Piano Lessons in Royalston, MA

Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard

To me the most important thing to establish is a true, personal connection with my students. I like to know what activities other than music they enjoy, what their favorite/least favorite subject is in school, what they want to be when they grow up, what motivates them and what doesn't. This knowledge helps me to develop ways to explain sometimes difficult concepts in a way that is easily accessible and the student is then able to apply this knowledge immediately. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For young students starting piano lessons for the first time, I recommend either Bastien or Faber's piano Adventure method books. My older students love Alfred's books. These method books, in my opinion, have motivating pieces and give the students a solid foundation in theory and scales. I also use supplementary materials such as Dozen a Day, Czerny, Kabalevskiy. For students of all ages, I stress that the ears are the most important part of playing or listening to music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Cello Bass Guitar

Depending on the level of the student and what they are looking to achieve through the lessons I would use a few different methods. I like to use guitar books if at all possible for beginners because its a great place to start. The fundamentals are where you have to start to build a scaffolding and practice books are great for doing this. I also like to use songs and tunes as a way of teaching different concepts. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola

I teach students of all levels including adult students. I am a traditional teacher in that I focus on laying a secure foundation to prevent any unnatural habits from blocking the students progress in the future and helping the student become completely independent of the teacher. The student learns the skills necessary to teach themselves. I use a structured approach that involves a set of criteria that the student memorizes and is able to use as a checklist of issues to watch out for when practicing. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar

I typically use Mel Bay's Modern Guitar Method for beginning guitarists and the Suzuki Method for beggining pianists. For students first learning music, I make sure to include solo pieces that the student is interested in and other custom written fundamental lessons in addition to these resources. Once they reach the point that they have a solid grasp of their instrument, we focus more closely on learning pieces and concepts that reflect musical situations in which the students sees themselves; be it playing solo, playing and singing, accompanying other instrumentalists or vocalists, or playing in an ensemble or band. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I'm not opposed in principle to using any particular series of method books, and I can understand the advantages of using, say, the Bastien Piano Basics series to introduce music fundamentals. That said, I haven't found any pre-made lesson plans or materials that work for everybody. It seems like it's best to gauge what book, repertoire, and approach is best for each student based on the first few lessons, and customize the experience from that point on. Read More