online, so they do not have to miss it at all!

Second, we will send an instructive lesson video that the student can engage with that will have the missed content covered and will keep them up-to-date with their lessons.

Third, make-up lessons are offered as group sessions on a regular basis. These group make-up lessons are also sometimes called Saturday forums and are offered online and in-person several times per quarter. These forums are structured like college, university, and conservatory music degree classes, where students perform for each other, listen to others perform, and may receive feedback and suggestions from the instructor, professor, or guest artist. Students also participate in group rhythmic, and movement activities. These activities are an important part of music learning, are valuable to students, and provides supplemental music learning opportunities and experiences that cannot be gained during their regular lessons. They are genuinely valuable make-ups!

Fourth, in addition to our quarterly in-person recital, we offer a quarterly online recital. This is a full recital or “practice-recital” event that occurs online, and can be viewed as an extra bonus or a worthwhile make-up session.

Fifth, we offer many performance and other musical opportunities throughout the year. These include Music Teacher Association of California (MTAC) events, Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) events, and collaborations with other teachers, studios, schools, colleges, universities, and music conservatories. With all the phenomenal make-up and other opportunities available to students, missing a lesson will be seen for the minor inconvenience that it is.

Can I take summers off?

We strongly recommend and encourage year-round lessons. Taking summers off results in learning loss and loss of momentum. Students who take summers off progress much more slowly, often detrimentally to the point of going backwards.

If you take summers off, your spot cannot be held and may be lost. And, you will lose your Price for Life guarantee. Price for Life guarantees apply as long as lessons are continuous. If prices have been raised since you started lessons, when you restart after the summer, you would come in at the new price.

Group classes do not have summer breaks. Lesson videos are provided for students who miss some lessons, which if watched and engaged with will keep them up-to-date and on track with class progress.

Are your teachers experts, professionals, and are they treated well and paid fairly?

Yes! We are teachers ourselves and we appreciate all our wonderful, amazing, professional, educated, experienced, and expert teachers! We provide certification in our piano curriculum (Presto! It’s Piano Magic) for beginner and intermediate students, and ongoing professional development for all teachers, including for the most advanced students. Our teachers are musicians, performers, and participate actively in the music and artistic worlds, large and small, national and local.

We pay our teachers fairly, provide real benefits such as vacations, health insurance, revenue sharing, and 401k plans. (Quality teachers will not — should not — work for low wages. If advertised prices for music lessons at other music centers are very low, consider the quality of the teacher you are potentially hiring for you or your child.) We are a professional business and premium music school who cares about people, about teachers and about students, and participates in the life of our community, which includes taking care of our teachers and our students. We are not out to “make a buck” any more than you are out to “save a buck” off music lessons.

Our teachers are more dedicated to you and to your students, and stay with us longer, because they love teaching here, and they are honored and respected by us and our student families as teachers who honor and respect their students. They are able to live a respectful, happy, and healthy lifestyle in our Laguna Niguel, South Orange County community.

Can you recommend a piano tuner?

Sure, click here for contact info of several piano tuners and other musical resources.

It Does Not Take 10 Years to Learn Piano!