Teaching Philosophy

Regardless of a student’s goals for pursuing piano lessons, I believe that teaching the piano is about sharing the incredible joy and gift of being able to have a personal relationship with music. Being a musician in my view is about having the ability to express freely one’s personal take on the music we love and to be an active participant in music making. This is the reason I take a holistic approach to pedagogy, focusing on all aspects of a musician's development:

· I believe quality sound production is an integral part of piano technique and is directly related to the achievement of virtuosity.

· One should learn music history and theory through the study of a diverse repertoire. I am a big believer in context-based learning. Depending on the student’s current knowledge of music theory and history, context-based learning, in addition to standard book study, can help students learn to develop stylistic and creative interpretations using their knowledge.

· I believe aural skills should be learned like one would learn a language. Instead of taking an academic approach, I believe it is important for students to develop their ears at the instrument which is essential to developing a strong aural-kinesthetic connection. This is especially true for younger children.