Information For Parents
Learning Online
Online lessons are a great way for your child to build a music practice at home.
At the beginning of the lockdown, some of my students struggled with the online format, but now, I actually see them zooming ahead!
And their home-practice is much more consistent, because I am able to practice with them.
Our weekly lessons are structured as follows:
The 4-year old students
These students have two weekly 15-min sessions on facetime. A parent or caregiver should be present with the child -to help them turn to the right page, and set up the books- but the children will soon be fully self-sufficient in learning and studying. The format is a little different from the group classes we have in school, but taught in the same spirit of playfulness, focus and warmth, that encourages creative exploration and -learning in young musicians.
5 years and up:
These students have two weekly session. one 30-min lesson, and One 15-min practice-check-in:
In our lessons we focus on piano technique and music theory, and on exploring fun, appropriately challenging material. All my students learn to read notes from the first day. In the practice-session sessions, we focus on HOW to practice. My daily music practice should be fun and easy. For young children, it should be like a game, whatever that means to them, because that is how we learn when we are young. For older children, practice should be a ‘break’ I give my mind from traditional learning; a time to get into a different zone; almost like a meditation.
So how do you get there? I teach my students how to practice in a way that simply makes practice a daily habit -like brushing your teeth- and in a way that motivates them to come back the next day, by being playful and creating small, daily success experiences.I teach my students how to practice in a way that simply makes practice a daily habit -like brushing your teeth- and in a way that motivates them to come back the next day, by being playful and creating small, daily success experiences.
Resources
Books I use in my teaching
Music For Little Mozart’s:
This is a great series for the youngest piano students. I use it for the 3-5 year olds I teach in all my programs.
For students 5 years and older:
There’s a million different piano schools to choose from. I have tried many different one’s but always comes back to Alfred’s
I usually recommend these book as a supplement to Alfred’s:
For the intermediate students
Who have finished Alfred’s, I warmly recommend this book!