Learn Piano your way with a TakeLessons expert

By Chuck M. - Portland Piano Teacher

Portland, Oregon is well known for its natural beauty, its bountiful supply of craft beers, and its thriving music community. As a piano teacher, I encourage my students to catch live music performances as often as possible. Portland has many venues throughout the city that feature piano music performed in all styles. Here are a few that happen to sell pianos too:

1. Located in Portland’s historic Brooklyn neighborhood, Classic Pianos is a piano player’s dream house. It has a beautiful piano showroom of new and used pianos by Yamaha, Boesendorfer, Schimmel, and Steinway. It also has a recital hall featuring an ongoing jazz concert series. Artists have included Alan Broadbent and Dave Frishberg. Gino Vannelli recently recorded a song in the recital hall as a fundraising effort for a local young soldier. Classic Pianos is located at 3003 SE Milwaukie Ave. http://portland.classicpianos.net/

2. Located in downtown Portland, Portland Piano Company features music education events, concerts, recitals, competitions, and master classes. Many of these events are free! The piano showroom features exquisite pianos by Fazioli, Grotrian, and Kawai. You can find Portland Piano Company at 711 SW 14th Avenue. http://portlandpianocompany.com/

3. Michelle’s Pianos is a family-owned company located in SE Portland. Current news at Michelle’s includes the recent arrival of European exotic pianos by Fazioli, Bluthner, and August Forster. Special events include piano master classes, recitals, and composer workshops. Michelle's Piano is located at 600 SE Stark St. http://www.michellespiano.com/

Jazz venues in Portland include:

1. Jimmy Mak’s is perhaps the best known jazz club in Portland and features live music six days a week with local and national acts. Jimmy Mak’s is located at 221 NW 10th Av. http://www.jimmymaks.com/

2. Wilfs has a romantic jazz supper club ambiance with comfy red velvet banquettes and great live music. It is located at 800 NW 6th Avenue at Union Station. http://www.wilfsrestaurant.com/

Lastly, as a busy piano teacher, I’m always looking for new teaching materials for my students for their piano lessons in Portland. Here are a couple places to pick up piano music and supplies in the city:

1. For piano sheet music, I recommend heading to Portland Music Company located at 531 SE Martin Luther King Blvd. http://www.portlandmusiccompany.com/index.php

2. Secondly, I often tell my students that everything you need to know about playing piano can be found in the recordings of great artists. There are many fine brick and mortar record shops in Portland, and one of the oldest is Music Millennium, located at 3158 E. Burnside St. You can find piano music in all styles on vinyl, CD, or digital download.

I’ve barely scratched the surface for the available piano resources that Portland, Oregon has to offer, but I think this is a good start. Best of luck in your piano lessons in Portland, and enjoy the many opportunities this great city has to offer!