I work closely with each student based on their own interests and abilities. I firmly believe all piano students have their own unique talents, and I encourage them to develop those talents even further.
If you love the piano and piano music, and you are a beginning student, with some hard work and patience you will make beautiful music and become a solid performer. For seasoned players, I can help you improve in the areas you want to work on. I will help you with velocity, playing more complex textures, phrasing, playing effective piano and pianissimo, and I’ll help you expand your repertoire.
Additionally, I take a comprehensive approach to teaching, engaging the full body and mind. I combine theory, technique, and expression right from the start.
Lessons include:
- Simple and fun exercises
- Mastering your favorite songs
- Useful video/audio clips to enjoy between lessons
- Opportunities to learn more about composers and musical styles
Teaching Children:
For children, I use Faber’s Piano Adventure series and other materials and exercises of my own. I listen closely and encourage children to share their ideas and observations about music and the piano. This helps them take ownership of what they are learning. For each child, I teach based on what they enjoy about music, encouraging them to develop their abilities even more.
Beginning students: We start with posture and hand position, fingering, learning the range of the keyboard, and basic rhythm. Students learn the C 5-finger position, the F position, and the G position. Gradually we work in learning notes on the staff, the C major scale, triads, and dynamics. Children start learning songs in their first lesson.
Advanced students: I tailor my lessons based on the student’s abilities and interests. We work on phrasing, more complex chord progressions, and velocity. Also, we may move into more advanced classical, pop, and jazz pieces.
Teaching Adults:
Beginning students: We start by learning the notes on the keyboard, plus pitch and rhythm. You learn about posture, hand position, finger exercises, and relaxation techniques for hands and arms. You will start learning actual pieces and songs in your first lesson, and begin to understand how to control volume (louds and softs) through touch.
Advanced students: I will help you enhance your technique, expand your musical knowledge, and build confidence. We will work on phrasing, velocity, tone, inner melodic lines, rhythmic challenges (like triplets over sixteenth notes). I’ll help you explore new composers and expand your repertoire.
I teach in any style you are interested in, such as classical, pop, jazz, ragtime, and blues.