Teaching Philosophy:
At Basically Beethoven: Piano Performance Studio, I believe in starting at the basics and building up from there. Once you have a strong foundation, you can literally go in ANY direction! I have a passion for Bach, Beethoven, Hanon & Chopin, but I especially love Beethoven, believing that the classics provide a solid base for any aspiring pianist.
In my first lesson, I spend some time getting to know the student and familiarizing them with the keyboard in general. I open up the lid of the piano and allow the student to see and understand the inner workings of the piano. After explaining how the various keys of the piano are named after the first seven letters of the alphabet, and how their fingers are numbered 1-5, I introduce them to a five finger C-scale exercise followed by the 1 chord, 4 chord & 5 chord with a seventh. Then I write out in their notebook a simplified version of Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, so that they are able to go home able to play a song after their first lesson. I find this instant feeling of success and achievement to be extremely encouraging to new students.
After they have begun, I introduce them to the Bastien Technic books and then transfer them over to Journey Through the Classics compiled by Jennifer Lind, supplementing with seasonal Christmas songs and other things that spark the individual student’s interest as I feel that they are ready for something more challenging. In addition to this, for technic I use the Dozen-a-Day series by Edna Mae Burnham until the student is ready to be introduced to Hanon and then Pischna, working up to all major and minor scales hands together with chords in the circle-of 5th’s, in addition to arpeggios and chromatic scales.
I hold a spring recital for students to begin practicing the art of performing. I require my students to perform everything memorized in order to participate in the recital. I believe that learning to memorize and perform from memory as a child is crucial. As my students get older and advance, I encourage duets and opportunities to accompany other musicians, bands and live singers to broaden their repertoire and skill set.
I encourage beginning students to practice 15-30 minutes a day on school days, and I encourage older more advanced students to practice 45-60 minutes, growing into longer increments of practice as they are able. A good rule of thumb is that a student’s practice length should match or exceed the length of their weekly lesson. I encourage an awareness of correct fingering early on and sight reading. I have several tricks which help the students with learning to read music. I believe timing and precision are absolutely crucial and gently encourage my students to persevere in striving for excellence in their playing and practice.
I am willing to start students at any age. I believe as a mother and a parent myself that music cannot be introduced too young. On the contrary, the things learned at a young age often stay with us for a lifetime. The mind is a sponge and both interest and aptitude can easily follow. My lessons vary greatly with the needs of the parent and the age of the student. Because of the age range of my own children, I have had a significant quantity of teaching experience working with children of both genders, multiple learning styles and personalities. I am looking forward to putting my life experience into play as I custom tailor each lesson to each individual student. Usually students in the 4-7 year age bracket need a lot of parent involvement in their practices at home. 7-8 years old tends to be the magical age when they can begin practicing independently.
I also love the adventure and challenge of teaching the adult student. They can learn so much so quickly, and ironically mostly struggle with discouragement at their own perception of their lack of progress. Through this teaching process I encourage a positive outlook and good practice habits, striving to find music that the student finds both fun and inpsiring. It is encouraging to see how quickly and how far an adult student can go when they are motivated to practice.