I teach piano to students as young as 6 and voice to students as young as 8. I find this is a wonderful age where they’re getting used to a classroom environment from school, they’re developing their reading skills which are really helpful with the method books we use, and their attention span can handle the 30 or 45 minute lesson time.

Yes! But you don’t have to own it. Here in BC you can rent a beautiful 88 key weighted keyboard from Long & McQuade if you are interested in trying out piano lessons but aren’t sure you want to invest in an instrument right off the bat. You can also keep an eye out for someone giving away a piano for free or for a low price on places like Kijiji, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace.

Voice lessons are now offered both in person at the Maple Ridge studio and online with Zoom! In-person lessons are currently running with both myself and students masking. We will be updating the details of our masking policy soon for the 2022-2023 school year, stay tuned!

Great question, and it’s different for every student based on what we’re working on! I’m always happy to discuss an ideal practicing plan with you. For some younger students, 20 minutes 3-5 times a week is ideal. For some other students, for example those participating in the RCM examinations or working on challenging repertoire, they thrive with practicing 45-60 minutes 5 days a week. Together we’ll come up with a plan that works best for you!

Practicing at home can feel a lot like a chore (especially when they could be doing something else!), and sometimes we have to get creative in our encouragement. For younger children, having parents directly involved in the practice sessions helps immensely, especially if you can encourage them to teach you and to share what they are working on! Reward systems can also be great, where if they practice a certain amount of times a week there is a treat at the end of the week - whatever a treat means in your household. Maybe screen time is reserved for after music practice time, or something similar to help build the practice time into a regular routine. I’m always happy to work with families to find what works best and collaborate on a plan of action!

Invoices are sent out on the first of the month by email and payment is due by the 7th. Your invoice can be paid by credit card by clicking through the emailed invoice or by e-transfer to Arianna Mae Ervin at info@ariannamaestudios.com. There is a late payment fee of $25. There is also the option to have your card automatically billed safely through my booking system's integration with Stripe - whatever works best for you!

For those students on the monthly payment plan, there are no rescheduled lessons during the school year. Keep in mind there is a ton of behind-the- scenes work that goes into your lessons, including but not limited to researching and acquiring resources for the studio and lesson planning! You have not wasted any money by needing to cancel your class. If you or your child are under the weather but feeling well enough to participate in a lesson - fantastic! We’ll just hop online and have a Zoom lesson.

For adult students taking drop-in lessons, you can book in or reschedule your lesson up to 24 hours before your scheduled lesson time. Subject to studio availability.

Drop-in lessons are perfect for adult students who may not be able to commit to a regular weekly lesson spot and for teens who would like to schedule extra sessions before a performance or audition. The drop-in schedule is also designed for students who can attend lessons during the school day (between 1pm-3pm) and later in the evening at the end of my teaching day (7pm-8pm).

Drop-in lessons are not ideal for students looking for a regular weekly lesson time since there is no guarantee that the same time will be available for you each week. But they are also beautifully flexible that way if you sometimes need a different time! They are also not ideal for young children since most of the times are during school hours or later in the evening.