These Bollywood celebrities are learning to play the piano.
Priyanka Chopra Learning to Play the Piano
Actor Nick Jonas is using the lockdown period to teach wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas how to play piano.
“I’ve never played, but I’ve always wanted to learn an instrument, so I make him give me a half-hour or 45-minute lesson every day,” says Priyanka about her in-house piano teacher.
Soha takes Piano Classes to Learn to Play Piano
Soha Ali Khan has started taking piano classes to learn to play piano. No wonder her mom is more than pleased.
As a child, Soha used to learn to play the instrument, but didn’t like it much. But she has resumed her piano classes and Sharmila is more than happy.
Actress Sharmila Tagore and daughter Soha Ali Khan share a strong bonding and these days the younger one is making her mommy happy by learning to play the Piano.
“Many, many years down the line, I remembered that my mom had this dream and this vision of her growing old and me playing the piano for her and the house being full of music. So, I thought it’s better late than never. I have started learning how to play the piano,” Soha, 33, told reporters.
Soha also revealed how she used to bunk her music classes when she was young.
“When I was very young, her (my mom’s) dream was that I should learn how to play the piano. I was very naughty. I did enroll at the Delhi School of Music where I went for some classes…I would bunk those classes and go and play tennis, which I enjoyed more,” said the 33-year-old.
“We had a piano that we had rented. It was in the corridor and at some point my mother must have returned it because I wasn’t practising. I don’t think I noticed for about three months that it had gone,” added the actress who is busy shooting for Deepa Mehta’s “Winds of Change”.
Sharmila was also present at the event and said that she was surprised when she found out that Soha is learning to play the instrument.
“I always wanted her to play the piano because I feel that it is such a lovely thing to know, music. The sound of piano always appealed to me, it is one of my favourite instruments. It was a kind of surprise (that Soha is learning the Piano again). She is very conscious and she is very hardworking. I don’t know whether she is a natural or not, I don’t want her to be a concert pianist really but would be happy if Soha learns to play the piano” said the 65-year-old veteran.
Music Teachers
Though there are several music teachers in Mumbai, depending on where you stay, they could be inaccessible. In the nineties, it was very common for students to travel a couple of hours to take an hour of class. Though things have changed a lot in Mumbai since then, travelling does take a lot of time.Lot of Travel Time
If you are an adult living in Navi Mumbai, it could be difficult for you to travel to a piano teacher who’s located in Bandra/Santacruz. You can bet the good piano teachers are not going to travel to your place to give you private lessons. Those who travel to the students place will charge extra for the conveyance, and they do have their preference of locations. You can expect to pay around 2000 to 3000 rupees per month for the good teachers!
The classes are usually one-to-one, and each class is for about 45 minutes. The fees are usually payable at the start of the month.
There’s no fixed cancellation policy as such. A student can cancel a lesson, provided they tell at-least a day in advance. Some teachers compensate for the missed class by taking an extra class (not every teacher may do so).
Children Have More Options
For children, the situation is comparatively better, as most schools nowadays offer music classes and many more extra-curricular activities.
Most schools have a music room, few musical instruments, and also have music teachers on the payroll. You can expect your child to get an overview of music, as the school may not have sufficient instruments for every student.
During vacations, the schools may conduct workshops on keyboards and other musical instruments (usually there are charged extra).
Difficult to Find a Good Teacher
You may still be able to find a music teacher locally, but they may not be strong on the music theory aspect (especially harmonization & sight-reading).
Most piano teachers with diploma or certifications from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music or the Trinity College live in Town or around Juhu. If you are interested in learning music notations and want to appear for exams, they should be able to guide you well.
Harmonium Is Not a Bad Choice Either
At least to begin with, if you don’t want to spend a lot or don’t have a piano yet, you can always learn from music teachers trained in Hindustani/Carnatic music who teach harmonium, and you can easily find them in Mumbai.
You can learn the basics (basic notes, scales and how to play simple songs) for a few months or a year, and then try to find a piano teacher. Their fees are also much lower than those who teach western music.
Group Lessons Can Also Be Good
If you just want to learn to play the piano or the keyboards (and not just focus on western classical), then even group lessons would work fine for you. There are several teaching institutions who offer group lessons in music. Just make sure they have enough instruments and the class size is not huge. Hands-on learning and personal attention is also important, the music teacher should be able to attend to training needs of every student in the class.
Visit Furtados
Furtados is one of the oldest musical instrument shops in Mumbai, located in Fort, near Metro cinema (now Adlabs). If you’re looking for a good piano teacher (to help you with your grade exams) or if you want to get your keyboard instruments repaired, or even buy a new one, that is a good place to ask.
You can always search online to find the contact details of more teachers. Many online services, such as ‘justdial’, have the names and contact details of music teachers listed as per the locality.
Until few years back, most good piano teachers would reside in South Mumbai, Bandra & Santacruz, but now you do come across teachers in Andheri, Mulund, Thane and even in Navi Mumbai.
