Piano lessons
Information About Piano lessons
Dan's lessons cover all aspects of piano tuition including Classical, Jazz and Popular styles for all ages and abilities. Whether you are new to the instrument, relearning after a long break, wishing to succeed in exams or revitalise your learning with fresh and innovative methods Dan will adapt lessons to meet your needs. You can see for yourself by booking a FREE 30min trial lesson at his home studio or online.
All lessons are based around the following objectives:
Subjects Covered
- Beginner lessons
- Intermediate/Advanced lessons
- Adult lessons
- Early Years (age 3-5) tuition
- Music Exams (ABRSM, TCL, LCM, MTB)
- Supplementary group lessons for all ages and abilities
- Classical Piano
- Jazz Piano
- Popular Music
- Composition
- Online tuition
- Music Technology (Cubase, Sibelius)
Further Information
- A large 16m² garden teaching studio fully equipped with books and digital/interactive resources
- Classical, Jazz and Popular Music covered
- Digital lesson notes for every lesson.
- Comprehensive approach covering 5 key areas: Repertoire, Technique, Reading, Listening, Understanding.
- Tailor made piano arrangements written to a pro level available upon request. This has recently included Taylor Swift, Franz Liszt, film/tv soundtracks etc.
- Online lessons offered regularly or hybrid with face to face. Google Meet or Zoom used as the default platform.
- Excellent exam record with majority of pupils achieving Merit or Distinction with ABRSM, TCL, MTB or LCM spanning exams in Theory, Jazz or Classical.
- Exams offered with ABRSM, MTB, TCL, LCM. The majority have achieved either Merit or Distinction.
- Tailor made backing tracks and recordings made on demand.
- Lesson structure and methodology customised for every pupil.
- Lessons available for all ages (including as young as 4yo and adults)
- Incentive schemes (including complimentary prize) for children.
- Lessons available for all abilities (including new starters up to diploma level).
Biography
Daniel Nicholson
BMus (hons) MMus
Daniel began learning the piano from an early age under the Suzuki method in his birth town of Norwich. It was here he developed a disciplined technique and refined aural ability. In his early teens this provided a foundation for him to take up Jazz piano. Consequently Daniel benefited from learning both genres in tandem allowing him to gain a holistic and somewhat unorthodox perspective on how music is composed and performed. The term 'Jazz trained Classical pianist' would possibly be the best description of what this mix of genres eventually synthesised.
Following frequent exposure to performance, competitions and even paid work at an early age Daniel enhanced his wide ranging musical experience immeasurably during his years at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he gained his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Music Performance between 2007-2013. World class teachers he received lessons off included Fazliddin Husanov, Roger Owens, Michael Young, Richard McMahon, Keith Tippett and Huw Warren.
Alongside a wealth of diverse performance opportunities Daniel was engaged with he began to develop an interest in pedagogy. This perhaps stemmed from the stimulating lessons he had received himself and a constant urge to learn and understand more about how music is created and performed. Daniel researched the psychology of music, the benefits of improvisation in Classical education and sought advice and training for how to begin lessons from the early ages. Upon graduating Daniel had aquired many of the fundamental tools required for what came next.
Between 2013-2017 Daniel moved to SW London with who is now his wife and mother of his three children. His career taken off at an alarming rate with performing and session work alongside a portfolio of teaching jobs and private tuition. After just 18 months Daniel's waiting list for private tuition was 20-30 pupils long so he created Cadenza Music Tuition. This eventually expanded to around 250 pupils spread over 9 tutors covering most of SW London. Lessons were all home visits and the business generally continued to grow.
In 2017 Daniel returned to Cardiff with his Wife seeking a most sustainable pace of life and to eventually set up a family nearer to relatives. He handed over the London business to his group of tutors and set up Cadenza Music Tuition in Llandaff North, Cardiff. Today, with his wife and three kids Daniel teaches from a garden studio with around 65 hugely diverse pupils. He also performs and accompanies occasionally
keeping his playing very much alive. Daniel also composes and arranges music which offers pupils to tailor their lessons even more with an ever growing library of creative and fun piano scores (around 450 by the end of 2026). A recent arrangement of Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto for solo piano was performed in 2025.
In the future Daniel aims to publish collections of his arrangements, expand on a smaller scale the Cadenza Music Tuition provision in North Cardiff, continue to perform and enhance his playing, become an external examiner with MTB and continue to learn more about how to refine his own teaching practices through creativity, imagination, knowledge and experience.
What Pupils Say
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