Teaching Philosophy
As a piano teacher, I would like to educate students to become independent and well-rounded. I hope my students will be able to appreciate and treasure musical experiences through their understanding of musical aesthetics and the development of an enhanced sense of listening.
My teaching approach is centered on the student’s learning modality, tendencies, and personalities. This way, I can work with their strengths and develop their weaknesses into powerful skills. I hope to provide my students with different methods of practicing to learn new pieces, and to solve technical problems. It is also crucial for me to expose the student to music theory, ear-training, ensemble playing, and music history in order to expand their overall musical proficiency.
Developing a healthy technique goes hand in hand with developing artistic and expressive performance skills. One cannot have freedom to express the composers’ intentions and even our own feelings until a solid technical foundation has been acquired. Fundamental technique such as scales, arpeggios, chords, and cadences will be the perfect medium to teach students about proper body alignment, correct positioning of hands and arms in relation to the piano, awareness of muscle tension and how to release this tension during practicing and performance. In addition to that, technical exercises and etudes are excellent to teach students about other artistic elements of music such as dynamics, articulation, shaping, voicing, phrasing, and tone quality. As the student’s healthy technique and artistry evolve, he or she will be able to perceive all these elements when they approach more difficult repertoire. Students will be introduced to technique from their very first lesson and will be required to start their daily practice sessions with 15 minutes of different technical exercises and etudes according to their age and level.
Although piano lessons can be started anytime, there are some advantages to starting at an early age. It has been proven that children can learn complex skills more easily than older children, teenagers, and adults, because their brains are still being developed. I would prefer to start formal lessons at age 5 or 6 (average-age beginner) because children have more supple hands, they generally have a hand big enough to comfortably fit on five adjacent white keys, and are able to move individual fingers. While older children often have many things competing for their time, younger students have the advantage of a much more flexible and less busy schedule, allowing for more practice time. In short, these early years are a window of opportunity to develop musical agility.
My main goal as a teacher is to make the journey of learning and studying piano fun and fulfilling. All the excitement and sense of fulfillment comes from accomplishing long-term goals through hard, diligent work. The progress made by the student will be directly related to how much time and effort he or she dedicates outside of the lesson. Practicing is an essential process in which the student will discover many things about music, and even about themselves.
I hope my piano lessons will give my students new perspectives. Together we can learn valuable life skills such as discipline, dedication, commitment, determination, patience, and confidence.
My teaching approach is centered on the student’s learning modality, tendencies, and personalities. This way, I can work with their strengths and develop their weaknesses into powerful skills. I hope to provide my students with different methods of practicing to learn new pieces, and to solve technical problems. It is also crucial for me to expose the student to music theory, ear-training, ensemble playing, and music history in order to expand their overall musical proficiency.
Developing a healthy technique goes hand in hand with developing artistic and expressive performance skills. One cannot have freedom to express the composers’ intentions and even our own feelings until a solid technical foundation has been acquired. Fundamental technique such as scales, arpeggios, chords, and cadences will be the perfect medium to teach students about proper body alignment, correct positioning of hands and arms in relation to the piano, awareness of muscle tension and how to release this tension during practicing and performance. In addition to that, technical exercises and etudes are excellent to teach students about other artistic elements of music such as dynamics, articulation, shaping, voicing, phrasing, and tone quality. As the student’s healthy technique and artistry evolve, he or she will be able to perceive all these elements when they approach more difficult repertoire. Students will be introduced to technique from their very first lesson and will be required to start their daily practice sessions with 15 minutes of different technical exercises and etudes according to their age and level.
Although piano lessons can be started anytime, there are some advantages to starting at an early age. It has been proven that children can learn complex skills more easily than older children, teenagers, and adults, because their brains are still being developed. I would prefer to start formal lessons at age 5 or 6 (average-age beginner) because children have more supple hands, they generally have a hand big enough to comfortably fit on five adjacent white keys, and are able to move individual fingers. While older children often have many things competing for their time, younger students have the advantage of a much more flexible and less busy schedule, allowing for more practice time. In short, these early years are a window of opportunity to develop musical agility.
My main goal as a teacher is to make the journey of learning and studying piano fun and fulfilling. All the excitement and sense of fulfillment comes from accomplishing long-term goals through hard, diligent work. The progress made by the student will be directly related to how much time and effort he or she dedicates outside of the lesson. Practicing is an essential process in which the student will discover many things about music, and even about themselves.
I hope my piano lessons will give my students new perspectives. Together we can learn valuable life skills such as discipline, dedication, commitment, determination, patience, and confidence.