Why learn piano with me?

I have over 40 years experience in music: playing, performing, recording, songwriting, composing, arranging, recording and producing.

I have released 7 albums of original music and written over 200 music compositions.

I have co-written songs with Judie Tzuke, Gary Tallant (Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band), Redrama, Mike Read and Peter Donegan.

Learn more about me at www.brianjohnstone.com

 

Piano and Music Tutor providing Piano Lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock. Also online lessons to anywhere.

My Approach

You are an individual with unique tastes, style, aspiration and needs. You should learn music on your terms and not be dictated to by tradition, convention or someone else’s journey.

My job is to help you with your journey to learn whatever you want to learn in a way that suits you, at your pace.

No sitting in a dungeon with grannys old piano learning ‘three blind mice’!.

Learn in a comfortable studio with professional equipment and absorb the vibe.

Yamaha Baby Grand Piano. Piano and Music Tutor providing Piano Lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock. Also online lessons to anywhere.
The Yamaha baby grand piano
Yamaha baby grand piano for piano lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock

My Piano

I have a brand new Yamaha GBK10 baby grand piano which gets tuned regularly.

The studio has some sound treatment (absorbers) giving the piano a nice live sound: not too ‘ringy’ and not too dead. Just a nice sounding bright piano with a great touch.

Yamaha pianos are renowned for their build quality and expertise in pianos. They are used by many pros including Chick Corea, Sheryl Crow, Ben Folds, Elton John, Barry Manilow, Paul McCartney, Jeff Lorber and Alicia Keys.

The Studio

My music studio is a working studio. I practice, write, record and produce music in my studio on a daily basis.

I have a top of the range custom built Windows PC running Cubase Pro and other pro software for music production.

Other equipment includes

  • Mac M1
  • Reason Studio
  • Adam A7X and Yamaha NS 10 monitors
  • VST instruments from UVI, Spectrasonics, East West, Air Music, Cherry Audio, NI, IK Multimedia, Toontrack and more

 

The Yamaha Digital Piano
Ensoniq ESQ-1. Piano and Music Production Tutor providing music lessons Lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock. Also online lessons to anywhere.
Roland JV-80. Piano and Music Production Tutor providing music lessons Lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock. Also online lessons to anywhere.
Moog Prodigy Synth. Piano and Music Production Tutor providing music lessons Lessons in Skelmorlie, Wemyss Bay, Inverkip, Largs, Gourock and Greenock. Also online lessons to anywhere.

Keyboards

I have a range of keyboards in different sizes, weights and formats to suit  many tastes and preferences.

Yamaha PF15
If you prefer to play on a digital piano with a nice hammer action this is a  great solution.

Nektar Impact LX88+
A nice 88 master keyboard with transport controls, faders, rotary knobs and pads. A nice light touch and great general purpose non weighted keyboard.

Ensoniq ESQ-1
This is a vintage 80’s synth but has a great keyboard which is just plastic but has a nice semi-weighted feel. It has a sheet metal chassis so weighs 3000 kg (not really) but is a great feeling keyboard.

Roland JV-80
A classic 90’s synthesizer. The keys are typical lightweight Roland plastic and is great for playing lighting fast synth solos, if that’s your gig. It has the Roland left-right pitchbend wheel.

Mood Prodigy
A vintage Moog original. The keyboard itself is a naff 70’s plastic but it has the original sound with the classic Moog filter and 2 oscillators.

 

 

Why Choose Me

My Experience

Learn music from an experienced musician

Any Style

Learn any style...
at your pace

Good Equipment

High quality piano and professional equipment

Friendly Approach

Making & learning music should be enjoyable

It's never too late...

It’s never too late to learn to play piano or learn to write or make music. Despite the music industry’s traditional obsession with youth, music is for everyone to make and enjoy.

It’s ironic, but great all the same, that The Who continued making music despite their own youthful predictions in their song ‘My Generation’ (Hope I die before I get old…hmmm…indeed)

Remember all the jokes about old rockers coming onstage in a wheelchair. Well Phil Collins did it with Genesis and still performed to tens of thousands of fans.

Billy Joel still plays a residency to 20,00 people a night at Madison Square Garden in New York City

Music is a gift that transcends money, fame and ego. It belongs to everyone if they choose to participate in it. I believe most of us have an inkling of music making somewhere in our soul.

Do you have enough drive and curiosity to do it, at whatever stage or age you are?

If you have any interest of inclination to play piano, write your own songs or produce your own music in whatever style then contact me.

Speak to me and let me help you nurture this desire and bring out the creator in you.

"It's not what you've done in your precious life,
it's more like what you've not​"

Not blowing my own trumpet but I used the sentiment in 'Second Chance' the opening song of my debut album 'The Balance of Risk'.​