Erika G  
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues

I started teaching private music lessons in early 2009 at a studio in Anchorage, AK called Anchorage Music and Dance. I taught there for about a year, and then moved on to teach at the Alaska Fine Arts Academy in Eagle River, AK for the next 2 years. I also taught out of my home during this period. After I graduated from the University of Alaska in 2011, I moved here to Missoula, MT to attend the University of Montana for graduate studies in piano performance. While attending the University of Montana, I taught 3 undergraduate keyboarding classes and continued to teach privately as well. In 2013, I moved to Fargo, ND to be closer to family. While there, I continued to teach privately out of my home studio. I moved back here to Missoula in September 2015 and I am now busy getting reacquainted with the city that I love. As far as teaching goes, I use an individualized teaching approach that encourages regular and consistent practice. My focus is mainly on classical, but I introduce other genres of music as well, both to broaden the students musical awareness and to make lessons more interesting. I encourage my students to perform in both recitals and competitions. I feel that my job as a teacher is to help the student to be a well-rounded musician, so my curriculum includes technique, theory, history, style, performance and composition and, occasionally...singing!

For beginning students who are children, I typically start with Faber's Piano Adventures. I also supplement with other solo repertoire and duets that I feel are appropriate and will complement and reinforce what the student is learning in the method books. For adult beginniners, I will usually start with an adult beginner course, such as Faber's or Alfred's Adult All-in-One Beginner's Course, and then will supplement with other pieces or repertoire that the student is interested in, in order to keep the lessons engaging and fun.