My Philosophy
Every human being has the ability to create music.
We live in an amazing time in history. Music is more obtainable now than ever before. Americans listen to music, on average, two hours a day. Piano lessons allow you to play the music you love.
My primary goal is to teach children and adults how to play the piano musically and develop a love for creating music. I meet students where they are; tailoring my teaching to each person’s learning style, musical interests and temperament. I want to bring out the best in each one of them.
Students can learn piano at any age. I normally start students no younger than age five. I thoroughly enjoy teaching teenagers and adults as well. Now, more than ever, people of all ages are taking piano lessons.
I use mixed learning modalities (visual, aural & tactile) to teach skills. For instance, when learning to read music, students will play, say 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: Create the sound we aim to make.
Technique: using the body, from feet to fingers and everything in between, to play music, not just the notes.
Rhythm: how to feel the beat and organize sounds and silence on and around it.
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? Countless times, people have told me they don't have musical talent. Not true! 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 lonely 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. Most importantly, they 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 try to find music students enjoy and I encourage them to bring in music they want to learn. Finding music you like is the best motivator to learn the piano! Still, it takes time to play well. We take it step by step. Sometimes it’s difficult, but the results are worth it!