FAQs

An acoustic piano is always the best type of piano for lessons and practice. We understand however that in our modern times, this may not be a practical option. A digital keyboard is a magnificent alternative. There are some great electronic keyboards that can imitate the experience of playing acoustic pianos.

To maximize efforts in replicating the practice experience of playing acoustic, we recommend purchasing a full-sized (88 keys) keyboard (digital or acoustic) that has weighted keys and a touch sensitive response to dynamic changes (volume level responds to changes in pressure of touch). If you are going for digital, it is best to pick one that has weighted keys since they tend to imitate the same feel as an acoustic piano, which in turn will help build the strength in your hands and fingers. A keyboard that has touch sensitive response means the harder you press a key, the louder the volume should increase, and the lighter you press a key, the lower the volume gets.

Thank you for asking this question. Let’s give the answer to this question using neuroscience.

Engaging in regular practice forges neural brain pathways, which in turn contributes to the development of cognitive and muscle memory. The more we consistently and more repeatedly we return to our practice, the stronger these neural pathways become. Neuronal network formation eventually paves the way for seemingly effortless playing experiences; where we find that in playing a piece, our precision in its execution becomes second nature.

It’s important to note that real and authentic learning takes place outside lessons, particularly when you personally take charge navigating through your sheet music alone at home, and transform what may at first seem to come off as disorganized sound into harmonious coherence. When this happens, we guarantee you will find such a moment to be undeniably one of the most deeply profound, greatest human achievement feelings ever.

Piano practice is also important because piano is not a natural activity sport for our hands. It can actually take a lot of time for our hands to adjust to the different shapes of positions on the keyboard, as well as mastering reading sheet music and rhythmic precision all at the same time. It can be very overwhelming, but not to fear at all! Royale Piano will be here to make the whole learning process easier, comfortable and fun. We are aware that many music challenges tend to resolve themselves over time through regular practice, fostering a smoother learning curve. Again, by commitment to daily practice (4-5 days per week), problems usually resolve on their own.

I told this story once before in my class that while practicing a difficult arpeggio section in one of Chopin’s Etudes, I just couldn’t seem to ascend properly without hitting the wrong key. I struggled for hours trying to get my fingers to weave properly around the keys, but to no avail, the error persisted throughout the practice. I went to sleep feeling defeated. But the next morning, right as I woke up, something compelled me to try again. I went to the piano, and tried the arpeggio once more and NO WAY — WOW I DID IT! It was a very cool moment. It was like overnight, the sleep was all my brain needed to reset the nervous system from the previous day of learning before..

These truths and ideas about practice can really be applied to any skill or concept we are learning.

For the beginner pianist, as a general rule, we recommend running through your practice songs at least once a day. We understand that this is a highly unrealistic expectation for every person, every single day.

It is also common for young children to not feel motivated to practice everyday. Many will find it challenging in the beginning to sit still and alone with their practice 5-10 mins everyday, so we recommend monitoring your child through their first practice songs and exercises at least 3-5 days a week (2-3 is also acceptable). You will begin to hear the beautiful musical progress and growth take place in their playing over time.

Later on, it will take more than 10 mins to complete all the exercises, drills and assigned performance, solo pieces, so practice times gradually tend to increase to 20-35 mins per day, or longer. This can be seen as ideal practice time for the little ones.

For older students, we recommend practicing from the start at least 30 mins a day, 3-5 days a week. Do not feel discouraged or beat yourself up for playing wrong notes. It will get easier each time you devote time to practice playing and reading the music. If you find yourself still not improving, please contact me through text or send me an email to aroyale2020@gmail.com and describe the issue in great detail. While waiting for a response, continue struggling with the piece. Sometimes the answer will come to you anyways.

Additionally, longer practice time does not necessarily mean more productive practice, as the human brain cannot process new information or learn very well when worked to the point of exhaustion. We will say though that concert pianists and advanced players tend to practice 3-6 hours a day. Over time your hands and fingers strengthen, and can sustain longer practice times.

In short, when in doubt, PRACTICE. Practice through a piece enough times until it is comfortable to play without mistakes, but please take a break when you start to feel tired.

Royale Piano exists in the music education business to serve and to educate as many people as possible to learn how to sight-read, play and create music on their own using a piano within the shortest instruction time possible.

We know how expensive music lessons can be, and so our goal as a company is make learning music more accessible to communities far and wide, including underserved, disadvantaged populations.

We set our intention at Royale Piano to get you properly trained in music as quickly as possible so you can focus on playing music on your own confidently with little to no instructor oversight. Granted, it is always nice to have someone around to motivate, encourage and coach you on how to overcome intimidating Ligeti pieces, but the principle here is — learn how to fish and you’ll know how to fish forever.

In short, believe us when we say 10 lessons or less.

Yes. I will have more videos uploaded soon, but you can watch my most recent performance with my students on a video taken from the Christmas Piano Recital 2021. You can view this video of my playing by clicking here.

Again, I plan to upload a lot more content soon.

The Royale Piano business title has an extreme wordplay theme. The founder, Amanda R. Davis gave her middle name to name the business (“Roy-Ale” short for Roy and Allen). Most importantly, since she really enjoyed the idea of providing private luxury music training services at an affordable cost to provide families elite music education worldwide, Royale seemed to be a fit.