About The Studio
My students range in age from six years through high school. Students younger than six I accept on a trial basis as they might not be ready for the discipline it takes to learn to play an instrument. I am usually able to make an assessment in one or two sessions for which I don’t charge.
If accepted, I like to work with young beginners twice a week for at least the first month, each lesson lasting 20 to 25 minutes. With everything being new—key names, note values, notes in two clefs, etc., I don’t want to overwhelm a child with too much information in any one session. I do want, however, as soon as possible, to reach a point where I can give the student enough work to do between lessons to sustain their interest.
Classical music is my passion. While I willingly yield to requests such as learning the Star Wars and Superman themes, my goal is to guide my students toward appreciation of classical music.
During my many years of teaching I have accumulated a large collection of music by which to entice them. Besides stimulating music by contemporary composers, we have the advantage of having been born after Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin and other musical giants. I hope that most of my students will continue to play piano for the rest of their lives and that all of them will get more out of hearing music because they have learned how to listen.
I encourage families to play music together. If a parent or sibling plays piano, there can be piano duets. If the family member plays a different instrument, I will find or arrange duet music for them to play. Besides being fun, this is a great tool to teach musicians to listen to each other.
Practicing
Continued interest and enjoyment in playing piano depends to a large extent on progress. Progress, in turn, depends on daily practice. (Let’s be real–almost daily.)
I teach students how to get the most out of their practice time, since how they spend it is more important than the amount of time they spend. It’s best to schedule practice daily at the same time, and while the student is still alert. If that is not possible, schedule practice time in advance, even if it be the night before, to avoid another day slipping by without having touched the piano or cause parental reminders to escalate into nagging.
Parents of young beginners need not be musically literate to be helpful. They are encouraged to sit in during lessons and learn together with the student. At home, the parent and the student can go over the lesson together.
Recitals
Twice during the teaching year I invite students to perform for each other in my home. During these informal sessions I present a musical idea which calls for their participation. Parents and friends are invited to the annual recital in June.
- STUDIO SCHEDULE & FEES: My teaching season, with one lesson a week, runs from September through June. The monthly fee for four 45 minute lessons, is $195.($65/hour) A fifth lesson in a month is considered an advance make-up lesson. During July and August students are not committed to weekly lessons and are charged by the lesson rather than by the month.
- CANCELLATIONS: For a lesson to be rescheduled, I need at least 24 hours notice. In case of sudden illness when 24 hours notice is not possible, I will try to make up the lesson.
- TERMINATING LESSONS: Two weeks’ notice is required to terminate lessons. If the student expresses the desire to quit, parents should bring the matter to my attention right away. While I cannot work with a student who really doesn’t want to continue piano lessons, I can help the student through a slack period due to low energy after an illness, pressure at school, annoyance with a parent or teacher, or frustration with a piece he/she is learning.
- MY CURRICULUM VITAE