Adem B  

5

  5.0 (6)

Instruments: Piano, Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Gospel, Latin

I have been teaching piano lessons in students' homes and music theory courses on college campuses for over 15 years. My first teaching opportunity was in 2002 at the Douglaston School of Music, Dance, and Art, in Queens, New York, where I taught students ranging from 4-40 years old, mostly beginner and intermediate levels. At the Aaron Copland School of Music, CUNY Queens College, I led an auxiliary theory and aural skills lab designed to help students who were struggling pass the main class. After completing both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees at that school, I continued with my doctoral studies at Cornell University. There, I continued to teach music theory and aural skills classes, and taught beginner music students the fundamentals of notation. After my graduation in 2015, I went on to become Assistant Professor of Music at the Conservatory of Ipek University, in Ankara, Turkey. At the conservatory, I taught piano, music theory, counterpoint, and composition.

My method is unique in that I get students to improvise and compose their own music right away. I do this using the latest musicological research on partimento, an Italian method from the classical period which has been demonstrated to get students as young as 6 years old to improvise sonatas at the piano. This is how Mozart and Beethoven became child prodigies, and I believe that teachers should get back to teaching their students this way! In addition to partimento, I use other traditional methods. For beginner students who are children, I typically start with the James Bastien method. I like this method because it combines reading and playing the piano from the very beginning in a well-structured progression. Then it introduces important new concepts with fun (if charmingly old-fashioned) songs designed for teaching. As the student progresses, I like to use Hanon exercises for developing finger strength, and classical repertory for use in performance. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in, and I guide my instruction accordingly to keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter their ability level. Of course, for both children and adults, I use partimento.