FAQs About the 5 Questions Guide

Q: Hold on. You’re a piano teacher… giving away the questions piano teachers hope nobody asks?
A: I am. My colleagues are thrilled. (They are not.) But in 20 years I’ve watched a lot of students quit other piano teacher, and it was almost never because of the piano. It was the fit. Five good questions up front would have saved most of them.

Q: Okay, but this is basically an ad for your studio.
A: Partly, sure. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hope you’d pick me. But these questions work on any teacher, me included. Ask them to me too. If my answers don’t hold up, keep looking.

Q: Ha. So what’s actually in it?
A: Five questions. For each one, the answer you want to hear and the answer that should make you a little nervous. It takes about three minutes. Less if you skip my jokes.

Q: Why would an answer make me nervous?
A: Because some of the best-sounding ones are the problem. “I’ll sit right beside your child for the whole hour.” “We put on a big recital on a real stage!” Lovely on paper. Also two of the most common reasons students quit. The guide explains why.

Q: Huh. Is this for kids or adults?
A: Both. Whether someone’s seven or fifty seven, the same few things decide whether they’ll still want to play in six months. That’s why I ask who it’s for. A nervous second grader and a grown up who quit at nine need very different stories.

Q: What if we’re serious? Auditions and exams serious?
A: Then you’re in the right studio. I prepare students for conservatory auditions and graded exams too. This just isn’t that guide. This one’s for the very first decision: picking a teacher you’ll stay with long enough to get somewhere.

Q: Fine. What happens after I sign up?
A: The guide lands in your inbox right away. Over the next two weeks I’ll send a handful of short stories from my studio: kids who froze, adults who were sure they were too old, and one pencil I’ll never live down. After that, about one email a week.

Q: I already get 400 emails a day.
A: I know. Mine are the short ones with stories in them. And if they’re not for you, there’s an unsubscribe link at the bottom of every single one. No hard feelings. I’ll just go play something sad in a minor key.

Q: Will you sell my email?
A: Never. Your email stays with me. If you ever want to talk, you’ll be the one reaching out, and I’ll be glad you did.

Q: Do I need a piano to read it?
A: Nope. A phone and three minutes. The piano can wait.

Q: Can I just pop by the studio and take a look?
A: I wish I could say yes. But the only time I’m there, I’m teaching, and stopping a lesson to chat at the door isn’t fair to the student on the bench. If you’d like to see it, book the free intro lesson. That’s the visit, keyboard included.

Q: Where are you located, anyway?
A: 1890A Wantagh Ave, Wantagh, NY. Lessons are Wednesday, Friday and Sunday evenings.

Q: Okay. You’ve talked me into it.
A: That was easier than I expected. I put the form right below, so you don’t have to scroll all the way back up. Tell me who your choosing a teacher for, add your email, and the guide’s on its way.