Piano Lessons
As a piano teacher I use method books to give structure to the lessons. For my youngest students I give a half-hour lesson and divide the time with two or three activities, such as playing a lesson or page of the method book, clapping and counting, doing technical "warm-up" exercises, and doing some theory games in a workbook. Filling the half-hour with more than one activity makes it more fun for the student and helps to slowly build attention span.
When my students reach an intermediate level I let them choose what they’d like to play. Some like to play Bach minuets and Clementi sonatinas, while others like to play pop or musical theater. One of my students once spent a year playing fifties rock ‘n roll and her parents breathed a sigh of relief when she finally put away "My Boyfriend’s Back" and said she wanted to play "Für Elise." The point is that the transition was not difficult. Students can develop their musicianship and reading ability playing "Hard Day’s Night" just as much as when they play "Prelude in C Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier." Pop music can sometimes be more challenging because of all the syncopation, which may not come up in the beginning classical pieces. I figure that children are more likely to play if they can play something they like.
For teaching materials I use Edna Mae Burnam’s "A Dozen a Day" series. Children love those little stick figures and my adult students like them too! For the past year I’ve been using Andrew Scott and Gary Turner’s "Progressive Piano Method for Young Beginners" for my youngest students and then I switch over to "Bastien Piano Basics." I use James Bastien’s adult series for my teenage and adult students. Bastien’s approach gets students into playing with both hands quickly because it immediately introduces a left hand chord accompaniment. This method gets students thinking of notes in clusters -- kind of like the whole word method of learning to read versus phonics. It also enables students to play from lead sheets when only melody and chord symbols are given. To include a more classical approach and a more independent left hand, I also use John Thompson’s "Modern Course for the Piano." I also use John Thompson’s "Theory Drill Games," as a theory workbook.
With my adult piano students I tailor the lessons according to their goals and experience. Bastien’s "The Older Beginner Piano Course" is an excellent ground plan for learning theory, as well as learning quickly to read and play with both hands. The information given in each lesson ensures that no basics fall through the cracks. As an undergraduate I attended Berklee College of Music where the main focus was on Jazz theory and harmony, and as a graduate student I studied classical music. So I offer a well-rounded view of music theory to my students. With my adult students, as with my younger students, I let the student choose the music. I can teach you to read music from a "lead sheet" and improvise your own left-hand accompaniments, or we can take the more traditional route.
Standard rates are $40 per hour or $20 for a half hour lesson.
For more information please contact Kirsti.
