Austin K  
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic

I have been playing the piano for about 30 years.  I have 10 years of teaching experience with a proven track record of retaining students.  I have taught a wide variety of students of all ages, skill-levels and backgrounds.  I have been working for Musika for 10 years.  In addition, I have experience teaching at several music studios and an after-school program focussed on enriching the lives of under-priviledged children through musical performance.  Many of my students have participated in recitals and competitions throughout the tri-state area.

I subscribe to the Faber and Faber Method, Suzuki Method and Bastien Classical Series for beginning students.  The repertoire is supplemented with technical and sight reading exercises.  I especially subsribe to the Hanon Exercises which are a great tool for building finger strength, dexterity and technical mastery.  I expect my students to have a firm understanding of a variety of scales and chords (considered to be the building blocks of music) for which I subscribe to the Guild Musicianship Book as a good starting point.  I administer exams to all my students which include the subjects of scales, chords, terms, theory and repertoire performance.  Once a certain level is achieved I tend to diverge from method books and more towards individual larger-scale works.  I like to give my students a solid classical foundation first, upon which thereafter I am open to exploring other styles of music including jazz, blues, gospel and popular music.  I encourage my students to participate in recitals, competitions and to compose their own music.