Virtual Piano Academy

Our lessons are tailored to your goals, so the first thing we do is book you in for a free trial lesson :)

You can book in your free trial lesson on our website at any time - https://www.virtualpianoacademy.co. It takes less than 2 minutes! Simply choose a day and a time, and you're all set :)

During the trial lesson, we get to know you a little better, talk about your goals, and get a better idea of your current level. We walk you through our platform, and show you how your lessons are structured and how you learn each week. You have the opportunity to ask us any questions you might have. If you're not a complete beginner, we'd also love to hear you play something in the trial lesson! After the trial lesson, if you think we're the right fit for you, we can get started on lessons!

Amy Jørgensen (previously Bastow) is an award-winning film music composer and pianist, hailing from Australia. Amy has written music for a number of successful TV shows with all the major Australian networks (Channel Seven, Ten, ABC, SBS and Nine) including Bluey, Home + Away and Winners + Losers.

Amy has worked across the globe, internationally on a number of projects, and has even worked with Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron (Dir. Titanic, Avatar), for which she was nominated for an Australian Academy Award (AACTA). Amy has also written music for 20th Century FOX, The Disney Channel, Netflix and National Geographic. 

Amy is also a dedicated and experienced music educator, having taught privately and in schools. Amy has lectured music at University level and been a sought-after keynote speaker for many music events, workshops and conferences. 

Amy holds a First Class Honours Degree in music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music; has studied music composition in New York City (at New York University); Orchestration at Berklee College of Music and holds an Associate Diploma of Piano (AmusA) from the Australian Music Examinations Board (AMEB).

Amy is the Founder, Director + Head Teacher at Virtual Piano Academy...and currently teaches students virtually, from all across the globe. She'd love to become your new teacher!

Amy’s unique style and warm personality make her a highly sought-after and much-loved teacher. Growing up in a small rural town (in outback Australia) with limited access to music resources and having to fight hard to land on the world stage, Amy is determined to pass on her knowledge, skills and industry experience to other aspiring musicians. 

Virtual Piano Academy is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, so our lesson fees are listed in Australian dollars. However, we accept payments via credit card in all currencies, and you can learn from any location across the globe. You DO NOT have to be Australian or have an Australian bank account to learn from us. 

- AUD$50/week for beginners (students learning for less than 2 years). This is approx. US$35 (depending on the exchange rate).

- AUD$75/week for intermediate (students learning between 2-4 years). This is approx. US$52 (depending on the exchange rate).

- AUD$99/week for advanced (students learning for 4+ years). This is approx. US$68 (depending on the exchange rate).

- If you're a complete beginner but are keen to accelerate your learning, you are welcome to select the $75 or $99 options. Likewise, if you're an intermediate student but are happy to take things slower, you can select the $50 option. These 3 payment tiers of $50/$75/$99 provide you with tuition that is equivalent to 30/45/60-minute lessons

- Paid via credit card (in any currency) on the Virtual Piano Academy website, using our secure 3rd party payment processor, Stripe.

- If you're not enjoying lessons, you're not locked in for the year, term or a set number of lessons. You can quit at any time (with one billing cycle's notice).

- Lesson fees are charged monthly (not upfront for an entire term or set number of lessons like most teachers charge).

I've been teaching piano in-person since I was 18. That makes 17 years in total (I'm giving away my age!).

I've been teaching online for about 4 of those, and set-up the Virtual Piano Academy platform in 2020.

I started teaching whilst I was still a music student, and have been teaching ever since! During this time, I have also had a career as a film composer, and have written music for many exciting projects. I've worked with Hollywood film-maker James Cameron (Director of Titanic, Avatar); I've worked for 20th Century FOX, National Geographic, The Disney Channel, Netflix and all the major Australian Television networks. 

I've taught music privately and in schools. I've lectured at University level and have been a keynote speaker for many music industry events. 

Virtual Piano Academy actually came about by accident, during the COVID-19 outbreak.

I had just started a new job in January 2020, but was laid off 3 months later due to COVID-19. I was still teaching a few piano students privately at this time, and like every other piano teacher during COVID-19, I started teaching my students via Zoom.

But it didn't take long to realise that this wasn't a viable ongoing solution for piano lessons. A student played a scale, and I commented on how wobbly the students' rhythm was. I realised it wasn't the students' poor performance at all...it was the internet connection cutting in and out. We wasted 5 minutes of the 30-minute lesson on trying to perfect a scale that the student could already play perfectly. What a waste of time!

With students and parents working and studying from home, my students’ schedules changed, meaning they often couldn’t do their previous lesson time/day. This meant an entire overhaul of my teaching schedule, trying to fit everyone in. It was a big mess. 

But this was the moment Virtual Piano Academy was born! I suddenly had this thought...what if students could submit a video of all their homework and get feedback on it? Uploading a video is a much more reliable (and flexible) option to Zoom (or in-person) lessons. It means you don't have to be at a specific location, on a specific day and a specific time for your weekly piano lesson. It gives both the student and teacher so much more flexibility. It saves time. There are no lesson clashes. No peak-hour traffic to contend with. No fighting over that 5pm "after-work" slot. No confusion about what to practice (as it’s all laid out clearly in your lesson portal, along with feedback videos you can watch over and over). 

The idea seemed so simple! I spent the next 3 months during the COVID-19 lockdown, building the platform (and learning a whole bunch of tech stuff I never knew before!). The idea (and platform) grew organically (almost as if by itself) into this new and exciting online piano school. 

We can't wait to have you on-board as one of our valued students!

I have taught complete beginners, right through to advanced level students. I've taught students who just want to learn for fun and play some chord charts, to students who have gone on to study music at tertiary level. 

I've taught students as young as 4 years old, and as "old" (aka: young-at-heart) as 67. 

I work best with students who are interested in becoming the best players they can be! Students who want a well-rounded musical education, and who work hard at bringing their music to life through the subtle details in the music. For me, it's FAR more than just notes on a page. It's magical. It's emotional. It's about communicating something. 

At Virtual Piano Academy, our students strive towards our 8 pillars. Students who keep these in mind when they start lessons, ALWAYS succeed and smash their goals!

So, my advice to new students wanting to learn piano is this:

1. Take responsibility for your own learning, practice and progress. You are the driver of your success.

2. Have an open and positive approach to learning.

3. Respect your fellow learners, your teachers and most importantly, yourself.

4. Pay attention to the details in the music. This is where the magic lies.

5. Always aim to walk away from your practice being able to do something you couldn't do before (even if it is only 1 bar).

6. Work towards your goal by committing to regular, focused, purpose-driven practice.

7. You will not succeed with a negative attitude.

8. Take all feedback (even if it's hard to hear) as an opportunity to learn and improve.

Learning the piano (not to mention, finding the right teacher for you) can feel overwhelming. It's tempting to think you can do it on your own (or via YouTube videos or an App). NOTHING beats private, personalized tuition. But learning an instrument properly takes time, financial commitment, regular committed practice and a growth mindset. It's not something that can be achieved overnight. My advice would be to see learning the piano as a long-term project. One that will be successfully achieved by doing a little bit every day.

Unfortunately, online learning has been "watered-down" and "cheapened" by many "teachers" on YouTube claiming you can learn the piano in 30 days (or less) for $30. These sleazy salesman tactics lure prospective students in, but what they receive is cheap and dirty piano hacks that some poor qualified teacher eventually has to undo. If you're serious about learning an instrument, forget trying to do it via YouTube or via a static online course. 

Don't get me wrong. YouTube is awesome, and there are a lot of great instructional videos on aspects of piano playing floating around. But it's no substitute for a real teacher. There's no progression. No structure. No feedback. No personalised training. No one to correct the horrible technique you're practicing. 

There's no "quick-fix" to learning the piano. In all honesty, it takes about 10 years to get to a REALLY good level (give or take depending on how dedicated you are).  

But it's not all bad. This is good news actually. It means that not everyone will learn the piano. Not everyone will commit to it. That's what makes it (and those who learn how to play it - that's you!), special. That's why learning to play the piano sets you apart. If everyone could learn to play it in 30 days, it wouldn't be magical anymore.

Just because it takes about 10 years to be able to play at a very high standard, this doesn't mean that you have to learn for 10 years and reach for the pinnacle at that top level. Many people spend only a year, and can comfortably read and play plenty of lovely (albeit reasonably simple) pieces. Some might learn for 2 or 3 years and are playing interesting and challenging intermediate pieces. Whether you learn for a year or three, or go the whole way, it's an amazing skill to have at any level. So don't let the 10-year pro-level milestone put you off and stop you from even starting! All great achievements ever accomplished throughout history first begin with just one step.

The amazing thing about the piano is that it sounds fantastic from day 1, and no matter what level you get to, you will be able to play lots of different styles of music; you'll be able to play lots of different pieces by a variety of composers; you'll learn a lot about melody, rhythm, harmony and general music theory; it will impress your friends; and it will bring you great enjoyment.   

Even after playing the piano for 32 years, I still learn something new about it every day. It keeps on giving and giving. As clique as it sounds, try not to think about the destination. Enjoy the journey! :) 

Some of my most beautiful musical moments have been in the process of learning to play the piano. They say mastery can be boring. Enjoy joining the dots. Enjoy expanding your mind. Enjoy pushing yourself and challenging yourself each day. 

Before settling on us, we'd love to meet you, show you how you will learn at Virtual Piano Academy, hear more about your story, and give you the opportunity to test us out to see if we're the right fit for you. 

Book your free trial lesson - https://www.virtualpianoacademy.co