Lessons

Lesson Bookings

FEB 2020 UPDATE: I have relocated to Taipei, Taiwan. I am not taking any in-person students at this time, but if you are interested in virtual lessons please reach out via contact form.

I teach 30 minute and 60 minute private lessons (duration depends on age and level). Contact me for rates and for more information.

Teaching Experience

I’ve been teaching the piano for seven years, and have experience working with students ranging from age four to advanced college undergraduates to adult beginners. Previously I was on the teaching faculty at the Vivaldi Music Academy in Houston, TX and West Oaks Music Studio in Cypress, TX. I also taught undergraduate-level non-major piano lessons at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University as a graduate instructor.

My Teaching Philosophy

My primary goal as a piano teacher is to instill a lifelong love for music in all my students, regardless of level. This comes with building piano-specific skills and technique, but equally importantly, developing a good ear and cultivating a strong sense of musicianship. I tailor lessons to the individual goals, needs, and learning style of each student, as this also determines pace of instruction and practice requirements. Regardless of the student’s starting point, I provide instruction on proper technique, creativity and musicality, sight-reading and transposing skills, music theory knowledge, and effective practice habits.

Developing correct technique is key: learning how to approach the piano physically, how to incorporate arm and body-weight, how to play efficiently and in a relaxed manner, and how to generate a warm tone and a wide range of sounds. As students progress, I teach them how to isolate tricky spots in specific musical passages and guide them in more easeful ways of approaching uncomfortable or difficult technical passages.

One often neglected aspect of learning the piano is developing effective practice habits. Since the teacher only has one 30 or 60 minute lesson with the student each week, the majority of the time the student is practicing on his/her own, and knowing how to practice can make a huge difference in improving quickly. I teach my students ways to listen and analyze their own playing, methods for learning new pieces, strategies for smart practicing (instead of just rote repetition), and tips for memorization.

The environment I strive to create in my lessons is that of openness, curiosity, and perpetual learning. Music is a language, and just like any language it takes practice and systematic instruction. But language is ultimately used for communication, and the end goal of playing piano is to be able to take the notes on the page and communicate them into sounds that convey meaning and emotion. It’s a challenging but endlessly rewarding process, and I want my students to develop confidence in themselves, to achieve their own musical goals, and to embark on a lifelong journey of music making and music appreciation.