Professional musician and teacher Andrew Ridgwick offers private
keyboard lessons at his home music studio in
Whitley Bay.
For well over
15 years, Andrew Ridgwick has taught students from various demographic backgrounds, covering all ages and abilities.

Driven by
enthusiasm and an inherit
friendly,
patient and
encouraging nature, all keyboard lessons are individually tailored to suit the student. As well as study,
fun and
inspiration play a key factor in the lessons, keeping the student
interested and
inspired, even when the going gets tough!
Anyone can learn to play the
keyboard, from young
children through to
grandparents wanting to take up a new interest during retirement. Children can start from the age of
six generally, although some gifted children can begin from the age of
four.

There are no prerequisites for learning to
play the
keyboard, only a desire to embrace one of the most
rewarding challenges you will ever decide to undertake.
The main differences between
piano and
keyboard are the
keys, the way in which the
hands are used and the
sound produced.
On a
piano, the keys are bigger and heavier than those on a
keyboard. Each hand is used
independently, to play notes pretty much anywhere on the
piano. On a
keyboard, the right hand is used solely to play the melody whilst the left hand is dedicated to providing an
accompaniment, by means of playing
chords lower down on the
keyboard.
A
piano sounds like a
piano and is a solo instrument. The sound produced is down to the
pianist alone. On a
keyboard however, the
keyboardist is able to change the
sound at will in order to make it sound authentic to the style of music being played.

As well as changing the melody sound, the
keyboardist can also select a suitable rhythm/accompaniment for the music, to play along with. This
accompaniment will also feature many other sounds which the
keyboard will produce in order to 'fill out' the entire
performance. This sound can be very exciting, especially with today's
keyboards and offers the possibility of an individual
keyboardist orchestrating some quite complex music, often in many styles which are not really suited to the solo
piano.
Lessons are held
weekly on a chosen weekday, with a duration of either half or a full hour. A
learning program will be put together for you, which will be gradually worked through week by week at your own pace. Homework will be set which will require daily
practise ideally.

This may start at 15 minutes per
day, rising as your standard progresses.
For children, it is important that parents encourage
regular practise, spending time
listening to their hard work and ensuring that adequate time is set aside during the day for practise to take place. An unorganised and rushed
rehearsal schedule is a slippery slope which ultimately leads to slower progress, boredom and the
piano simply becoming a chore.
Andrew Ridgwick has invested in an
online music tuition system whereby lesson notes, progress charts and audio examples can be posted and reviewed by teacher, pupil and parents alike.
Students are given their own login details which enables them to access their own records on the
internet.

From here, students can review
lesson notes and also hear
audio examples of their study pieces. Andrew Ridgwick will
perform the piece the student is studying and post it as an example
audio file. The student can then
listen to this on the
internet, or download it for use on an
MP3 player. In certain lessons, the student's
performance will also be
recorded and posted to the site. This builds an invaluable
history of the student's progress, which can be
heard at anytime, now and in years to come!
Areas within reach for keyboard lessons in the Tyne and Wear county:
Whitley Bay
Cullercoats
North Shields
Tynemouth
Wallsend
Seaton Sluice
Seaton Delaval
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Jesmond
Heaton
Walker
Byker
Gosforth
Wideopen
South Shields
Tyne & Wear
Yes, a
keyboard must be owned so that
practise can be undertaken on a regular basis at home. Unlike a
piano,
keyboards don't take up much space and are very
portable, so accommodating one shouldn't prove too much of a problem. With the
sound being produced
electronically, they also have the advantage that they can be played through
headphones, allowing silent
practise anywhere in the home.
There are many different models of
keyboard to choose from, which can seem daunting at first. However, the main
features you will be looking for on your first
keyboard will be:
- 5 Octaves (61 Keys)
- Full Size Touch Sensitive Keys
- A Good Selection of Voices/Tones
- Rhythm/Accompaniment Section
For guidance on buying a suitable
keyboard, along with a breakdown on the various terms and features of
keyboards, please read
Buying a Keyboard
Lessons are
£12 per half hour session.
Other costs incurred will be that of
music books and any external
examinations which are undertaken.
Progress is entirely dependant on the
individual.
Practise is the key factor to the speed of development. You will be playing your first pieces of real
music within weeks, with development continuing over years to ensure that you develop

into a well rounded and competent
keyboardist.
Being a
keyboardist is also about being a
musician, being a musician involves learning a lot of skills, some of which can only naturally
develop over time, no matter how desperately you want them to appear instantly.
Examinations in
keyboard can be undertaken with the London College of Music Examinations (
LCM). This is a leading
music examination board with wide accreditation

acceptance.
Whilst undertaking
exams can be a useful barometer for progression and a useful goal to strive for, especially for the younger
student,
they are by no means mandatory and should not be looked upon as the ultimate achievement in your
piano playing development. Becoming a successful
pianist requires many skills, for which examinations alone will not prepare you for.
Schools now have music labs filled with
keyboards which are used to teach students on. They are now typically linked to
computers to enable
sequencing via
MIDI - which all sounds complicated, but basically enables the student to do multitrack
recording, build
compositions and also to
notate their works ready for printing.
This can be a daunting topic for the uninitiated, especially if you are trying to build a similar system in your own home to enable projects to be continued out of school. This frequently happens for
GCSE &
A-Level coursework assessment. Your custom tailored
keyboard tuition can have these topics included, so that your
coursework can be progressed out of school time.
If you would like to further pursue
sequencing, MIDI & notation, Andrew Ridgwick's studio is equipped to handle this. You can learn the ropes from basic
backing track production through to professional
keyboard rigs and how to set them up and play for a wide variety of roles including
showbands and
musicals.
Why not
surprise someone with a gift
keyboard lesson? A special gift card will be given which will entitle the recipient to an hour long
keyboard lesson, which by the end of, they will be playing their very first piece of
keyboard music.

The performance will also be
recorded on CD for them to treasure for ever! This is an ideal 'first step' for many students who are thinking about learning to play the
keyboard, but are maybe apprehensive about taking the initial plunge.
(Please leave voicemail if I am unable to answer your call)
Contact
Andrew Ridgwick