I have been a teacher since 1994. The hundreds of children I have taught with all their unique traits and personalities means that I build a great rapport with the children to whom I teach piano. You would think that no student could surprise me any more but that's not true. And that's why I love what I do! Now I teach adults as well and I enjoy that variety in my professional life.

 

Teaching and music are my first two passions so I was lucky to have the opportunity to combine them, teaching music at a local primary school. I became a piano teacher in 2016 at the persistent request of a parent of the school. ​Since the pandemic, I have settled into piano teaching as my main job. It's the best job in the world! So thank you to that parent - I'll never forget you! I have taught piano to every school age up to the age of 18 and beyond. My oldest pupil to date is now over 70. I now choose to teach from the age of 7 and up because the capabilities of that developmental age better suits a new musician and progress flourishes more readily. I do have an online learning method for the younger child however, called The Note Birds: An Action Book for Reading Music. This is actually a course specifically for the younger child that mimics a picture book. It demystifies written music and is a great starting point for potential musicians, giving them the musical language in symbols at an age they are most  hungry for learning. It is interactive and perfect for the modern child.

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I am often told that my piano teaching style is very unique. My students are also unique so I never settle into one learning path. Some children are keen to work toward exams and others are not but I'm always looking for gaps in their musical knowledge and skillset. Their learning journeys are as singular as their DNA and it's fun rising to the challenge to meet their musical needs. One thing that is important to me above all, is to ignite a love of music and a love of striving to make the best sound possible with all the senses at work. If there is this, then everything takes care of itself. For most youngsters, this kind of focus kicks in at around the age of 12, so up to then, it's all about getting them to tune in and most importantly, LISTEN and PRACTICE. 

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I always point out to students that the word 'practice' is too shallow to describe what we do when we are at the piano. There are many facets to what makes up a piano session and actual practice (i.e, going over what we know and can do already), is usually a smaller part of it. Knowing HOW to 'practice' is an important part of my teaching and I have special names for all the techniques we can apply. An important aspect of this is to be on guard for the appearance of The Impatience Imp. This imp is that little nag that makes you think that you are ready to move on too soon. In truth, 'practice' is all the activities carried out by a practitioner of an art or skill.

 

Twice a year I run practice competitions with prizes and a trophy for the best practitioner to be won. Students learn to be accountable in their piano journey and even outside the competition weeks, the notebooks I have devised will help them feel a sense of achievement with 'practice' done well. Children live in a world of instant gratification and there's no point in fighting it. But I KNOW that slow diligence pays off and helps them progress faster with better skills overall in the long run.  

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Take Robyn. She is currently studying for grade 8. She came to me when her teacher moved away just before the pandemic. At the time, she was halfway through studying for grade 5, but couldn't have online lessons during the pandemic as her family has no internet connection. So she studied for grade 5 theory BY TEXT and was one of the students that piloted the online grade 5 theory exam. Her study skills were such that with all the homework I set for her over the weeks, she only got one question wrong in the exam and even knew exactly which one it was immediately after!

 

Robyn is very relaxed and mindful in her approach at the piano - but very diligent. She has always met her weekly targets to the best of her ability; never more, never rushing on - but always on target. Grades 6, 7 and 8 typically can take over a year to prepare so she has done well. And now, in my opinion, she is more than ready to take her grade but she prefers to hone her exam readiness and will take her grade later in the year. After her grade, my role will change from teacher to coach. She will be finding her own music to learn and I will be there each week to help her reach her personal targets.

 

My point is that students who rush on, letting the Impatience Imp get the better of them, are actually doing themselves more harm than good. I read somewhere that it takes 450 hours of practice to be ready to start preparing for grade 1!! That's a solid hour EVERY DAY for a year and a half!! I can cut that down  but only if the student follows my instructions each week.

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When you think about it, what is involved in piano playing compared with other instruments? There's technique, music reading, musical feel with all instruments but with piano there's not only one line of music. Sometimes there's up to four voices being played and the pianist has to pick out the melody line for the audience to hear. This requires a huge amount of finger dexterity and when the melody swops voices, the pianist immediately has to adjust the volume to a different set of fingers. This is advanced playing where each finger has to balance itself within the music to add just what is needed to give the music its integrity and the intention of the composer. Interpretation of the music is where the artistry of the player shines and this is where the fun really starts.

 

There can be a thousand ways to play one piece of music. ​