My Philosophy

My first well-learned teaching tenet is "build on a student's strengths." I customize instruction for each individual using a positive and engaging approach. Every student has fun while taking on challenges in a relaxed environment. I always instruct using matching grand pianos in the studio. This arrangement allows me to provide a great deal of demonstration and use rote learning techniques when necessary. If a student can obtain some control and mastery of a piece in the studio, practicing will become much easier.

In every piece, no matter what the style, I always focus on producing a beautiful tone. My teaching stresses a concept of legato melody (smoothly connected tones), correct pedaling, excellent touch, balanced well-analyzed lines, as well as good rhythm, tempo, and dynamics. This can be done by simply demonstrating or through using a detailed approach.

Because of my training as a composer, I am very comfortable teaching literature in a very wide range of styles. I always use more than one method (Thompson, Glover, Czerny, etc.) to obtain the greatest benefits from each and to prevent students from becoming too dependent on any one method. Beginners will encounter folk music, simple jazz and blues, Broadway, Disney, current and classic pop, and - of course - the great piano literature including Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, and much more. I believe that students gain confidence and satisfaction from learning pieces they have already heard and liked as well as tackling new and unfamiliar ones.

Finally, I always try to share some of my knowledge about music and our wonderful instrument, the piano. Whether it might be music theory and analysis, an explanation of how exactly a piano is built and why it behaves the way it does, a historical point about instruments, or a piece's relationship to composers and society, students will learn as much as possible to further their love of music and desire to play the piano.