Jessica P
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Keyboard
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Jessica P
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Keyboard
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Musical Theater, Opera, Showtunes
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
MM Yale University School of Music, Voice Performance BM University of Michigan, Voice Performance and Teacher Certification Choral Music Education K-12
2016 St. Botolph Emerging Artist Award 2010-2012 Full Scholarship to Yale School of Music 2008 University of Michigan Solo Concerto Competition Winner, voice
I love both teaching and performing voice and piano to all ages. My greatest passion is getting to share my love and lifelong pursuit of music with my students, no matter their level. When I am not teaching, I am often performing as a soprano soloist with prominent groups in Boston and around the country. In my teaching, I value healthy technique, music literacy (it is a language!), exposing students to diverse repertoire, and ample opportunities for students to play active roles in their creative development in music.
I have over 12 years teaching experience both piano and voice to students of all levels and ages. When I work with a student, my first goal is to establish a positive, open dialogue where students feel comfortable asking questions, trying new techniques or styles, and stepping outside of their comfort zone. From there, I prioritize developing a healthy technique in both singing and playing piano, emphasize musical literacy where we regularly work on reading notes on a modern staff notation (with all the accompanying vocabulary), and explore a wide range of repertoire that speaks to the student. I always aim for lessons to be fun and engaging, not arduous and "a chore." When taught with patience, compassion, and a sense of humor, I find most of my students take off with their education and are eager to return to lessons with fresh ideas, repertoire suggestions, and ways in which they've used their musical literacy in effective ways.
My method is very personalized to the student. For piano, I love using the Faber Piano Adventure series for both little ones through adult. They do an excellent job formatting their age-appropriate materials to students and get them playing and learning to read music early on in the learning. For voice, I devise my own warm up exercises that tailor to the needs of the student. Breath, diction, resonance, body posture, and tension are among some of the technical priorities I have when teaching voice.
I am both goal-oriented and open-ended with my students. At the beginning of lessons, I always check in with them to see how their progress was for the week and any questions or concerns that arose in their practice. I find this puts the ownership on them to reflect on their week of music making (and help them to remember that practice happens more than just in the lesson!). Often, students come to me with interesting observations and questions about their instrument and it engages them more personally. If, however, a student does not practice, I try to work with them in a positive manner to see if we can get to the root of the issue. I do not take a 'lecture style' approach as I find a lack of practice often has more to do with their fear than anything else. If I can help a student address their fears and help work them through it, more often than that this is what helps them move forward with their practice habits.
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