About Lessons

Piano Lessons for Pro Musicians & Dedicated Students With Dan Fogel, Pianist

Do you want to take your playing to a whole new level?

Whether beginner or pro, send me an email through my contact form if you’d consider coming to my studio (Setauket / Stony Brook) for a one-of-a-kind learning experience. I also offer FaceTime / Skype lessons.

If you’re intrigued, I’d love to hear from you! Please include your cell & good time to reach you. I cover a wide range of possible students & goals.

Here’s a little about me. I’m classically trained, have been teaching over 20 years, & regularly perform as a concert / cocktail pianist.

You may hear some recordings of my students in the player below, or facebook.com/pianolessonswithdan for many more past live streams

As an instructor, I dedicate myself to my students and make efforts to go above and beyond in quality, helping students to learn what they love, find personal meaning for music in their lives, understand how to learn on their own, & optionally prepare for a variety of public performances (up to 5 opportunities per month!)

I follow a constructionist / humanistic teaching approach: in which I teach the ‘person’ as much as the subject matter, helping the student to grow through their own personal understanding, rather than a didactic approach of only giving commands.

The wide range of students I teach include

  • Music Educators, including piano teachers, who wish to become more proficient or adept at piano, or improve their own teaching!
  • Advanced students looking to switch teachers
  • Intermediate & Elementary students
  • Professional musicians
  • Self-taught pianists
  • High achievers of all levels
  • Complete beginners of all ages, who are willing to dedicate time each day to the piano, even if only for an initial trial period to see if they like it enough to make a regular commitment
  • Adults who want to reconnect with piano after decades away from it
  • Undergraduate music majors
  • Students with special needs and talents.

You can learn virtually any style, including every Classical Genre from Baroque to Contemporary, Showtunes, Jazz Standards, New age, International, Video Games, Anime, TV & Film, Holidays, and Popular Tunes from Any Decade.
You can learn from sheet music, lead sheets, ear-playing or improvisation.

I’ve taught students aged 3 to 83! My only requirements are you having a positive attitude, putting in time to practice, and making consistent progress

Lessons of any length vary in frequency from

  • once per week
  • two or more lessons per week
  • or in special circumstances: less frequently

I usually teach in my home/studio in Setauket, but also travel locally to students’ homes, and have taught online via Facetime/Skype,and videoconferencing software through which students may receive live & or pre-recorded instruction.

I strive to help all students improve practice efficacy, technique, artistry, & overall musicianship.

The diversity of individualized lesson goals include,

listed below in order from more intense to less

  • Becoming a professional pianist / instructor, or a higher quality performer / teacher Preparing for any combination of
  • Concerto competition auditions (My high school student got to both perform as the featured soloist with his school orchestra, and with the Stony Brook University Orchestra)
  • Piano competitions (Several of my students compete annually at a competition at Steinway Piano Gallery. I have had several students win 1st place and cash prizes, ranging from elementary to late advanced divisions.
  • Playing for your own holiday gathering or dinner party
  • Recital performances at Staller Center, Steinway Gallery, Faust Harrison Pianos, and or private residences, as well as being featured at school assemblies or accompanying your choir
  • Senior living and hospital volunteer performances Students may wish to perform in the more traditional avenues listed above, or may take a more creative avenue, such as
  • Collaborating with other musicians & friends, such as playing in a band or forming a music duo
  • Or learning just for one's own personal fulfillment, (only performing for oneself with no one else in the room) Depending on each student's individual needs and interests, we may also work on theory, ear-playing, improvisation, composition, sight-singing, overcoming stage-fright, and or fostering a healthy mindset.
  • College or graduate auditions or recordings (I have prepared students to attend and graduate as music majors at Ithaca, Fredonia, Stony Brook, Hofstra, & SCCC. (A former student whom I taught starting from a beginner's method book up through advanced repertoire was invited to join Juilliard as a doctoral music composition student)
  • Your own full-length solo, duo, or senior recital
  • Professional performances at weddings, anniversaries, & other formal events
  • NYSSMA, National Piano Guild, ABRSM, & or Royal Conservatory of Music festivals / adjudications Several of my students have been selected to perform at the NYSSMA All-State Conference Piano Showcase in Rochester. I've judged for NYSSMA and been asked to apply to be a Piano Guild adjudicator.
  • Performing in a library lobbies, the middle of shopping malls, ballet classes, art galleries, or family gatherings
  • Multi-media opportunities of combining music with other creative outlets, such as poetry, dance, visual arts, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc
  • Only performing in service of others rather than being in the spotlight - such as volunteering, playing in benefit concerts, & creating musical gifts for friends and relatives

I have taught many students with special needs, as well as geniuses who need someone to help them achieve their potential, and mostly those in between. For young children, I mix fun games, imaginative creative learning, stuffed animals, prizes, and positive work habits to set them on the path to loving the piano and being great at it

I love facilitating student potential and discovery! Please see the benefits of joining my studio below, & testimonials below that!

Check out my Facebook teaching page to see some of the frequent student volunteer & recital performances.

Benefits of Joining my Studio

For No Extra Cost

Monthly Organized Performance Opportunities at

  • Monthly Meetups (Pianists, Singers, & Musicians of All Levels)
  • Senior Living Facilities
  • Library Lobbies
  • Hospital Performances, often organized by students
  • Adult, 21-and-over socials (wine & cheese, various adult students from around Suffolk county)

Occasionally

  • Shopping malls, art galleries, dance studios, school concerts, open mics, & dinner parties
  • Annual end-of-school-year studio recital and multicultural potluck feast
  • Annual end-of-school-year studio recital and multicultural potluck feast
  • Access to my library of tens of thousands of sheet music books to look through, hear, borrow, and or purchase
  • Extra time extending some of your lessons, on-the-house
  • Being able to reach out to me via phone, email, or text throughout the week, for no extra charge
  • Skills you will develop, depending on your individualized lesson goals
  • Technique to tackle ANY technical problem that your hands will allow
  • Memorization of large amounts of repertoire
  • Improvisation, in any style, as well as how to compose
  • Effective practice skills
  • Being able to learn simple but increasingly demanding music on your own
  • How to move at the piano without injury, and how to play with increasingly less effort
  • Learning to improve sight-reading ability progressively for life,becoming a highly proficient reader
  • Playing by ear, without needing sheet music
  • Learning to play with artistry, sensitivity, stylistic interpretation, excitement, and a beautiful touch
  • Strategies for overcoming stage fright
  • Theoretical knowledge & understanding
  • Being able to accompany yourself when you sing, or play for other vocalists / instrumentalists
  • Recordings of exciting repertoire to listen to and borrow
  • Guidance on dozens of free, useful apps on your iPad, iPhone, or other smart devices
  • Option for FaceTime, Skype, or other video conferencing lessons when traveling is inconvenient because inclement weather or a cold
  • Preparation for earning Outstanding, if not perfect scores, on NYSSMA,Piano Guild & Royal Conservatory of Music auditions
  • Preparation for preparing large programs of music to play for self-fulfillment, for others, and in public
  • Resources for free recordings, sheet music, and learning tools
  • Duet accompanying by me during our lesson, and at public piano performances listed above
  • Use of digital piano with headphones for other family members during the lesson, or to learn about how to use hundreds of instruments

Included with registration (Memberships Covered by Dan)

(additional fees vary for optional individualized student registrations / subscriptions / app purchases)

  • Access to National Piano Guild auditions & SPTF recitals
  • Access to apps, websites, & services that Dan subscribes to for his studio, most of which are free for students to use at home (Piano Maestro, Scribd, Quizlet, Sight Reading Factory, IMSLP, ...)
  • Special workshop opportunities
  • Benefits of Dan's increased expertise from his continued education at international piano seminars
  • Opportunity to perform & compete in annual competitions
  • Eligibility to be nominated to represent Dan's studio at an annual Honors Recital, in the World Class Staller Center Recital Hall
  • Opportunities to Perform at up-to 6 annual public recitals - including the 2 above, and also at Steinway Piano Gallery, Faust Harrison Pianos, Sachem Library, & other venues - featuring students of over a dozen teachers throughout Suffolk County

Paid Benefits

Optional prize incentives for quality practice and achievements in lesson focus/participation ( See Some Prizes )

Printing/hole-punching/cutting/taping all of your practice binder materials ($15/year)