Piano Lessons in Winters, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer Keyboard

If you’ve tried and failed, or even if you’ve never touched a piano, Smiley can teach you. And, you’ll have fun doing it because with my easy approach to learning, you will start playing the songs you like from day one, not practicing endless scales all the time, and boring music language that would be difficult to understand the first day. With my easy learning how to play approach, you would lean your first song and be able to play it, over and over until you learn a new song to share. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard

My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching private lessons almost 20 years ago, and have been consistently teaching students in my home studio, several Piano Academies, and students' homes. Encouraging regular practice on a consistent schedule is one of the key points I like to emphasize for younger students, as it tends to help the student progress and gain a passion for the instrument. I've also found that a combination of classical and modern music can go a long way in helping students enjoy the piano and motivate them to practice and continue to learn. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Trumpet Fiddle French Horn Electric Guitar

I'm a motivated and patient instructor who likes working with many different types of students and sharing what I know and love about music with others. I graduated from UC Berkeley with a microbiology degree in 2017; while most of my studies were unrelated to music, I took genre and performance classes in music throughout and played in several live music ensembles. I've played violin and guitar from a young age, learned brass and percussion in high school, and taught myself piano while in college. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I started learning piano when I was 6 years old in my hometown Sendai, Japan. By the time of my graduation from the primary school, my first piano teacher asked me if I am willing to taking piano lessons in order to enter a conservator of music. If so, she would introduce her piano teacher who was a renowned pianist to me. After 3 months of testing period, I could become her student. Read More

Instruments: Piano Flute Music

Learning about music involves so much more than technique or scales, but also relies so much on their emotions and mindset. I want to prioritize their own independence within these lessons in regards to choosing their own repertoire or experimenting with their own compositional style so that they can embrace how liberating and fun learning about music and being creative can be, rather than seeing it as a chore! I also want to make sure that their musical journey is built with the right mindset - a lot of the time there is unnecessary toxic, competitive energy within other musicians which defeats the whole purpose of inspirational collaboration that can come from playing music with others. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

Stiffness is the enemy of piano playing and it can also cause harm to tendons, ligaments, etc.... I always give exercises to illustrate the different "touches" (finger dexterity, legato, staccato, singing-tone, octaves, etc...) used in playing the piano. It is also very important to have a good sense of musical style - baroque, classical, romantic, modern, etc... I focus on being as true as possible in honoring what I believe to be the wishes of the composer. Read More