Unisono gives individual piano lessons in Warsaw at ul. Konstancińska 9 flat 1, in the Mokotów district, opposite the exit from the Sadyba Best Mall. The piano class is taught by Dr Artur Chmara, a performing pianist who has been teaching since 2014. We teach children, teenagers and adults, from the very first lesson through to ABRSM examination level, in English and in Polish.
Every lesson is one to one. The time is fixed for the year and agreed with you individually, and you can start at any point in the year. There is no entrance examination and no audition.
The piano Paderewski practised on
The school owns a vintage Kerntopf and Son piano on which Ignacy Jan Paderewski, the great Polish pianist and statesman, practised. Alongside it we have a grand piano and four good upright pianos, tuned regularly.
This is not only a curiosity. The instrument a student works on every week can be heard in their playing. On a well maintained piano the key responds predictably and the pedal does what it is asked to do, and the ear grows used to the right sound. Students who practise at home on something badly out of tune carry that onto the platform, and unlearning it takes months.
Dr Artur Chmara, teacher of the piano class
Artur Chmara is a performing pianist and holds a doctorate in the science of culture. He has taught the piano since 2014 and does so alongside his concert work, which we consider important: the student hears in the lesson what their teacher will play on the platform a week later.
Competition record
- Second prize and a Special Award at the 13th International Competition in Chisinau, in the piano soloist category.
- First prize at the 7th International Artistic Competition in Ukraine, in the chamber ensemble category.
- A diploma from the World Delphic Games in Russia in the piano category.
- Took part in the Minnesota International Piano-e-Competition in Minneapolis.
- A scholarship from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, awarded in 2015, immediately after his studies.
He has played at concerts and festivals in Poland, Belarus, Canada and Sweden. For two years he taught the piano in Kuwait, so working with students from different countries and cultures is nothing new to him. That matters in Mokotów, where our classes bring together students from more than a dozen countries.
How a piano lesson works
A lesson lasts thirty, forty five or sixty minutes, depending on the age of the student and how far they have got. The youngest usually begin with thirty minutes, because that is the real attention span of a six year old. Adults most often choose forty five.
The first lesson
The first meeting is exploratory and needs no preparation. The teacher looks at the shape of the hand, at how the student sits at the instrument and at how they respond to sound. We talk about the music they listen to, what they want from lessons and how much time they can realistically give to practice at home.
That last answer weighs more than talent does. It decides the pace of the coming months and whether the plan will turn out to be workable or a source of disappointment.
Practice at home
Fifteen minutes at the instrument every day does more than one long session on a Saturday. At the piano this is especially true of the first year, when the habits of the hand are formed and are not easily changed later. We do not set endless exercises, but we do ask for regularity.
You do not need a grand piano to begin. A decent upright is enough at the start, digital included as long as it has a weighted keyboard, and we will gladly advise you on choosing a first instrument and on when it is worth moving to an acoustic one.
Repertoire, from Bach to contemporary music
The foundation is the classical literature, from Johann Sebastian Bach through Mozart and Beethoven to Chopin and Brahms. This music teaches phrasing, an even rhythm and independence of the hands, and there is no way around it.
Alongside it we reach for contemporary music and for pieces the student knows from outside the lesson, from a film, a game or a record. If someone comes to the piano because they heard a particular piece, they will get it arranged for their level rather than a lecture about working through the studies first. In our experience one such piece can keep a student at the instrument for a year.
Music theory and reading music
You do not need to read music to start. Reading is taught during the lessons, alongside playing, because separated from the instrument it is an empty abstraction for a child. Dr Artur Chmara also gives separate music theory lessons for children and adults, which are particularly useful in preparing for examinations.
ABRSM examination preparation
Students who wish to can be prepared for the examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. The system runs from Grade 1 to Grade 8 and is recognised internationally, which has a practical meaning for families who move between countries: a certificate earned in Warsaw reads the same in London and in Singapore.
The examinations are entirely optional and nobody is pushed towards them. For some students they are good motivation, because they set a firm date and a firm programme.
Concerts of the piano class
Several times a year we hold student concerts at the Szuster Palace on Morskie Oko street, also in Mokotów. Students of the piano class play at every one of them, as soloists and in duets, and they also accompany the violinists and flautists.
Performing is not compulsory, but it is usually what makes the biggest difference to how a student works at home. You can see these afternoons in our concert gallery and read the full programmes in the news section.
Who piano lessons are for
The piano is one of the instruments a child can start earliest, because the sound appears at once, with no struggle over intonation. Children usually begin around the age of six, though what decides it is not the birth certificate but the ability to hold attention for a quarter of an hour and the size of the hand.
We also teach teenagers and adults, with no upper age limit. Adults are a large part of our piano class and many of them are returning to an instrument they abandoned as children. There is no separate track for them, only a different plan of work: an adult usually prefers to understand why an exercise makes sense before repeating it a hundred times.
Common questions about piano lessons in Warsaw
At what age can a child start piano lessons?
Usually from the age of six, sometimes five. The piano can be started earlier than wind instruments, because it does not depend on lung capacity, and earlier than the strings, because it does not require finding the note by ear.
How long is one lesson?
Thirty, forty five or sixty minutes. The length is matched to the age of the student and agreed when you enrol.
Do I need a piano at home?
Not at the start. An upright is enough for the first months, digital included as long as the keyboard is weighted. We will advise you on the choice and tell you when it is worth moving to an acoustic instrument.
Are piano lessons taught in English?
Yes. Dr Artur Chmara teaches in English and in Polish. The Polish version of this page is on ksztalceniemuzyczne.pl.
When can I start?
At any point in the school year. The school works to its own plan rather than a semester calendar, so there is no need to wait for September.
Enrolment for piano lessons in Warsaw
Lessons take place at ul. Konstancińska 9 flat 1 in Mokotów, Warsaw, opposite the exit from the Sadyba Best Mall. To ask about available times, please get in touch on +48 515 174 881.
You can also read about all of our teachers and about the other music lessons we give in Warsaw.