Start Playing Right AwaY
You’ll enjoy being able to play great-sounding music right away, which will keep you interested and motivated to keep learning. Most students will be playing sophisticated-sounding pieces, both hands together, within their first month of lessons.
Play Great-sounding music!
Learn to play the piano through music that’s engaging and satisfying. What do you enjoy most? Relaxing, ambient music? Pop or rock songs? Classical piano? Video-game-style pieces? Movie themes? The blues or jazz? You’ll have a voice in the style of music being played. And if you don’t have a preference yet, we’ll explore a variety of musical genres as your musical tastes develop over time.
sound before sight
In the same way that we all learn to speak years before we learn to read and write, in our lessons, music reading is temporarily delayed and you’ll be immersed in the experience of immediately playing great-sounding music. Music is, after all, an aural art, not a visual art.
A Natural approach to reading music
You’ll be introduced to a variety of unique playing-based concepts that unfold directly onto the keyboard, resulting in learning to play the piano quickly, easily and naturally. Once you are playing the piano comfortably and have a solid understanding of the keyboard, music reading will be introduced. With this foundational knowledge and unique approach, you’ll be set to become a strong reader of written sheet music, chord charts, and lead sheets. This is a far more natural approach to learning music than how we were taught back 1900’s.
music as art
Most people consider music to be an art. Unfortunately, the way piano has been taught traditionally over the past century (solely a “reading based” paradigm), much of the “art” in music education has been lost. So let’s return to a “creativity first” approach! We’ll freely explore all the amazing, magical elements of sound and learn to infuse your own, unique style into the music you play. If creating music is a goal of yours, you will quickly acquire the skills to compose your own music, write your own songs, and make your own arrangements of the songs you love most.
Music as Self Care
Music is so much more than just a skill to perform “perfectly” for others, which can lead to anxiety and distress! In fact, students who develop a lifelong love of playing their instrument do so because music is fulfilling and pleasing for themselves. The instrument becomes a safe space to relax and escape from the stress of the world. It’s a place to tinker and explore – a space to be playful. Music is a language that you can develop to connect with and express emotions, whether those emotions are joyful or melancholy or somewhere in between. This expressive outlet is the magical beauty of the arts, and why arts education is so vitally important for everyone.
Become a well-rounded Musician
In our lessons, we’ll cover all the skills necessary to be a competent musician in this day and age. You’ll learn using a far more holistic approach. In addition to the traditional skill of reading written sheet music, you’ll also learn the many functional skills necessary to be a modern musician. These include reading lead sheets and chord charts, accompanying singers, jamming with others, composing, song writing, playing in a band or orchestra, freely playing soundscapes, learning to play a favorite song by ear, storytelling through music, and making music videos.
Most students will naturally gravitate to some forms of music making over others, and tastes often change over time, so, while growing as musicians, the path we’re on may change. I’ve had students who started with a classical music focus who became passionate jazz musicians, others who only wanted to read music who fell in love with singing and playing, those who started off only wanting to play video game music who grew to love playing Beethoven, and others who didn’t think they had any imagination who found their creative voice through composing and song writing.
Where will your unique musical journey will take you?
