Rochester and Monroe County
Piano Lessons in Rochester, NY
I am Ryan Barski.
I teach piano privately in Rochester and across Monroe County, and I have been teaching since 2017. Whether you have never touched a keyboard or you already read music and want to sound like yourself at the piano, we start with a free consultation and build from there.
Free. No commitment.
What we work on
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Reading both clefs
Most people arrive able to read one hand better than the other. We fix that early, because the moment treble and bass feel equally familiar, everything else gets faster. We work from real repertoire rather than drills alone, so the reading has somewhere to go.
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Technique that holds up
Hand shape, wrist motion, fingering choices, and how to practise a passage so it stays learned. I would rather you play five clean bars than fifteen rushed ones, and I will show you exactly how to get those five.
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Chords and lead sheets
This is the part most piano students never get, and it is the part that lets you sit down at a piano anywhere and play something. Triads and sevenths, inversions, how to read a chart, how to accompany a singer, how to comp behind another instrument.
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An introduction to jazz and gospel voicings
Once the chords are solid we open the door: rootless voicings, shell voicings, the gospel two hand shapes, and how players actually move between them. You do not have to want to be a jazz pianist for this to be worth learning. It changes how you hear every chord you play.
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Ear and theory alongside the keys
Scales, key signatures, intervals and simple harmonic analysis, taught in the context of whatever you are playing rather than as a separate subject.
Who I teach
I teach children and adults. Beginners are welcome and so are returning players who took lessons years ago and want to start again without going back to square one. Intermediate students who can already read but feel stuck usually make the fastest visible progress, because the gap is almost always chords and rhythm rather than notes.
Advanced classical students: I'll refer you to a specialist.
Younger students work in shorter, more frequent sessions. Adults often prefer a longer lesson every other week. We decide together at the consultation.
Why study with me
I earned my Bachelor of Music in 2022 and my Master of Music in 2024, both from the Eastman School of Music, where I was a teaching assistant and taught the undergraduate introduction to jazz drumming course. I play professionally around Rochester and on the road, and I lead the jazz quartet Side Step. That work feeds directly into lessons: what I ask you to practise is what I use myself.
More practically, I teach the way I wish I had been taught. You get a written plan after every lesson, a clear next step, and no mystery about why we are doing something.
How lessons work
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Free consultation
About thirty minutes, no cost and no obligation. We talk about what you want to play, hear where you are, and agree on a plan.
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Pick a place and a rhythm
Lessons happen at my private studio, online, or in your home anywhere in Monroe County. Online costs the same as in studio and in home lessons add $15. Weekly is the default. Every other week works for adults with unpredictable schedules.
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Start playing
Lessons begin at $50 for thirty minutes, and packages bring the per lesson cost down. Full pricing is on the lessons page.
Keep reading
Common questions
Do I need a piano at home?
You need something with keys you can practise on every day. A full weighted 88 key digital piano is ideal and an acoustic upright is wonderful, but a smaller keyboard is fine for the first few months. I would rather you start now on what you have than wait a year for the perfect instrument. We can talk about what to buy at the consultation.
How old does my child need to be?
I teach from age four. With very young students the first lessons are short and heavy on rhythm, listening and finding notes by shape rather than by reading. Reading comes in when the hands are ready, which varies a lot from child to child.
I took lessons as a kid and quit. Am I starting over?
Almost never. Returning players usually keep more than they expect, especially reading. What has faded is technique and confidence, and both come back quickly with a plan. We spend the consultation finding out what is still there.
Do you teach only classical, or can I learn the music I actually listen to?
Both, and usually together. I use classical repertoire because it builds technique and reading better than anything else, and I use chords, lead sheets, jazz and gospel voicings so you can play the music you came for. The two support each other.
Ready to start
Book the free consultation and we will find the right fit. If you would rather talk first, call or text 585-739-3124.