Piano
Nothing. The piano is here.
At home you will need a piano or a keyboard to practise on between lessons.
Piano, guitar and beginner singing
Your first lesson, step by step.
Your first lesson is a normal half hour lesson, one to one with me, Adam Whybro, at my studio in Long Bay, Auckland. It costs $35, and there is no obligation to come back.
Book a lesson
or text 021 162 3447
- $35 per half hour
- Weekdays from 3:15pm
- Parents can sit in
What happens at a first lesson
Written with a parent in mind. A first lesson for an adult runs the same way.
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Before you come.
Send the booking form. I reply within a day.
Before the first lesson I email you how lessons work, with the terms. There is nothing to sign.
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When you arrive.
The studio is a room in my house at 24 Westerley Place, Long Bay, Auckland 0630. Street parking is about 20 metres from the door.
Come to the front door and look for the sign beside it. You are welcome to wait in the car. If you are running late at pick up, your child waits inside with me. Nobody waits on the street.
24 Westerley Place, from the street. 
Look for the sign by the door. -
In the room.
The lesson is half an hour, one to one, and I teach the whole of it myself.
Piano. Hands on the keys in lesson one. Reading comes a few notes at a time, never a whole page at once.
Guitar. I show you your way around the guitar from the first lesson: holding it properly, your first chords, and changing between them cleanly.
Beginner singing. Children and teenagers start quietly, usually singing along to something rather than singing alone at me. Nobody is made to stand up and perform.
More about piano lessons, guitar lessons and beginner singing lessons.
The teaching room in Long Bay. Piano on the left, sofa on the right. Parents are welcome to sit in, and you never need to ask. There is a sofa in the room.
There is a cat. Henry is a ragdoll and he lives here. The studio door stays open onto the rest of the house, so I cannot promise a cat free room. If anyone in your family has a cat allergy or asthma, tell me before the first lesson.
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Afterwards.
You go home with something short to practise. Around ten minutes most days is plenty at the start. Little and often beats one long session.
There is no obligation to continue. If you carry on, your time is yours every week: same day, same time.
A normal lesson at the normal price
$35 for the half hour
There is no free trial. A proper half hour tells you far more about whether I suit your child than a shortened taster designed to sell you something.
There is nothing to pay before the first lesson. The first invoice is due a week after it, and lessons are invoiced a month at a time.
What to bring to a first lesson
Very little. What you bring depends on the instrument.
Guitar, right handed
Your own guitar. Acoustic or electric, whichever one you own. There are amps in the room.
I play left handed and every studio guitar is strung left handed, so there is none to lend.
Guitar, left handed
Nothing. A left handed student plays one of my studio guitars in lessons.
Tell me which hand when you book. More on left handed guitar lessons.
Ask me before you buy anything, whichever instrument it is.
Questions about a first lesson
How long is a first lesson, and what does it cost?
Half an hour, and it costs $35. It is a normal lesson, one to one with me, Adam Whybro, at my studio in Long Bay, Auckland. There is no free trial, and no obligation to come back.
Can a parent stay and watch the first lesson?
Yes. You are welcome to stay for any lesson, and you never need to ask. There is a sofa in the room and a bench on the deck just outside it. Plenty of parents stay for the first few weeks and then wait in the car.
Do you need an instrument at home before the first lesson?
A right handed guitar student needs their own guitar from the first lesson. For piano, you will need a piano or a keyboard at home to practise on between lessons. Ask me before you buy anything, or read how to choose a first instrument.
How young can a child start lessons?
Five is the youngest I take. Whether a particular five year old is ready varies a lot more than the age does, so tell me a bit about them and I will give you an honest answer.
Is a first lesson any different for an adult?
No. Adult lessons run the same way. Complete beginners are welcome at any age, and so are people coming back to an instrument after twenty or thirty years away.
Fees, exams and missed lessons are on the common questions page.
The practical part
$35 per half hour, $70 per hour
Fees
Every instrument, every level. Invoiced a month at a time, so there is no term to pay up front. No enrolment fee, no booking fee and no deposit.
Times
Lessons run Monday to Friday from 3:15pm. The last lesson finishes at 7pm on Monday, 7:30pm Tuesday to Thursday, and 6:30pm on Friday. There are no weekend lessons.
First lesson
There is no free trial. The first lesson is a real lesson at the normal price, with no obligation to continue.
Where
24 Westerley Place, Long Bay, Auckland 0630. Street parking is about 20 metres from the door.
Book a lesson or text 021 162 3447