Curriculum

Practice: Training the Brain

Truly practicing well is an art in itself, much richer and more rewarding than mindless repetition and mounting frustration. I help students to achieve self-sufficiency  from healthy practice habits. Learning how to practice gives you a powerful tool that can be applied in all aspects of life, so I put practice at the forefront of my method.

It's not always obvious how to practice the right way.  I break down traditional and time-tested approaches, combining them with the latest research in psychology and brain science, to give the student control over their own progress. 

Theory and Rep: Eclectic and Omnivorous

My own musical experience runs the gamut from Bach to blues and back. My students have learned centuries old sonatas and the latest songs-of-the-summer. It all comes back to the same 88 keys, so I help the student set the goals and I fill in the gaps with connecting repertoire, technical exercises, and relevant theory.

The song you want to learn doesn't have a piano part? That's a perfect opportunity to practice harmony and arranging. Want to improve your sight-reading? I have just the book for that. For complete beginners, I've taken what works best from all the major methods to create a gradual but challenging progression from 5-finger melodies to classical repertoire.

Technique: Awareness and Simplicity

Technique is the physical, athletic component of piano playing, where the fingers meet the keys. I always keep an eye out for ways to make it easier for the student to get the sound they want.

The best technique is to have no technique; that is, to move as naturally and comfortably as possible. Most of the time, this is more challenging than it sounds! Intense concentration can create excessive effort without you even noticing. I help students build awareness of their hand, arm, and shoulder, and guide them to a technique that "feels right", which is the foundation of speed, fluency, and clarity.

My Philosophy

Over the years, I've settled on a few principles that form the foundation of my teaching approach:

Observation

Every lesson begins with careful observation of the student's playing, and listening closely to any questions or suggestions that they have. While the student is learning about the instrument, I'm constantly learning about the strengths and goals of the student, and how they respond to different teaching approaches. Often that requires stepping out of the driver's seat for a minute and letting the student try things their own way.

Improvisation

The spirit of improvisation is the spirit of play: a commitment to supportive collaboration and a willingness to try new ideas. In that sense, all lessons are improvisatory, and I strive to create a space where a student can test out a flow of different ideas and approaches, with well-timed input from me, and observe for themselves what works.

Cultivation

I don't really fit the stereotype of teacher-as-lawgiver -- I like to think of myself more as a participant and partner in the student's musical progress. That doesn't mean there's no heavy lifting: with cultivation, you put a lot of work in, but in time you get much more back. My ultimate goal is always to set students up for a life-long musical practice, with all the skills they need to continue exploring and growing under their own power.

Syllabus

This is a brief syllabus to give examples of the books I work from:

For Beginners:

For beginners under 8, I start with Bastien's Primer Level A and Level B. If the student is eager to sight-read, I use Diller-Quaile's Very First Piano Book.

For beginners from 8 - 12, I start with Denis Agay's Joy of First Year Piano or Diller-Quaile's First Piano Solos, plus selections from Suzuki book I and II.

For teenage and adult beginners, I start with Bartók's Mikrokosmos I and II, and other selections from the Joy of ... series, especially First Classics.

For Intermediate Students:

For pop/rock students, I work with the student to create arrangements or simplified transcriptions from the recording, e.g. We Are The Champions (Queen), Maybe I'm Amazed (Paul McCartney), Changes (2pac), Creep (Radiohead), Hello (Adele), Trouble (Taylor Swift).

For classical students, we choose from Schirmer's Sonatina Album, Schumann's Album for the Young, Bartók's Mikrokosmos III and IV, Burgmüller's Etudes, Suzuki III - V, Satie's Gymnopédies or any other good choices.

For technical exercises, I create exercises from the current piece and supplement with Hanon (adapted, arranged, and played in multiple keys).

Advanced Students:

For pop/rock students: faithfully accurate or embellished transcriptions from the recording, soloing in the desired style (New Orleans, blues, rock, country, bebop).

For advanced classical students: Bach French Suites and selections from Goldberg Variations, selections from Mozart/Beethoven/Haydn sonatas, Chopin Nocturnes and Preludes, Debussy Preludes, etc.

Technical exercises: scales and arpeggios in all keys, Chopin Op. 10 Nos. 5 and 12, Op. 25 No. 1