Piano Lessons

Micanopy, McIntosh, Gainesville Florida

Welcome! Have you ever wanted to learn to play the piano? Tired of not being able to learn on your own? Now is your chance!

Contact us to get started. Piano lessons are offered for Adults, School-aged Children and retirees. All experience levels are welcome. Lessons start with the necessary fundamentals and expand into all styles, including your favorite. Supplementary instruction in theory, composing/arranging, leadsheets, acompanying and more are also available.

Whether you are thinking about lessons for your child or as an adult who never learned to play, no matter the reason, now is the time to start. It is never too old to start. I have a student who started in his 80's! To get started taking lessons, contact us today!
Have you been trying to learn to play the piano on your own and realized it just doesn't work. If nothing else, an experienced teacher can give you feedback to make sure you are really learning to play the piano! A book cannot do that. In my experience, few people are able to correctly learn to play the piano on their own.
I also teach organ lessons at my Micanopy location.
If you are looking for sheet music, then visit our Music Catalog or our used music page

General Information

Lessons once a week
Each lesson 1/2 hour long
All ages, from school-aged children to Adults of any age
All experience levels welcome
Emphasis on various methods and/or styles available
Competitive pricing
Experienced teacher
Locations: Central to most of Marion & Alachua counties
Performance opportunities
Recitals
Organ lessons also available in Micanopy

Testimonials from our current students are available upon request. Also see below.

Lesson Locations

Lessons are available in two locations, the town of Micanopy at the Episcopal church and at Lipham Music store in Gainesville.

Whether you wish to take lessons in Gainesville or in the town of Micanopy, the fastest way to reach us is to use the Piano Inquiry form to let us know today!

Some tips about learning the piano:

Do not choose a teacher based on the cost of lessons
Learning to play the piano takes time.
You need to learn piano from a teacher.
Look for a teacher with a degree in music, from a School of Music.
Recitals, competitions and group activities are not essential to learning the piano.
Avoid a teacher who teaches as a hobby.
Choose a teacher with less than 45 students.
Stick with a private teacher who doesn't sub-contract students to other teachers.
Avoid music academy places with multiple teachers teaching multiple instruments.
Digital pianos are fine at home, but at the lesson, an acoustic piano, preferably a grand-piano is essential.
Teachers who are involved in professional organizations or have advanced degrees are not necessarily better teachers.
Find a teacher that performs regularly (or is retired from performing).
Avoid teachers who only perform in college/university concerts or academic sponsored programs.
Talk to current students or parents of students but remember, one negative opinion is hardly a reason to avoid a particular teacher.
No matter your longterm goals, there are basics that you need to learn, even if you don't think you need to. Stay clear of teachers who don't teach these basics, especially for children.
Young children should wait until they have completed 9 weeks of kindergarden before taking lessons. Let your pre-schooler be a pre-schooler. There are no 1/2 size pianos.

Available Lesson Times

Lesson times change so often that it is difficult to keep an accurate list here on the internet. Lessons are taught in both Gainesville and Micanopy. The majority of my students, even those that live in Gainesville, prefer to take lessons in Micanopy. At both locations, most lessons are taught in the afternoons or early evening. If you are interested in lessons, drop me a note and we'll figure out the best time.

Please consider coming to Micanopy for lessons. It is a short drive from Gainesville and not too far from Citra, Reddick, Williston and north Ocala. The Micanopy location is simply the better of the two locations. It features a concert-hall like setting and grand-piano (new in 2008). Lessons in Gainesville are taught on a used upright piano in a sometimes noisy music store. Lessons are also cheaper in Micanopy, so any extra gas expense is probably covered by the lower cost. And don't worry, lessons at a church aren't any different than anywhere else. In fact, given the location, it is probably better than most locations in Gainesville.

Did you know...

An article in The Scientific American, July 2003 stated that children with training in music have better verbal skills than those who do not. The article suggested that students with better verbal memory probably will find it easier to learn in school. Also noted is that the longer one studies music, the more the verbal skills improve.
A recent study done by the National Association of Psychiatrists and Psychologists (NAPP) indicates that having hobbies such as ... music decreases the chance that one will be referred to a mental health practitioner by 24 percent.

Contact information

For more information, use the Piano Inquiry form. Please make sure your spam filters (and those of your ISP) do not block email from me or you may never get my response.
I can send you additional information on taking lessons or arrange to set up an appointment to meet (at no charge to you).

Testimonials, references available on request.

Costs
Micanopy (pictured on left): Only $60 per month.
Gainesville: $70 per month.
All costs are a flat rate per month. Makeup lessons are available if you should choose to miss a regular lesson. Music books are the student's responsibility.

RECITAL
View pictures from the 2008 student recital. Recital pages

About James

James has a Bachelor's Degree in Music (theory/composition/piano) from the School of Music at Stetson University - Florida's first School of Music - plus Graduate studies (studio writing and production) at the University of Miami's School Of Music. He has more than 30 years of experience as a performing musician and has taught piano lessons for much of that time. He is a nationally published composer/arranger and has released a solo piano CD as well as having co-produced 4 other CD's (on which he also played piano). Besides piano lessons, he is available as an accompanist, arranger, music typesetter, clinician, church organist or to play piano for various types of social events. He also sells his original compositions and arrangements at this web site's main page. Read more...