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What materials do you need to get started with piano lessons at Hoffman Academy? We’ve compiled a list of the absolute essentials for a piano student, along with some additional items we recommend to make your piano learning more fun and effective.
The absolute essentials
A good quality piano
In order to succeed at piano lessons, you need a piano in your home that you can use to practice every day. If possible, an acoustic piano is best, but quality electric pianos and piano keyboards are also a good place to start. An electric piano or keyboard must have 88 fully weighted, hammer action keys to develop a piano student’s hand strength and musicality. Here are our top recommendations:
Acoustic Piano: The Yamaha U1 is our favorite acoustic piano for piano students, and is the model we use in the teaching studios at our Portland area music academy. Other good brands include Kawai, Boston, and Schimmel.
Digital Piano: The Yamaha Arius Series is our top choice for digital pianos.
Casio Privias are also of good quality and can be purchased cabinet-style or with just a keyboard. If you opt for a keyboard only make sure you get an adjustable stand and bench. A keyboard placed on a desk or table will not be at a comfortable height for playing.
Learn more about how to shop for a piano here and how to choose a piano or keyboard for a beginning piano student here.
Adjustable bench
Growing piano students need an adjustable bench and footstool to make sure they are seated correctly at the keyboard. Learn more about good piano posture here.
Device for watching and interacting with lessons
Make sure you have a device for watching and interacting with your video lessons, positioned so that you can see it while seated at the piano. This could be a tablet, a mobile device, or a laptop or desktop computer.
Printer
For printing out sheet music, worksheets, music theory charts and guides, and blank staff paper, you’ll need a printer. If you don’t have a printer at home, public libraries will often allow you to print from their computers for a small fee.
As another option, you can order Hoffman Academy Unit 1 through Unit 8 and our Sight Reading Trainer books 1-3 from Hard Copy HQ.
Writing utensil
Musicians always keep a pencil or other erasable writing utensil handy to mark their sheet music. Piano students will also need something to write with to track their progress and make notes on their assignment pages. Pencils are great, but erasable pens can add color and fun too!
Binder or Folder
Keep all of your sheet music and other materials together with a binder or folder so that you’re always ready to get straight to work at practice time.
Metronome
A metronome is an essential tool for learning music. It helps piano students develop a sense of steady beat and tempo. You can purchase a metronome, download an app, or use a browser to access an online metronome. Try out some different kinds and see what works best for you.
- Rechargeable pocket digital metronome
- Old-fashioned pendulum metronome
- Natural Metronome app on Google Play
- Pro Metronome app on Google Play
Recurring lesson materials for HA
Hoffman Academy uses the following materials in several of our lessons. It’s a good idea to print them out and keep them near your piano for whenever you need them.
Piano posture chart
Look, feel, and sound your best whenever you play by checking your piano posture before you begin. Keep this chart next to your piano to remind you until playing with good posture becomes second nature.
Additional recommended materials for music learning
Now that you have everything you need to get started, here are a few items that can make music learning easier and more fun.
Whiteboard
Keep a small whiteboard handy for exploring music theory concepts, making notes to yourself, and more!
Music money
Create your own reward system using this fun music money. Exchange music money earned by practicing and doing theory worksheets for rewards and treats. Remember to use reward systems only for establishing new habits and conquering big challenges. Enjoying time at the piano every day should become its own reward!
Goal tracker
Use this Hoffman Academy goal tracker to celebrate your good piano practice habits!
Flash cards
Practice your music alphabet, note names, intervals, tempos, and more with our collection of music theory flash cards:
- Music alphabet
- Articulations
- Grand Staff notes
- Instruments
- Intervals
- Key signatures
- Piano keys
- Piano notes
- Sight reading
- Solfege
- Tempo indications
Music theory reference sheets
Keep these colorful music theory reference sheets handy as you learn your scales, chords, and music theory terms.
Recording equipment
Have recording equipment available. One of the most important things for improving your performance is to get feedback on your playing. Sometimes it can be hard to both play and listen to your playing at the same time. If you record yourself playing and then play it back and listen, you’ll be able to focus on what you can do to improve. You can even watch the recording multiple times to check different things, like piano posture, correct rhythm, or good dynamics.
Most phones have audio and video recording capabilities, but you might need a tripod to hold the phone in place while you record.
Now that you have everything you need to get started, you’re ready to begin your piano learning journey! Check out Hoffman Academy for music learning games, resources, and hundreds of free video tutorials!