Individual Piano Lessons

A few basic facts to help you get started:

• Lessons are weekly. To make the most consistent progress, it is important to have a lesson every week. However, it's also important to have a few weeks off throughout the year for holidays and family trips. Therefore, for each semester, I publish a calendar of the weeks/days that I am available for lessons. Students are expected to have a lesson in at least 80% of the weeks available for lessons. Missing more lessons than this may result in your student being dropped from the program.
• Beginning students' lessons are 30 minutes.
• Practice at home should take place every day. First and second year beginners should practice 15-20 minutes each day. If your child finds it hard to sit still that long, you can break it up into two 10 minute sessions. As a student progresses, practice time will gradually increase.
• My teaching philosophy is that a piano student should become a well-rounded musician, learning not just how to read the notes but also learn music theory, proper technique, music history, and composition. Of course, everything is tailored to the student's level and taken step by step, with lots of reviewing along the way.
• For students younger than 3rd grade, a parent is required to attend each lesson. A parent should learn right alongside their child for awhile. Your student will get the most out of lessons if you can help guide them at home. I don't ask parents to become virtuosos by any means, but it does help the youngest students if you can at least help them structure practice time at home. I always encourage parents to reach out by email or phone during the week if they have questions about what should be practiced or how to play something - that way you don't have to wait until the next lesson to ask and we don't lose a week of progress!
• Are piano lessons right for you/your student? Let's talk about it. It's helpful to have a candid conversation, usually by phone, prior to starting lessons. I also offer a trial lesson at no cost to you if afterwards you choose not to pursue lessons with me.

Close

Pre-K & Kindergarten

Individual Lessons

Individual lessons for preschool and kindergarten students are 15-30 minutes long, depending on the attention span of the student.

At this age, fun is essential to any learning endeavor. Using games and plenty of good humor, our goals are to introduce the child to the basic concepts of the piano and music:

• Low, Middle, & High sounds, and where to find them on the piano
• The Music Alphabet, and naming the piano keys
• Good piano posture
• Listening, listening, and more listening!

I am not a certified Suzuki teacher and this is not a Suzuki program. However, I do use some of the Suzuki concepts that encourage good tone production and the development of listening skills. Since attention span and fine muscle control vary so greatly from child to child at this age, the personality and maturity of the child will determine the pace.

Parents are required to attend lessons. To get the most out of these lessons, the parent should expect to be "the teacher at home" during daily 10-15 minute practice sessions.

Close

Parent Involvement

Preschool through 2nd Grade

For Preschool through 2nd grade students, your involvement as a parent is critical. I ask that you attend and observe every lesson, in order for you to be able to guide your child at home during practice times. You will be learning a lot about music and the piano right along with your child, even if you don't have any musical training yourself. I will provide everything you need to help your child.

Your encouragement during home practice times is essential - it will take a lot of hard work on the student’s part for her small fingers to learn to obey what her brain is telling them to do. It will require a lot of patience and wisdom (and sometimes trial and error) from you, as you encourage every small accomplishment, learn when to push your child to try again at something hard, and learn when to back off and relax and just give some things time to develop and not stress her or yourself. I will be there to help you navigate this journey, to help you set expectations and brainstorm new ideas to help your child when she gets stuck.

At the beginning of the semester, you will need to sit with your child throughout almost every practice time at home. Every student should practice 20 minutes every day - if you find you have to practice more than this to accomplish the lesson assignment, then please talk to me and we will figure out what we can do. Towards the halfway point of the semester, your child will be able to do some parts of her assignment on her own as you listen from the next room.

3rd Grade & Older

For 3rd grade and beyond, parents are not required to attend every lesson. However, parents should plan to attend lessons for elementary and middle school children at least once a month to be aware of what we are working on. Parents can also help their child by double-checking at home that the child is working on everything in the lesson assignment.

Regardless of age, encouragement from parents is crucial to every piano student. Please always tell your child whenever you hear a song you like.

Close

FAQs

Do you require us to have a piano at home to practice on?

Yes, you need a keyboard instrument at home to practice on. No, it does not have to be a piano. That being said, it is important to acknowledge that even with the weighted keys that many keyboards now have, pianos and keyboards are still two different instruments. If you want you/your child to learn to play a keyboard instrument, then get a keyboard. If you want you/your child to learn to play the piano, you need a piano. I will teach regardless of the instrument you choose. You can find many compact pianos being sold very cheaply on Craigslist, sometimes even free if you are willing to move it. Shop around until you find one you like. You should be able to find a decent starter piano (used) for between $200-$800.

What age do you recommend as a starting age for piano lessons?

I recommend starting piano lessons as a child enters kindergarten or 1st grade, depending on the maturity of the child. Starting earlier than this presents a unique set of challenges because of the limited attention span and immature muscle control and strength at ages younger than 5 years old. It can be done, but it requires a much bigger commitment from the parent, who will essentially be the “piano teacher” at home during daily practice sessions.

Do you take adult students?

Absolutely! I admire those who don't believe that they are too old to learn something new and aren't afraid to make a few mistakes!

What days/hours do you teach?

I am available to schedule lessons on Mondays through Friday, between 9:00am - 2:00pm, depending on my current student schedule.

Where do lessons take place?

Lessons can take place at my piano studio at my house, or at your house. If taking place at your house, you will be required to provide the instrument and a distraction free environment, as well as pay a per lesson travel fee of $5 + 30 cents per mile (round trip). Skype can be an option for makeup lessons, but not as a weekly lesson location.

Do you teach music theory, composition, ear training, etc.?

Throughout the year, we will cover a variety of topics. These topics include music theory, music history, composition, ear training, and more. The focus of the beginning of the Fall Semester is on music theory. Towards the end of the Fall Semester, we have fun learning Holiday music. In the Winter/Spring Semester, we have monthly themes of music history, February Fun month, ear training, and composition. At the end of the Winter/Spring Semester, we review everything we learned that year.

Are there any student recitals?

Yes! Recitals are a fun way to share all the hard work that the students (and parents) have put into their learning. Students are strongly encouraged to take part in one recital each semester: the Fall Recital during the first half of November, and the Spring Recital near the end of the Winter/Spring Semester.

Do you require recital pieces to be memorized?

No, I do not require memorization of recital pieces, though some students do choose to memorize their recital pieces. Memorization of favorite pieces is something I strongly encourage, and we talk about it throughout the year. Students have different natural abilities to memorize (I knew one brilliant student who could not memorize any song no matter how hard she tried), so I do not have any given requirement for memorizing pieces.

Close