My Philosophy
Every human being has the ability to create music. We live in a remarkable era where music is more accessible than ever before. The average person listening to music three hours a day. Learning to play the piano enables you to engage with the music you love on a deeper level.
My primary goal is to teach children and adults how to play the piano musically and foster a love for creating music. I meet students where they are; tailoring my teaching approach to each person’s learning style, musical interests and temperament. My aim is to bring out the the best in each student.
Students can learn piano at any age, although I typically start teaching students no younger than age five. I thoroughly enjoy working with teenagers and adults as well. Now, more than ever, people of all ages are taking piano lessons.
I use a mix of learning modalities—visual, aural, and tactile—to teach essential skills. For example, when learning to read music, students will play and sing notes at the piano. They’ll draw on my wall-sized dry erase board and step on a giant floor keyboard. If parents agree, I encourage students to use apps to learn certain musical skills. Learning note names is fun when it's turned into a game.
Whether a student wants to play recreationally or competitively, the path to playing musically is the same. It requires a skill set that I begin teaching in the first lesson:
Listening and sound production: Play with beautiful and expressive sound.
Technique: using the body, from feet to fingers and everything in between, to play music with beauty, ease, and efficiency.
Rhythm: how to feel the beat and organize sounds and silence on and around it.
Imagination: what character or mood are we expressing through sound.
Notation: How to read music.
Theory: Why music is the way it is.
Improvisation and composition: Inventing music.
Practice: Yes, practice is a skill! I teach students how to practice efficiently and effectively. Please click on "practice" on the top bar for more details.
What about talent? Many people have told me they don't have musical talent. This is a myth. Research in the last four decades shows that anyone can become an expert at anything with high quality practice. According to Anders Ericsson, the only innate differences are height and body size. Our brains rewire themselves. If you want to learn the piano, I can teach you.
Piano should not be a solitary endeavor.
My students attend monthly classes which I consider pivotal to their progress. They get to know one another and participate in musical activities to improve skills, and most importantly, play for each other to build confidence and reduce performance anxiety.
We learn best when we have goals. Classes, recitals, and festivals motivate students to practice and nurture enjoyment for piano. I constantly seek out music my students will enjoy and encourage them to bring in music they want to learn. Finding music you love is the best motivator to learn the piano. It takes time to play well, but we take it step by step. It will be challenging, but the results are worth it!