🔗 Self-assessment to determine your P.B.E.S™ Level
🔗 Fees for P.B.E.S™ Pop Piano Improvisation Course (for adults)
🔗 Fees for P.B.E.S™ Pop Piano Improvisation Junior Course (for 5-12yrs old)
🔗 Fees for P.B.E.S™ Jazz Piano Improvisation Course (for adults)
🔗 Fees for P.B.E.S™ Pop Vocal Course (for adults)
🔗 Whatsapp us for more information
🔗 P.B.E.S™ Pop Piano Improvisation Course (for adults)
🔗 P.B.E.S™ Pop Piano Improvisation Junior Course (for 5-12yrs old)
🔗 P.B.E.S™ Jazz Piano Improvisation Course (for adults)
🔗 P.B.E.S™ Pop Vocal Course (for adults)
It really depends on your musical background and prior training. For students with absolutely no music experience, it typically takes around 1–6 months to start playing simple tunes comfortably with both hands. Students with a stronger musical foundation — especially those with prior classical training — may generally require about 3–5 years at PBE to reach the standard of a “lounge player” or working gig musician. That said, progress ultimately depends on the amount of time, consistency, and effort invested into practice. The more you practice, the faster you improve.
Absolutely. Every student comes with different musical experiences, strengths, and interests. At PBE, lessons are customised by your instructor to match your current level of knowledge and ability. If you are already familiar with certain topics or techniques, your instructor can move ahead quickly and focus on introducing new skills and concepts instead. For students with a classical music background, your previous training would already provide a solid foundation in music theory and musical understanding. However, many of the improvisation methods, playing approaches, and contemporary techniques taught at PBE may still be entirely new and refreshing to you.
At PBE, students are generally taught to read musical alphabets such as C, D, E, F, G, A, and B for melody notes, along with chord symbols used in songs. While playing purely “by ear” can be useful, it is not always a complete substitute for reading music, as note-reading enables you to learn and perform songs you may have never heard before. That said, there are also many highly talented musicians who play exceptionally well despite not being able to read music notes. Ultimately, there is no absolute right or wrong approach — both methods can coexist and complement each other depending on the individual musician’s goals and style.
Yes, we teach music theory. In order to play the correct notes, chords, and rhythms, a basic understanding of music theory and concepts is required. Our teaching method incorporates the use of fake sheets, which are much easier to read and understand, compared to a full music score (such as those used for classical music). Being able to read and understand the written song makes it much easier for you to start playing and improvising on it. A fake sheet (also known as lead sheet) is actually a music score containing only the melody line and the basic chords (sometimes with lyrics). It provides a musician the minimum information required in order to make an improvised arrangement of a song. Fake books are collections of a wide variety of fake sheets – these may be purchased through various online and physical music bookstores.
Yes — many ABRSM Grade 8 pianists still find improvisation challenging, because it is generally not part of the ABRSM syllabus. Our courses are specifically designed to teach improvisation skills. There are many different styles of music, along with a wide range of chord progressions, chord types, rhythms, fills, and improvisation techniques to explore. “Pop” itself is a very broad category and refers to any non-classical style of music. Within pop, there are numerous genres such as ballads, pop rock, R&B, Latin, funk, jazz pop, and more. Music is a vast and ever-evolving art form, and even highly experienced musicians will often acknowledge that there are still areas they continue to learn, explore, and master.
We teach songs across a wide range of pop and jazz genres. The PBE fake book used for lessons includes pop hits, jazz standards, English classics and oldies, Chinese pop and radio favourites, Korean drama theme songs, Japanese pop songs, anime themes, TIKTOK or Sportify viral and trendy songs, as well as contemporary Christian music.
Yes, most certainly. Students are welcome to suggest songs they would like to learn during lessons, as long as they are suitable for their current level of ability (subject to the instructor’s guidance). Our P.B.E.Syllabus™ is structured and progressive, yet remains flexible to accommodate individual learning needs. It is designed to work across all levels and styles of music. We strongly encourage students to choose songs they enjoy, as motivation plays an important role in learning and progress. Students may also share YouTube links of their chosen songs, and we can assist by transcribing them into simplified fake sheets for educational use. If a selected song is above the student’s current level, the instructor may provide a simplified arrangement or recommend revisiting it at a later stage. Our PBE fake sheet library is also organised according to graded levels to support this progression. In general, Level 1 students are encouraged to focus on Level 1 repertoire so they can effectively apply fundamental concepts without being overwhelmed by more complex material.
Yes, most certainly. It would be helpful if your sheet music includes chord symbols for each bar. When selecting a song, it is advisable to choose one with a simpler key signature and straightforward rhythmic structure. Attempting pieces that are too advanced for your current level may feel discouraging and hinder progress
Yes we do — “playing and singing” typically refers to playing in a piano accompaniment style, where you support a vocal line by using chord patterns on the piano (usually with both hands, often with the left hand outlining the harmony while the right hand fills or reinforces the chords).The opposite approach is “solo playing mode,” where the right hand generally carries the melody of the song, while the left hand provides chordal accompaniment or rhythmic patterns to support it. We also has many video examples demonstrating this piano accompaniment style in practice.
Yes, certainly. We have instructors who specialise in preparing students for both church band settings and solo church piano playing. Contemporary worship music is also considered part of the pop genre, and the same improvisation techniques are applied.
Yes we can provide. For this, you may have to whatsapp us at 917980110.
The minimum age is 5.
We do make exceptions on a case-by-case basis if a child shows sufficient maturity for learning. The minimum age of 5 is a general guideline and does not automatically guarantee enrollment. Ultimately, what matters most is how receptive your child is to learning piano, as well as their attention span and ability to focus during lessons.
Yes you can, but only during for the first session or the trial lesson.
Yes, you can, as long as you are able to commit sufficient time to learning the piano. Regular and consistent practice is essential for progress.
Pop and classical are separate genres, and there are over 100 genres in music. However, all music shares the same fundamental foundation, where core rudiments remain universal. For example, a C note or a semi-quaver has the same meaning and function across all styles of music. As such, learning pop or classical piano will not conflict in musical terms. Instead, they operate on the same musical language and can complement each other. It is similar to learning ice skating and rollerblading—different skills, yet both can enhance overall coordination and musical understanding.
Playing by ear is a separate and highly valuable musical skill that can be developed over time. It refers to the ability to listen to a piece of music—whether from YouTube, Spotify, TikTok, or any other source—and reproduce it on the instrument, either by playing it directly or transcribing it into notes. In many cases, musicians who play by ear listen carefully to the melody, identify the underlying chords, and then recreate or even improvise their own version of the song. Importantly, playing by ear does not mean that a musician has weak music theory or cannot read music. That is a misconception. In fact, many strong musicians are proficient in both reading music and playing by ear, as the two skills can complement each other.