Teaching Philosophy

The end result of my piano instruction is a student who habitually reads and plays music beautifully for their own enjoyment. They will have a thorough knowledge of how to interpret the markings on the page, practice difficult passages until they become easy, improve their finger control, create their own musical interpretation, and, if they’re so inclined, write, improvise, and even compose their own music. They will also have an understanding of the science and theory of music, and gain a solid insight into how it evokes emotion. And, while they will be able to play with robotic precision, they will have a natural feel for altering and experimenting with the dynamics and tempo, and playing with spirit.

Learning to read music mirrors the process of learning to read English. Through constant practice, one progresses from the simplest books to the most complex, from books for children, to books for young adults, and then finally to books for adults. Music scores start at the beginner level with method books, then progress to the intermediate level, which is the easiest music written by great composers, and finally arrive at the advanced level, in which most of the great music is written. Composers wrote music that they could play, and some were among the greatest pianists.

Learning piano is mostly about spending time playing music of an appropriate difficulty level. One of a teacher's greatest tasks is to understand the skills of their student and suggest what pieces they might try, including a mixture of easy and more challenging selections, but rarely anything that overwhelms. Reading music is so important that, even if a student can laboriously memorize and play a difficult piece, they should still focus on playing music that they can learn quickly. My goal in teaching is not to help a student play a few difficult pieces over a span of years, but to help them enjoy themselves by playing a great number of pieces without struggling, and eventually become so good that they can make light work of the harder pieces too.

Understanding what notes to play is one thing, but controlling one’s fingers is another. Developing technique, the automatized command of the fingers to play notes as one wishes to hear them, is another goal of my teaching. It’s what’s most apparent when comparing music played by a beginner vs. that of a professional: a professional's fingers fly across the keyboard with the greatest of ease, hitting every note exactly when they want it, at exactly the volume they desire, without even having to think about it. This is the goal, and it is straightforward to achieve, but requires a lot of work.

The fingers are “dumb” - they need to be reminded over and over what they’re supposed to be doing. Only through many repetitions of exactly the notes you want them to play will they get to the point where they seemingly move on their own. Piano practice consists mostly of this: playing the same thing over and over again, very slowly, deliberately hitting only the correct notes. Practice should often consist only of repeating the most difficult passages in the music. This method is more effective than playing a piece from start to finish and persistently making mistakes. The goal is to make the hard parts easy. When the whole piece is easy and automatic, then the pianist can focus on listening to the music itself, and play as beautifully and fast as they wish. Ironically, playing fast is accomplished by practicing slow, mastering the notes by playing them with precision many, many times, no matter how slowly.

In my teaching I also employ rote repetition, having the student repeat what I play, which will always be exactly what they’re capable of learning right then and there. Through this method, even without reading music, the student will gain skill in technique, expression, rhythm, ear training, terminology, music theory, and acoustics.

In addition to teaching the reading and playing of music, I teach the writing of it as well. Students have a staff-paper notebook in which to jot down musical ideas, patterns, and fingerings, and even to invent and notate their own music. I offer assistance with this and guide students to naturally learn to compose at the same time as they learn to play, taking advantage of the fact that many of the same skills are employed in both.

What I offer you is a teacher who helps the student to rationally understand what they’re doing and why. When they know that, and they observe their own rapid progress, they'll be motivated to practice, and will experience a lifetime of creating ever more beautiful music!

Please see my policies and prices and send me an email if you’re interested in trying out lessons!