Piano Lessons in Mount Vernon, VA

Instruments: Piano

My teaching experience dated back to my graduate-school days, when I began teaching private lessons to college-age students more than 20 years ago. I have been teaching since then to students from 3-year-old beginners to 75-year-old retirees. I founded my home studio, Joyful Keys Studio, in Gaithersburg, 13 years ago, and have been teaching consistently and passionately. Encouraging students to practice regularly and guiding students to find their musical inclinations and particular musical voices are my main teaching fortes. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

I started to learn piano at 6 and it became my soul mate of my life. I just graduated from Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Graduate Performance Diploma in piano performance major. During the past year, I won the full assistantship to be as a full-time teaching assistant in keyboard skill for non-piano majors. I teach undergrad students. There I met all kind of students in different majors with different piano levels from beginners to advanced players. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Ukulele Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Roxanne is a singer-songwriter based in Richmond, Virginia. She earned her Bachelor of Music degrees in both Vocal Performance and Music Education from Longwood University in 2017. She has experience singing and performing many styles of music, including musical theatre, classical "opera", jazz, folk, and pop. She also considers herself a singer-songwriter and often performs at local venues in Washington, D.C. as well as at weddings. In addition to voice, Roxanne also plays guitar, piano, ukulele and bass. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I believe that motivating and inspiring students requires a different approach. But nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music. Therefore, its important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a student desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn and practice more. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Learning to play an instrument is an endeavor that does not always yield immediate results. I like to encourage my students to look back on all they have accomplished and to set goals so that they are motivated to keep moving forward. Positive reinforcement and figuring out what gets the student excited are keys to their success. It can be a particular song, activity, or even just a set routine that can make a student really open up and be willing to learn all that they can get their hands on. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For young voice students, I usually start them off with the Giant Book of Childrens Vocal Solos, which has enough songs to last the first few years of learning to sing, and the Full Voice books in order to learn solfedge and some music theory. Once we have done some of the simpler songs that teach fundamentals, we then can add supplemental pieces (classical, folk, appropriate pop). For teens and adults, both piano and voice lessons are tailored toward goals and interests. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For beginning piano students I recommend Alfred, John Thompson, or Piano Adventures books. (If you already have books that you have used on your own r with aother teacher, I am happy to use those as well!) Additionally, I will choose a recital piece applicable to their level that the student will work on for a few weeks/ months at a time to be performed at their first recital performance. Read More