I am a traveling piano teacher which means I will come to you! All you need is a piano and a love for music! I teach beginning through early-advanced players of all ages. Lessons may last 30, 45, or 60 minutes, depending on the age and skill level of the student and typically consist of piano technique, music theory, piano repertoire, and ear training exercises. I teach lessons year-round, even during the summer!
What kind of music do you teach?
My beginning and intermediate students use Nancy and Randall Faber's Piano Adventures Series which includes basic music lessons, theory, piano technique and a wide variety of musical repertoire. I supplement this series with any music that my students are interested in, including popular songs on the radio, film music, and even jazz.
After completing the Faber curriculum, my late-intermediate/early-advanced students continue to work on a variety of repertoire from all four major classical music periods: Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Contemporary. I use a combination of methods including Keith Snell's Piano Series, Alfred's Encore! Series and the Bastien Piano Literature Series. They are introduced to an assortment of composers and musical styles along with more advanced piano technique, music theory and ear training.
In addition to their method books, I try to accommodate all student's individual interests by supplementing them with other repertoire suggested by the student or with musical topics such as composing and jazz theory. In the past, students have worked on popular music, jazz standards, choral accompaniments, piano duets, piano transcriptions of orchestral works such as Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker, and excerpts from longer musically advanced pieces such as Rhapsody in Blue. Students have also worked on their own compositions, improvisations and even artwork and writing inspired by their pieces.
How much will I have to practice?
Piano lessons are just part of learning to play the piano. Most growth and improvement takes place during individual practice. In order to have the most success, students should expect to practice daily for a minimum of:
15 minutes for beginning students
30 minutes for intermediate students
45 minutes for late-intermediate students
1 hour for early-advanced students
Not only will this ensure steady progress, but it also makes for strong fingers, a relaxed technique and the ability to move on to more advanced and complex music.
Students are given weekly practice sheets which specify pieces and exercises to be practiced for the week and assigned theory work to be completed. These sheets will also include weekly practice goals which the student should work to accomplish by the end of the week. Most importantly, these practice sheets are a place to keep track of how many times and for how long each student practiced.