About us
Școala de Pian was created by pianist Lena Napradean-Enache based on performing and pedagogical experiences lived over the course of 6 years în London, within the Royal Academy of Music. The Școala de Pian concept focuses on identifying the most suitable teacher for every student. Then, building on a classical pedagogical structure which covers the essential (correct position at the piano, hand lightness, basic theory notions, the understanding of musical scores and training of basic techniques), we build each student's evolution based on their natural abilities and the direction and musical style that they wish to follow.
Each of our teachers has a speciality, be it în regards to their students' age, their preferred musical styles or their personality. Therefore our team comprises of teachers who can teach in Romanian or English, intensively towards performance or relaxed, just for hobby, regardless of age, but always with their attention turned towards the particularities and needs of each student. READ MOREMethod
Our method is based on the theory of simultaneous learning developed by the well known music pedagogue Paul Harris. Simultaneous learning refers to the capacity of a music student to develop an array of skills at the same time – technique, theory, aural skills, sight reading, improvisation, etc. Because of this, at Școala de Pian children learn to play music both by ear and by reading notation, so that they can develop their processing skills both visually and aurally. They learn technique, theory, learn to improvise and even to listen analytically to music. The material used for learning gathers the best methods from around the world – partly British, partly American and partly Australian and our teachers are trained to provide a well-rounded learning experience for each of our student, developing their unique musical voice on a strong skills base.
After 3 months
We know how the instrument works and how to recognise each key, how to sit properly at the piano and even how to improvise from the first lesson. We can move our fingers with almost complete independence and we know how to use the natural weight of the arm when pressing the piano keys. We can read simple music scores, transfer the melody from one hand to another by using the correct fingering without interrupting the rhythm and we can identify and play the shape of a melody just by listening to it.
After 6 months
We play with both hands at the same time and we tackled the first tehnical exercises – scales, arpeggios, chords – as well as the first theory notions. Our hands gain more and more independence, managing the difference between melody and accompaniment, our improvs become more interesting through the use of chords and the pieces we play become more diverse. We start using a more tehnical language when it comes to talking about music and we can play the same piece in several different ways.
After 9 months
We are strongly secure on managing rhythm and we gain more and more confidence in reading musical scores. Now we can explore extreme registers on the piano, play with more complex accompaniments for the left hand and our wrists become more flexible so that we can display larger contrasts in the sounds we make on the piano. We can read patterns rather than individual notes on the score, we extend our vocabulary and we can recognise the details of a written or heard piece of music with more ease. Our repertoire becomes more diverse and we could even participate in a piano competition for beginners.
After 1 year
We collect a lot of different pieces in our repertoire and we already know which musical styles we prefer playing. We have gathered enough knowledge to start analysing our own pianistic successes and failures and we start to understand the mechanisms we need to apply in our practice in order to get what we want. We have a close knowledge of the keyboard and we start using the piano pedals, making our pieces that much more impressive. Our theoretical knowledge starts to make its way into both the diversity of our improvs and the quality of our interpretations, while our fingers become more and more agile.
After 2 years
Our hands are now fully independent from each other and the fingers can play faster passages with increasingly less tension. We know how to use the force and weight in our arms, as well as the mobility of our fingers in order to create diverse qualities of sounds in a piece of music. Our theoretical knowledge and aural skills help us in learning pieces with ease and extending our improvs. Therefore, we start taking informed and argumented decisions in regards to how we play a piece of music and we can closely analize the music we listen to. We have a diverse repertoire, encompassing complex pieces that we study in detail and we start learning how to manage our emotions and deliver a small recital by memory.How it works
- Let's get to know each other According to your schedule, we set up the first meeting at our location, free of charge, where together with Lena Napradean-Enache you will set up the foundation for your future piano lessons. Through well hidden tests, masked by conversation and games, we'll get to test the musical abilities, discover the personality, learning style, passions and preferences of the future student. Hence, we'll be able to provide the most suitable teacher.
- Meet your tutor – First lesson Depending on your choice and availability, your first piano lesson, also free of charge, will take place either at our location or at your home. Now you will have the opportunity to test if the proposed teacher is really the one suitable for you. If you still won't be convinced, we can repeat the lesson with another teacher, until you find the right chemistry.
- Officialising our friendship You choose the learning package most suitable to you, according to how long you'd like your commitment to be and how many lessons per week you'd like to have. Our leaning packages work on modules, each module covering 7 weeks during which there can be 1 or 2 lessons. The modules follow the school year structure established by Ministerul Învățământului for the Bucharest area. Therefore, lessons are suspended during school holidays, unless, they are specifically requested or there are lesson make ups to be had because of exceptional circumstances during term time (subject to teacher availability).
- Școala de Pian learning pack Once we get over the technicalities and set up a weekly lesson schedule, you receive your Școala de Pian learning pack which contains books selected according to the student's age and level, the leaning notebook and a few other surprises.
- Let’s play the piano!
1330ron/module
Testing
1 module
- 7 lessons / 7 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
1295ron/module
Keen
2 modules
- 14 lessons / 14 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
1260ron/module
Fascinated
3 modules
- 21 lessons / 21 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
1225ron/module
Absorbed
4 modules
- 28 lessons / 28 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free participation in 1 workshop with other pianists of the same level
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
1190ron/module
Committed
5 modules
- 35 lessons / 35 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free participation in 1 workshop with other pianists of the same level
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
1150ron/module
All In
6 modules
- 42 lessons / 42 weeks (excluding school holidays)
- 1 lesson (55 minutes) / week
- Free inițial assessment with Lena (45 minutes)
- Free first lesson with the recommended teacher (55 minutes)
- Free termly evaluation with Lena (30 minutes)
- Free participation in Școala de Pian concerts
- Free participation in 1 workshop with other pianists of the same level
- Free Școala de Pian learning pack *reînnoită conform cu progresul elevului
- 5% discount for one-off payment
- 10% discount for the second child or second lesson of the week
200ron/lesson
Individual Lessons
1 lesson
- 1 lesson / 55 minutes
- Free initial assessment with Lena
- *Learning Pack and participation in events are not included
Renting the Piano
Because we know that not everybody is ready to invest in a piano from the beginning, Școala de Pian offers the possibility of renting a high quality digital piano with all accessories included. Renting is done for a minimum of 3 months and it costs 250 Ron / month.
