What do you need to start lessons?
First of all, your desire. For fruitful learning you will need an instrument, and we can decide together what your options are on this question. Among other things, you will need a music manuscript notebook, an ordinary squared notebook, a folder with sleeves for sheet music, and writing supplies. All of this is discussed at the start of the lessons.
Choosing a piano
To learn the piano it is best to have an acoustic instrument, that is, one made of wood and strings. This is because only on an acoustic instrument is it possible to work on creating sound and its mood. The instrument responds to how the player touches it, changing its sound depending on this, which is often impossible on digital instruments, where a recording of an acoustic instrument is played back. Working on sound is an important aspect of learning the piano and of enjoying the process.
If you would like to buy one, any second-hand instrument will do to begin with, including a Soviet one. In Russia such instruments are often given away for free. I can help you choose a good instrument, including by providing contacts of trusted professional tuners, so that you do not buy a non-working piano.
For those who do not have the option of choosing an acoustic instrument, the market offers a choice between synthesizers and digital pianos. For learning the piano, above all a digital piano is suitable. The synthesizer was originally created as an instrument for entering notes into a computer, for synthesizing new sounds. The digital piano is a replacement for an acoustic piano in a computer format. There are a number of characteristics such an instrument must have to be suitable for learning: a weighted keyboard, keyboard sensitivity to the force of the key press, and keys the same size as on a wooden piano. Starter models I recommend: Casio CDP-100, Yamaha P45, Roland FP-10. These three brands make good digital pianos.
Which musicians are worth listening to?
I recommend listening to the following outstanding musicians, because they have proven themselves to be profound personalities who learned to express themselves superbly through music.
Classical music
Pianists: Sviatoslav Richter, Vladimir Horowitz, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Dinu Lipatti, Walter Gieseking, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Sergei Rachmaninoff. Singers: Mario Del Monaco, Franco Corelli, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Beniamino Gigli. Among conductors I recommend Wilhelm Furtwängler, as well as the trumpeter Timofei Dokshizer.
Jazz musicians
The pianists Count Basie, Oscar Peterson, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, and the saxophonist Charlie Parker
…and many, many others!