Piano Lessons for all ages
Learn from a patient, experienced teacher. Jazz, blues, soul, rock, folk, Latin, gospel, world music, and more. These are fun, creative lessons.
Some philosophy
|
Music is a language, and it can be learned like a language: by hearing it and speaking it. Traditional lessons often put emphasis on reading, more than actually playing. Here, the emphasis is on the spoken language first: learning familiar songs "by ear", improvising, and just sitting at the piano and playing without the distraction of sheet music.
Reading is a thread that we will maintain as we go, a valuable part of the whole, but only one aspect. We will also learn grammar: music theory. Learning chords opens up a broad world to us. Kids: For beginners, I do use a method book to learn reading. We also get right to playing songs with chords. I encourage singing without making a big deal of it, and I sing all the time to set an example (and because it's fun). After a while I'll start asking the student if they've heard any songs that they like. Then we'll spend some time trying to learn that song by ear-- chords are at the core of this. By seeing my process of learning songs kids usually figure out how to do it too, after some time. In addition to teaching kids from the beginning, I have found a successful niche as the "alternative" piano teacher for kids who have already had some traditional lessons, and either felt vaguely unsatisfied with what they had learned, or were rejecting it altogether. Some of my best students-- many who have grown up and left for college-- came to me when they were on the verge of quitting music. My teenaged students are on fire. Adults: Most of my adult students might describe them selves as "recovering classical students". If you had classical lessons, and after all these years you still feel like you can't really sit down and just play, then this is for you. We can learn to play playfully, expressively, and improvisationally. I like to say "they already know how to play-- they just don't know that they know to play." I teach adult beginners, as well. |
My Studio
|
I teach in my studio in the south end of Burlington. It is very well-equipped. In addition to teaching, I use it for rehearsal, recording, practice, and composition. My grand piano is a modern and beautiful Boston GP 163. I often jam with my students, accompanying them on upright bass. The studio also has a drum set, acoustic guitars, and eclectic percussion. I've got a Hammond A100 organ and a Rhodes piano in there, too, along with digital keyboards and synthesizers.
|