Teaching

I can provide tuition in piano  and music theory at my home studio in Shotton or at your home within the Chester area. Many students work through the ABRSM exam syllabus with me though some choose not to take the actual exams themselves, preferring to learn less formally. Learn to play the piano at your own pace. I currently have a busy schedule though there are one or two vacancies so please don’t hesitate to contact me.

“Will Hay is an outstanding piano teacher. Being an older learner I have been taught by other teachers in the past but none of them have been as good as Will. He is enthusiastic, friendly and professional as well as musically talented…” Dr Katie Lloyd

“I can honestly say I am delighted that my grandson is associated with such a decent and talented young man. Will is so good with his pupils and knows instinctively just how to pitch the lessons…” Sylvia Rawlinson

Fees

My current teaching fee is £24 per hour for lessons at my home or £28.50 per hour at your home within 5 miles of Chester. If you live further away it may be possible to have lessons with me but I may have to charge more depending upon the distance I have to travel.

Fees are invoiced monthly in advance after the initial lesson and I ask for 24 hours notice if you need to cancel a lesson otherwise it becomes chargeable. In exchange I will try to give at least 24 hours notice if I need to change a lesson booking.

The initial consultation lesson is chargeable at the standard rate but no further commitment is expected unless you decide to come regularly.

More about what the teaching fee covers

View the Frequently Asked Questions document

Instruments

It is important to have an instrument of a reasonable standard to practise on either at home or somewhere that is ‘regularly accessible’ and by this I mean accessible for practise every day! I use a Yamaha Clavinova CLP-150 Digital Piano as the ‘touch’ in my opinion closely replicates that of a traditional acoustic piano and the sound is pleasing while there are the added benefits of being able to use headphones late in the evening and not needing to have a piano tuner visit every few months.

Instruments are expensive and I would recommend a Yamaha P85 as this instrument does at least have a piano sized, graded hammer-action, weighted keyboard closely replicating that of a real instrument!

Age

The minimum age is normally about six or seven though this depends upon the child and their level of maturity. I do teach younger children as well though this tends to be on a less formal basis with lots of games and requires parental support both in lessons and for practice at home.

Practise

Parents are welcome to sit in on lessons if they wish, in fact I encourage this as they are more likely to be able to help the student with their practice at home. This is also actively encouraged! I can try to enthuse students in their lessons but cannot help them with their practice.

Rewards

I have recently introduced a points based system for tracking practise levels in all my school-aged students. Pupils accrue points every lesson on a scale of 1-5 based upon how well they have achieved the targets set. There are termly points targets and the highest points earners will receive recognition and prizes at the termly concerts.

Adults

Starting the piano from scratch as an adult can be a challenge, but it can be rewarding if you love the instrument and its music. There is plenty of repertoire available to suit different abilities that is rewarding to play at even modest levels of technicality. However patience and practice are required whatever the level! Ideally you should have regular lessons for at least a few months. Some adults then find they wish to work on their own once they reach a certain plateau where their musical ambitions are satisfied. More lessons, however, can take things further. Some adults find, due to work commitments that they have to take up the piano at a slower pace and have lessons bi-weekly and I have a number of rotating teaching time slots available to account for this arrangement.

Concerts

All my students have the opportunity to perform in front of a friendly audience of fellow students and their friends and parents every term. Ludus Cantiones translates as ‘play sing’ as I often incorporate young choirs and solo singers into my concert programmes, giving them a chance to perform at venues around Chester including Chester Cathedral (30th June ‘07), Wesley Methodist Church, Chester (19th April ‘08) and All Saint’s Church, Hoole(22nd November ‘08)

The next Ludus Cantiones concert will take place on 13th March, 2010 at All Saint’s Church, Hoole starting at 2pm, lasting no longer than 45 minutes

Audio recordings from recent concerts are available to listen to on my media gallery along with photos from recent events.