Teaching

PIANO THEORY COMPOSITION

Lola Perrin is a pianist, composer and educator who has been teaching all ages and levels for over twenty years.  She has published twelve books including a book of piano pieces by her primary school students for other children to play.  She recently recorded new music in The Netherlands to release as a series of singles during 2026.  She has released music for solo piano and for six pianos on various CDs and on the usual streaming platforms.  She initiated and transcribed the long-forgotten, earliest extant large-form work by an African American woman, Concerto in C Minor by Helen Hagan, bringing the work back into performance.

Lola offers lessons in piano and theory with grade preparation (all syllabi) for students wishing to take grade exams.  The lessons take place online lessons internationally (Zoom or WhatsApp).  She also offers in-person in her studio in southwest France. Students range from four years old to retirement age, from schoolchildren to celebrities.

Her approach is student-centered where lesson plans are designed to meet student’s needs by adapting to individual learning styles.  When working with younger learners her focus is to teach how to practice effectively; she creates clear practice plans to email or text after lessons. Students are encouraged to keep a tally of when they practiced and for how long to help them chart their progress.

Lola also offers lessons in composition, and learning how to create music scores by hand, as well as electronically using notation software (Sibelius programme).  She is passionate about helping the next generation of composers to come forward and shares tips and methods from her perspective of composing a wide variety of piano works from solo, to duets, to 8 hands on one piano to music for two, four and six pianos.

Prices on application. Please get in touch via the Contact Form below, looking forward to hearing from you!

TESTIMONIALS

"Lola has been my music teacher for several years and I couldn’t recommend her highly enough. As a person who has additional needs, she has tailored her lesson plans accordingly." (E. - UK)

"It’s thanks to Lola that our son has evolved such an interest and appreciation for music. He will be taking music as one of his A-levels and we hope he will be studying Music at university." (Parent - UK)

"Lola started teaching me the piano in my mid-40s and, fifteen years on, I can genuinely say that it has been life-changing. She is a brilliant teacher who has thought hard about teaching adult beginners and has patiently and inspiringly guided me through early grade exams and scale frustration to live performances, piano-buying and jazz improvisation. Every week I feel my playing is still improving and I am now playing classic pieces from Bach and Handel to Debussy and Elgar. I can’t recommend Lola highly enough." (Ed Balls)

"Lola has been the most amazing and influential piano teacher for our two very different children: one who did all the exams, practiced hard, got to Grade 8 and continues to play for the sheer joy of it; and one who has been too anxious to take the exams, but loves to play and is still learning aged 16.  She motivates them and makes learning fun, but with the highest expectations of standards." (Parent - UK)

"I have been learning the piano as an adult with Lola for over 8 years. I have learned with her both face to face and more recently online - both of which work equally well. Lola is an extremely motivating and inspiring teacher who has helped me enormously to develop my confidence and skills as a pianist. She always seems to know the right thing to say to help me improve my playing of a given piece. Thanks to Lola, playing the piano has again become an important part of my life." (Naomi Hartnell)