piano lessons

[AnnaB]

If you are lucky enough to get a booking. Go for it. The proof is in the pudding.

[Nick S]

Just a quick update on my post above. For the last 3 years, the last 18 months on Zoom, I've been having regular lessons from Roksana. During that time I performed in public at a concert she organised, and got a Distinction in Grade 1 Piano, all thanks to Roksana's patience and continued encouragement. Grade 2 next, but the main thing is to keep it interesting and keep pushing forward playing pieces that are fun. If you're wavering, or maybe think that you're too old to start (I was nearly 60 as I said), just give it a go and surprise yourself, and there's no better teacher than Roksana!

[Lucky M]

I?m moving to South London in the near future and was looking for a teacher in the area as lockdown made me rediscover my passion for piano.

I came across Rokansa?s website and booked 1, 30 minute lesson with her. In particular I wanted to find out ways in which to improve my sight reading. I passed grade 6 in the past, but always found sight reading a struggle as I was reading note by note. Roksana taught me a way to approach sight reading which closed the gap between my theoretical and practical knowledge. I feel a link which was once broken now makes much more sense and Less scary.

As a child I passed grade 5 theory but I still couldn?t understand the visuals of the keyboard and the theory. Instead, I was relying on memory to get me through. She explained the cycle of fifths in such an appealing way which made me interested to learn more, rather than escape the subject.

I will definitely take more lessons with her in the future when I move to south london!

For more info contact www.roksanamusic.com

[Lucky M]

Regarding my message above, if you want to contact Roksana regarding piano tuition her number is 07796 173583.

Her website details are www.roksanamusic.com

[willwhite]

Roksana is an amazing teacher. I am a self-taught professional musician and was looking to improve my piano technique and knowledge of theory when I started taking lessons with her. In just 6 weeks we have already covered 6 months of sight reading and piano training as well as 3 years of rhythmic training. My piano playing and theory has become much more versatile thanks to Roksana developing a stronger foundation in my technique with scales, arpeggios, chord inversions, fingering, dynamics. I'm really enjoying learning with Roksana and recommend her to anyone learning at any level.

[AnnaB]

I am absolutely delighted with how well my son has done under the guidance of Roksana. He was a complete beginner and with only once a week supervision has now gained his second distinction! He also attained 21/21 in sight reading! It's boosted his confidence in general life incredibly too.

We are not a musical family but Roksana has been such an encouraging and professional teacher it even inspired him to take music for his exams and now he is excelling in music at Kingsdale because of his lessons. Come rain or shine..through lock down, there was no way he'd duck out he loves every minute. She's amazing, professional and worth her weight in gold.

I do hope she reads this.

She totally is brilliant. Best thing I ever did was book my son in.

[kristen]

I've been having lessons with Roksana since July when I decided to give the piano one more try.

I learned as a child but never really got to grips with the basics and after a couple of slightly terrifying teachers lost my confidence.

Roksana has helped me understand the foundations. Having to go back to the beginning as an adult could have been dispiriting but I look forward to my lessons feel that I'm (slowly) getting somewhere, instead of just winging it, as I used to do.

She's an amazing teacher. I only wish I'd found her sooner.

[Emma Casey]

I would also like to add to this thread and recommend Roksana who is a wonderful piano teacher.

Learning piano formally was always on my "to do" list as I taught myself as a child and already read music well. This meant I was neither a complete beginner nor an experienced player but Roksana is expert at tailoring her teaching to the student's needs. I have progressed really well under Roksana since I started in Autumn 2019 - I've already completed grades 3, 5 and 6 - receiving a distinction for each exam.

Roksana's lessons are focused and challenging but never too serious. She excels at explaining and teaching good technique and you will learn with the right habits and approach, which is so important as bad habits are easy to learn in and can really hold you back. Though learning piano takes a great deal of personal effort and commitment, if a week does go by where I have not been able to touch a piano Roksana will still ensure a productive lesson - no minute of a lesson is ever wasted.

If you are thinking of taking up lessons don't hesitate to contact Roksana - you could not be in safer hands.

[EmmaAllen]

I've been studying with Roksana for four years having returned to piano training after a long break. I wanted to face the fear of an empty keyboard, learn how to improvise, compose and play what I was feeling instead of simply what was written. I was fairly unaware of how big a journey this would be! The first teacher I tried was knowledgeable but supremely dry: Dorothy Pilling's book, harmonise in all 12 keys using I,IV, V in first, second and third inversions was an absolute boreoff. Roksana has been able to add colour and fun: transposing, jazz harmony, singing, aural training and different styles of piano music. There has also been lots of green tea and, surprisingly in this journey, an unrelenting focus on the basics of rhythmics and sightreading which has changed how I approach music. She also encouraged me to start teaching piano and I now have two beginner students whilst I work towards an ABRSM piano teaching diploma. She has a beautiful grand piano in tip top condition which is an absolute joy to play.

[JimmyJamPot]

In the 80's, as a professional drummer I was mildly envious of my musician mates and band members who were able to compose, record and perform their own music. Since then I have had an underlying regret I hadn't learned piano and composition.

A couple of years ago I sold my business and became semi-retired which I'm enjoying apart from this nagging regret.

I am an older father and have teenage kids. I bought them a piano which lives in our kitchen/family room. After six months, the kids eventually lost interest. During breakfast and meal times I could see the abandoned piano and kept thinking "if only I could play" - how sad if I don't fulfil my dream.

I woke up one morning, fed up to the teeth with the yearning, I sat at my lap top and searched the web for a piano teacher and found Roksana. I told her I wanted to learn to play with the goal to write my own music which I would take a studio and record, just for me.

I have been learning with Roksana for four months and even though it's not easy for a procrastinator like me to adhere to the discipline of piano practice nearly every day, I have managed it and am now sight reading and playing simple tunes.

Roksana is an excellent communicator, talented pianist and empathetic teacher. If she can teach me, she can help anyone to learn, no matter what age or disposition.

Oh I nearly forgot - another bonus, my daughter having seen me practicing is now secretly putting on the headphones and she has begun to play again.

[YilianA22]

Roksana is an amazing piano teacher ,

I started piano again in my early 20's with Roksana and she knows exactly how to teach me. She does not rush, she is very very focused on teaching a good foundation. I wish I had started with her right from the beginning , she has helped me to get rid of bad habits that I picked up from self teaching from watching videos online.

I have only taken a few lessons with Roksana but I believe I have found my piano teacher for life.

I have progressed so much and She has helped me realize how important a strong foundation is in piano focusing on the details which in turn,will help me be a great pianist in the future rather than a mediocre one.

Piano is not a race it is a journey and Roksana has really and truly made me love piano even more than I did before.

This is her website for anyone interested in exceling in Piano.

www.roksanamusic.com

[Nicolas S]

I got started learning piano with Roksana about a year ago because I got into music production in the last few years and wanted to learn music theory and an instrument. I messaged Roksana and she booked me in the following week. She has a very friendly style and a focus on building the foundation so that progress is made correctly, she is a great teacher because she assumed that I knew nothing (which I did!) and is building my skills from the basics up. I have learned the importance of keeping time correctly, not trying to rush my progress and I’ve learned a lot about music theory, with a lot more still to come. I participated in the annual recital which although daunting, was very inspirational as I saw experienced piano players play very complex pieces and it gave me a glimpse of what I could achieve if I keep up my practice and lessons. I started off by just wanting to learn piano to assist in music production and whilst that is still my passion, piano has become an interest in its own right and I now want to progress as a piano player and work through the grading system. Learning the piano has tested my brain massively but it leaves me feeling accomplished and excited for the future. I can’t recommend Roksana as a piano teach enough.

[Millierose]

I have been having lessons with Roskana for 3 years and could not recommend her more highly. She has completely transformed my ability to sight read and understand complex rhythms, which are things I have struggled with throughout my musical journey. Roskana has also helped me to explore the difference between different periods of music and how this should inform my performance style. I have passed both my grade 7 and grade 8 under her guidance (with a distinction and a merit). There is also the advantage of using a beautiful grand piano at her home, which I’m sure will excite any pianist!

 

Roskana is an incredible teacher and I only wish I had found her sooner. 

 

[Minnie Mee]

I wanted to learn piano for many years but never had enough time or resources. Eventually, at the age of 53, I bought a second-hand keyboard and started learning a year ago with an app. I wish I had been more patient in finding a teacher like Roksana. It took me a while to come to that conclusion. At first, it all seemed easy and fun to learn with an app, but after about three months, I realized that I was going in circles. It didn’t feel like I was making any progress. Every new song I tried to learn seemed extremely difficult. It hurt my ego at first because I am usually a quick learner, but then I realized that I simply needed a teacher. That’s when I found Roksana.

After the first lesson, I understood why learning with an app wasn’t working for me. After about six lessons, I completely changed some bad habits that had been limiting my progress. I can’t recommend Roksana’s piano lessons in West Norwood (SE27) enough. It's within walking distance from Tulse Hill, where I live. Her knowledge and encouragement are priceless!

[MichaelCl]

Roksana is an amazing teacher and I couldn't recommend more highly. 
I started lessons with Roksana about 5 years ago after a gap of 39 years(!) and it looks hours and hour of scales everyweek for at least a year (or longer) to get into the kind of shape needed to start seriously progressing from where I’d left off. I wanted to take Grade 6 but for that I needed to have Grade 5 theory - I’d taken that as a teenager but had lost the certificate. Being as that pre-dated computer records, I couldn’t get a new copy. So I started studying theory again and finally took the exam online.
We also (having inherited an instrument best described as “end of life”) needed a new piano. That made a huge difference once negotiated. I started, with Roksana’s encouragement and gentle (or not so gentle) little nudges to tackle more complex musical challenges, like Latin American polyrhythms or the “simpler” Bach repertoire. All of this was aimed re-building the strength and coordination in my hands after decades of atrophying. I’d always played guitar but piano demands a whole different set of muscle memory and fine control. This all led to actual performances in front of people (despite appalling stage fright) successfully passing the Grade 6 practical after a 44 year break. Onwards to grade 7!