About the Teacher

Andrew Rickards is a piano and music theory teacher based in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Beginning his music studies relatively late, at 17, Andrew quickly developed a passion for music (and in particular music for the piano) and within just 4 years had received an Associate diploma (AMusA) in piano from the AMEB and was accepted into the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, graduating with a BMus Studies in 2008. Andrew has been teaching piano and music theory since 2005, preparing students for exams, auditions and scholarships. He is familiar with most styles of music, having studied early and classical music, jazz, rock, blues, and other contemporary styles. Andrew has performed with various and ensembles but has more recently taken an interest in music composition - including composing music especially for his own students. Andrew is a dedicated teacher with a creative approach to teaching music, based on principles that were the foundation of his own speedy musical development.

Why Learn the Piano?

Learning to play a musical instrument can be an incredibly rewarding experience in itself. A great sense of accomplishment can be attained through music studies, not to mention the sheer pleasure of participating in musical activities, either alone or with others. However, as if that weren’t reason enough, there are other reasons why you may like to take music lessons, or have your child take music lessons.

Without wanting to overstate the matter, learning a musical instrument has been shown have a positive effect on the development of language skills, literacy, numeracy, IQ, self-efficacy, and, given the right kind of instruction, creativity and self-esteem. Believe it or not, music making can have a positive effect on physical health as well. Playing the piano, for instance, exercises the heart as much as a brisk walk. Participation in musical activities has also been shown to contribute to perceived good health, quality of life and mental well-being.

Of all the modern musical instruments, the piano appears to be of particular benefit in these regards. Playing a musical instrument is an intense, multi-sensory and motor experience. It involves exercising delicate control of the muscles and the practice of highly complex movements to the point that they become natural or automatic, the ability to read and decode abstract information (music notation) in real time, the ability imagine and recall from memory extended patterns of sound while simultaneously giving meaning and expression to those sounds, and the ability to respond to feedback from the three primary senses involved in music – sound, sight, and touch. And all this may happen simultaneously in one instance of musical creation.

What makes the piano different from other instruments is that the number of tasks required in performing a work on the piano is generally much greater than on other instruments. Where as on a flute you may only be able to play a single melody, a piano piece may require you to play several melodies at once, often with some kind of chordal accompaniment as well. Furthermore, on keyboard instruments the left and right hands often move much more independently of one another than on other instruments, compounding the multitasking demands (and benefits!) of your music studies.

It should be noted also that the greatest composers throughout history were almost all pianists (or keyboard players of some kind). This is no coincidence since keyboard instruments are are among only a hand full of instruments on which it is possible to play a complete piece of music, with melodies, counter-melodies and accompaniments – the piano often being credited as the only instrument which could rival the orchestra in terms of the power and richness of its sound. The layout of the keyboard also perfectly reflects the way musical tones are organised in European music, the basis of most of the music we here today, which can facilitate a proper understanding of how music is written.

All that aside, learning to play the piano will simply give you, or your children, a lifetime of entertainment and a tremendous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

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