Keyboard Lessons Vancouver

Learn, play, and grow with Keyboard lessons for kids, teens, and adults at Pleasant Mountain Music.

About The Keyboard

• Ideal for: all ages of people including young beginners (ages 4-6), people who don’t know where to start their music journey and for anyone who already has previous playing experience on a different instrument but would like to branch out into songwriting and arrangement/orchestration
• Great because: In numerous bands, the keyboardist is perhaps the most important member. He/she usually helps to write, arrange, and even co-produce tracks. They’re also the ones who know how to read music while everyone else is winging it
• Lesson options: We offer in person lessons on acoustic and digital pianos at our Granville Street studio. Remote or ‘online’ lessons are possible depending on your set up at home
• Common styles: video game music, film and television scores, prog rock/metal/jazz, live on stage with numerous genres such as rock and roll, jazz, world music, pop, funk, ska, and EDM, just to name a few

What This Instrument Is Like (background + where you hear it)

Getting Started & Instrument Costs

You don’t need the “perfect” setup to start, just something that fits your budget and your space.
What you’ll need for your first lessons:

• Digital pianos and keyboards: Yamaha, Roland, Casio, Korg, and Nord brand keyboards area all great brands with base-models for the entry-level/beginner student. Your first instrument should have a full 88-keys and ideally touch-sensitivity. Most modern keyboards have a touch-sensitive function built-in. Definitely ask if the keyboard you’re looking at comes with a headphone jack and built-in speakers. You’ll want both of these in the early days of keyboard training to save you from investing in an amp or outboard speaker set
• Basic accessories: apart from the keyboard itself, you’ll benefit from having a keyboard stand, bench or stool to sit or perch on, a music stand, and a sustain pedal or foot switch
• Practice space: the keyboard is headphones friendly so as long as you have a corner, nook, or room with dedicated space for the keyboard perhaps 2 x 4 meters (or about 3.5 x 6 ft) you won’t disturb other activities that take place in the home!

Typical starter investment:

• Entry-level/rental: you’ll likely spend $100-$250/month to rent a new or used mid-range keyboard. A used digital piano can cost anywhere from $500-$2000 to purchase outright, depending on the brand and make/model and how recent the instrument is (like a lot of technology, digital pianos loose their value after enough years go buy because of technological developments). New Digital pianos can cost $1,000-$6,000. Keyboards like Casio and Yamaha offer $500 keyboards new, but be sure they actually have a full 88-keys before investing.
• Step-up instrument (after a few years): For stage performers the industry standard is the Nord Electro series keyboard (about $3,500-$7,000 depending on the model), with Roland Juno and Korg stage keyboards placing a close second. It’s not uncommon for keyboard players to have 2-5 keyboards with slightly different features, effects, and onboard sound banks…so you’ll want to be picky about which you buy, unless you have the space for a dozen or more keyboards in your home.

We’re always happy to recommend brands, local shops, or rental options so you don’t overspend or buy something that will hold you back.

How Lessons Work: Learn / Love / Live to Play

Learn to Play – Solid foundations

In our Learn to Play stream, we focus on building reliable technique and musicianship. You’ll work on:

• Technique – hand shape, posture, gesture, scales, chords, time signatures, rhythm, and tempo
• Reading notation – Sheet music is a core part of keyboard methodology, so understanding it is incredibly helpful for songwriting and arrangement. It’s doesn’t have to happen overnight however, and instructors will introduce sheet music as-and-when the student is ready for it
• Ear Training – and emphasis on ear-training or playing by ear is very helpful for keyboard musicianship. Especially in the early days of reading notation which can take some time playing by ear can be quick and rewarding
• Theory – Since reading sheet music is commonplace, basic theory is often mixed into lessons, even early on. Most method books, and any teacher worth their salt, however, will absolutely do their best to make the theory components fun, and easy to follow
• Repertoire – There’s so much to choose from when learning the keyboard: cool jazz shuffles, incredibly intricate fugues, toe-tappin’ rhythm and blues riffs, as well as more contemporary genres than you could shake a fist at (film and television scores, pop music, and video game sound tracks)

This stream is great for students who like structure, clear milestones, and/or who want to pursue exams, school band, or eventually register for post-secondary music programs.

Love to Play – Play for joy

In our Love to Play stream, we design lessons around what you actually want to play. That might include:

• Learning specifically your favourite song or style
• Self-accompanying while singing
• Acquiring both piano, and general music, appreciation skills
• Prepping for your annual ‘we’re getting the band back together’ jam session or show
• Providing you basic theory “as needed” to support your goals
• Offering you low-pressure performance opportunities (only if you want them)
• Songwriting and composition opportunities

The Love to Play stream is perfect for students who want music as a creative outlet without the pressure of exams, competitions, or public performances.

Live to Play – Preparing for the professional path

For students ready to take things further, our Live to Play stream of study helps you move from “pretty good” to “gig-ready”. Live to Play students will master:

• Advanced technique, theory, and repertoire
• Audition and performance preparation (if applicable)
• Songwriting and arrangement training (if applicable)
• Keyboard improvisation training
• Studio and session-recording skills (including actual studio experience)
• Career guidance on next steps including: auditions, gigging/touring band life, recording, post-secondary studies, teaching the piano/keyboard, and more.

Hear It in the Wild: Stars & Songs

Artists who put the keyboard in the spotlight

• Wendy Carlos “Switched on Bach” featuring the Moog synthesizer, among other modular electronic sounds, brought the synth directly into people’s homes via the turn-table and record. She geniously paired 250-year-old familiar compositions with brand new innovated tech in a way that opened up a whole generation of ears to the possibilities and scope of digital music
• Herbie Hancock was an incredible musician and performer, and creator. His vision for the future of digital music was famously on display in his iconic album Headhunters: Head Hunters was a key release in Hancock’s career and a defining moment in the genre of jazz, and has been an inspiration not only for jazz musicians, but also to funk, soul music, jazz funk, and hip hop artists.^[2] The Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry, which collects “culturally, historically or aesthetically important” sound recordings from the 20th century
• Billy Preston – an incredible collaborator across numerous genres during the late 60s and throughout the 70s. Famously Billy joined the Beatles to give the fab 4 an extra fab 5th instrument, the Fender Rhodes on 2 albums
• Stevie Wonder – highlighted the Hohner Clavinet in much of his early work, creating what would become the signature Stevie Wonder sound. Also a prolific writer, composer, and collaborator in the music industry
• Suzanne Ciani though potentially not a household name at the time (or nowadays), Suzanne was in fact, at the vanguard of creating film scores and compositing music for pinball machines (like Xenon) using the latest in technology

Songs where the keyboard really shines

• A short clip of the Goldberg Variations by JS Bach (1685-1750) on a miniature pipe organ which was the predecessor (along with harpsichord) of the piano
• Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs featuring Hammond M3 Organ
• Shake a Tailfeather by Ray Charles, featuring a Fender Rhodes
• Running up that Hill by Kate Bush featuring Fairlight CMI synthesizer and encapsulating the 80s synth-wave sound
• Jump by Van Halen featuring the Oberheim OB-X keyboard/synthesizer
• Take my breath away by Berlin which features the distinctive Yamaha DX-7 FM synthesizer
• Ocean to Ocean by Tori Amos featuring the iconic Wurlitzer (next to a rather gorgeous Bosendorfer grand piano)
• Blinding Lights by The Weeknd features the retro sound of a Roland Juno 60, combined with modern music sensibilities

These are fun reference points you can explore at home, and great inspiration for setting lesson goals.

Meet Your Keyboard Instructors

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