Max Guida
Piano lessons in Notting Hill, Bayswater and Maida Vale, taught in your home. Beginners to Grade 8. Children and adults.
Who I Teach
I teach children from around age eight, teenagers, and adults, including complete beginners and people coming back to the piano after years away. Lessons take place at your home, on your own instrument.Beginners: reading, technique and a proper foundation from the first lesson
Grades 1–8: ABRSM and Trinity, prepared thoroughly and taken when you're ready
Adults: beginners and returners, with no exams unless you want them
Music theory: alongside lessons or on its own, including Grade 5 theory
Cello: beginners to Grade 5Exams are useful when they give a student something to aim at; they're not the point, and I won't push anyone through a grade a year for its own sake! What matters more is that a student keeps wanting to play.
Hear me play!
About Me
I hold a DipABRSM in piano and studied on a scholarship with a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music. I'm also a cellist — Grade 8, and principal cellist of the UCL Symphony Orchestra.Alongside teaching I work as an accompanist. I played for the UCL Chamber Choir for two seasons and was assistant repetiteur for University College Opera, later producing the company's European premiere of Fellow Travelers in 2025.I teach the way I was taught: technique and reading built properly from the start, and repertoire chosen so that a student is always working on something they want to play. Progress comes from practising well rather than practising a lot, so a good deal of what I teach is how to practise.I live locally and teach in the evenings and on Saturday mornings.
Rates
| 60-minute lesson | £55 |
| 45-minute lesson | £45 |
| Second sibling, same visit | £5 off |
Lessons are billed by the term: ten lessons, invoiced in advance.Please give 48 hours' notice to cancel. I can offer one make-up lesson per term where I can find an alternative slot; lessons cancelled with less notice are charged.There's no free trial. The first lesson is charged at the normal rate, with no obligation to book a full term afterwards. Travel within my teaching area is included, there's no separate call-out charge.
Availability & Area
| Monday, Wednesday, Thursday | 5pm–9pm |
| Saturday | 9am–2pm |
I teach at students' homes in Notting Hill, Bayswater, Westbourne Park, Maida Vale, Ladbroke Grove and Queen's Park - W2, W9, W10, W11 and NW8.You will need a piano at home in reasonable playing order. If yours hasn't been tuned in a while I can recommend a local tuner.
Accompanying & Repetiteur Work
I take on accompanying work alongside teaching: graded exams, recitals, auditions, competitive festivals and choral rehearsal work. Previously I have been accompanist to the UCL Chamber Choir and assistant repetiteur for University College Opera.Rehearsal and coaching: £55/hour, one hour minimum
Exam accompanying: £85, including one rehearsal and the exam
Recitals, auditions and festivals: quoted on requestDo get in touch with the repertoire and dates for any of the above!
Get In Touch
Tell me a little about who the lessons are for and roughly when suits, and I'll come back to you within a day or two!
Enhanced DBS checked · Member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians · Fully insured