Welcome to the City Lit Piano Department

If you’ve decided to start learning the piano, are returning to playing after a break, or looking to develop your skills as an accomplished performer, we're delighted to welcome you to City Lit's Piano Department. We have a broad range of piano courses, so there’s sure to be a class that’s right for you here in the heart of Covent Garden.

All our classes are taught in small groups

Learning in a group is a great experience; you will find expert tutors, lively discussion, individual exercises and good company in all of our classes.

Piano/keyboards classes have a maximum of 15 per group and piano workshops have a maximum of 12 per group, so it won’t be too crowded.

• Piano/keyboards classes are taught in our digital piano labs with one instrument per student (with headphones provided for private playing)
• Piano workshop classes take place on Bösendorfer, Yamaha or Steinway grand pianos. Repertoire is specified in advance and you will play in turn in front of your class (please note that in some intermediate and advanced classes, you may alternate between longer and shorter playing sessions each week to allow for the tutor to work in detail with each student throughout the term)
• Online classes: use your own piano or keyboard at home and meet with your tutor and classmates via Zoom

Our Tutors

At City Lit you'll have the opportunity to work with some of the leading pianists and teachers in the country. All of our piano tutors have a wealth of experience as teachers and active performers, with many holding teaching positions in conservatoires and universities. 

City Lit Piano Summer School 2025

Books to buy

You will need to buy your own music books (due to copyright) so please budget for an extra £12 (approx.) per term. There are a number of specialist music shops in London where you should be able to find the books suggested for our courses:

• Chimes Music South Kensington
• Chimes Music Barbican
• Schott Music London
• South London Music
• Foyles Music Department (Charing Cross Road, second floor) 

You may also borrow music from local libraries. We particularly recommend Barbican Library and Westminster Music Library for their broad ranges of sheet music and scores.

Where possible the relevant books are listed on each course outline. Please read this carefully before you book. To see the up-to-date list of piano repertore and textbooks required for each course this year click here: City Lit piano repertoire books.

Buying a piano

Many students ask us for advice on buying a piano. An acoustic piano is best and we particularly like Yamaha and Kawai pianos but there are good deals on all sorts of second hand pianos.

There are many piano showrooms around London which are worth a visit. We always recommend trying out a piano in person before buying; a piano is a huge commitment and no two will ever be exactly the same! Here are our most highly recommended dealers:

• Markson Pianos 
• Jacques Samuels 
• Bluthner Piano Centre
• Yamaha Music London
• Piano Warehouse
• Richard Lawson Pianos
• Steinway and Sons
• Grand Passion Pianos
• Peregrine's Pianos

Piano Auctions also offer great deals on second hand pianos, but it is advisable to take a reputable technician with you to assess any instrument before you buy.

Make sure you ask about moving fees before you buy the piano as you may need a specialist company to deliver it to your house.

A digital piano is also great for beginners up to about level 4. You can use headphones to play in private and they’re smaller and easy to store:

• Make sure the model you choose has full-size keys (not toy/mini piano keys) and that it also has a full-length keyboard (88 keys long).
• There are several local keyboard/digital piano shops with showrooms close by to City Lit college. Markson Pianos have a wide range of Yamaha and Kawai Digital Pianos for sale and rental, and  Yamaha Music London have a showroom close to Soho Square with lots of digital pianos to view.

Piano Stools 

Choosing the correct type of piano stool to go with your piano is more important than you might think! Ideally, an adjustable stool is best as you can ensure you are sitting at the correct height (forearms parallel with the floor). Here are some of our favourite piano stools to suit all budgets:

• Hidrau Model (these can be found in our recital room and can be purchased from Markson Pianos)
• Konig & Meyer (these can be found in our digital piano labs)
• Cadenza
• Gear4music

In April 2024, we were delighted to receive a donation of two new concert piano stools from Hidrau Model in Spain. These new additions to the City Lit Recital Room will hugely benefit our students for years to come:

Classes for absolute beginners

If you are an absolute beginner, new to playing the piano and new to reading music notation, then it’s easy: just start at the very beginning with our Piano/keyboards 1A and work through each of the classes in the order listed below.

We have courses at many different times and extra piano courses for beginners will be added through the year. There is a drop-down menu on our website so check this is set to your preferred time/date for you before you enrol.

Once enrolled you must attend only the class you have chosen: for example, if you miss one of your classes you cannot drop into another instead. If you have any questions please email us and we’ll be happy to help.

Choosing the right level for returning pianists

If you have existing piano skills you don’t need to start at the very beginning: just join us at the correct level for you. Each Level corresponds (roughly) to an ABRSM grade. So for example, Piano workshop 3 classes are preparing to learn grade 3 standard repertoire.

Please check the individual course outlines for more details of the books you are requested to buy for each class as this will often give you the most clear indication of the level of a class.

If you are unsure of your current level, please email us and make an appointment to come and play to us for some advice. We also have a special Piano: return to playing class for pianists between grades 4-6 who seek to grow their confidence.

Changing classes

If you choose the wrong class you may transfer immediately to a different course; just contact our enrolments team on 020 3871 3111 or log into your City Lit account and request a transfer online. NB: Transfers may only take place in the first three weeks of a course.

If you begin to find the level is unsuitable later on in your course then don’t panic, there will still be plenty to learn but you can choose a more appropriate module the next term. That’s the idea of the short course modules, they allow flexibility because everyone learns at different speeds.

If you have any doubts at all: please contact us to arrange an advice session. Bring some music, play us a piece and we’ll help you choose.

Beginners-intermediate: Piano/keyboards classes

• Piano Year 1 : from complete beginners to simple hands-together pieces whilst learning to read basic music notation: 
  • Piano/keyboards 1A / Piano/keyboards 1B / Piano/keyboards 1C
• Piano Year 2: from simple hands-together pieces to grade 1 level repertoire: 
  • Piano/keyboards 1D / Piano/keyboards 1E / Piano/keyboards 1F 

If you already have experience of playing piano and reading music but are not sure about your level, you can download our preparation pieces to help you decide which level 1 class is right for you:

• Preparation piece for 1B
• Preparation piece for 1C
• Preparation piece for 1D
• Preparation piece for 1E
• Preparation piece for 1F

• Piano Year 3: achieve fluency at a grade 1 level and then begin some grade 2 studies: 
  • Piano/keyboards 2A / Piano/keyboards 2B / Piano/keyboards 2C
• Piano Year 4: achieve fluency at a grade 2 level and then begin some grade 3 studies: 
  • Piano/keyboards 3A / Piano/keyboards 3B / Piano/keyboards 3C
• At this point you may like to move to a Piano Workshop or to stay in the digital keyboard room to consolidate your grade 3+ skills further: 
  • Piano/keyboards 4A / Piano/keyboards 4B / Piano/keyboards 4C
  • Piano/keyboards 5A / Piano/keyboards 5B / Piano/keyboards 5C

Piano Workshops

Classical piano workshops function like a ‘masterclass’. Everyone prepares a piece to play in front of the class. Repertoire is set by the tutor.

• Piano workshop 4: three terms per year
• Piano workshop 5: three terms per year
• Piano workshop 6: three terms per year
• Piano workshop 7: three terms per year
• Piano workshop 8: three terms per year

Once you can play at an approximate grade 5+ standard, you may consider: Keyboard harmony courses, or Pop piano, Jazz piano, Latin piano.

• Keyboard harmony 5 for grade 5+ classical pianists
• Keyboard harmony and performance workshop for advanced cassical pianists

Advanced Piano Classes

Advanced classes (post grade 8 standard) are taught on Bösendorfer, Yamaha and Steinway concert grands. Many of our students repeat these classes to keep their skills sharp, to enjoy meeting other pianists and explore new repertoire.

• Piano Repertoire: three modules per year
• Piano: advanced workshop:  three modules per year
• Piano Advanced Performance Workshops: two week, termly courses hosted by a visiting expert. A superb chance to get together with other pianists and explore a specific part of the repertoire in detail. You must prepare your chosen piece in advance.

The piano department also regularly hosts public masterclasses and project classes, such as this year's project on Bach's Goldberg variations. 

Performances

The piano department hosts student and staff recitals and public masterclasses throughout the year, both internally and externally in venues around London. Details about forthcoming events can be found on our Concerts and Recitals page. 

The Old Steinway Story

In July 2024, City Lit said goodbye to its 100 year old Steinway D, which served thousands of pianists at the college for well over two decades. Although a sad time for the department, this marked the beginning of the College's new partnership with Markson Pianos and the arrival of our new Yamaha CFIIIS concert grand.

However, this was the start of a very exciting new chapter for our old piano, which has since undergone a complete restoration by the incredible team at Piano Restorations Ltd. in August 2024, students and staff from the Piano Department were invited to Piano Restorations in Buckingham to to see the resoration of the Steinway in progress and learn about the intricacies of the restoration process.

At the beginning of October 2024, the newly restored Steinway was delivered to its new home at Angel Studios, part of the Abbey Road Group, where it has become their flagship recording piano. Everyone in the Piano Department is delighted that the piano has gone on to this exciting new venture, and we look forward to hearing this very special instrument in recordings soon! 

Jazz

If you are interested in learning Jazz, please read our blog post: Why learn Jazz? Embracing Transformation, Musicality & Expression

Musicianship and music theory

Why not take a complimentary course to enhance your understanding of musical skills and musical notation. Please see our Musicianship and music theory programme for some ideas

Learn the Piano City Lit

We offer a wide array of piano/keyboards classes which run daytimes, evenings and weekends.