Teaching Philosophy
I believe in fostering a student’s love of music, inspiring their creativity, encouraging their musicianship and supporting their entire person. My ultimate goal for students who will continue to study with me from their beginning year until they graduate high school, is to have them be a self-sufficient student of music who can create a study plan for their own music goals. I begin this process by giving them practice assignments for the week, which they must fulfill by themselves. I tell them, “I can’t go home with you, so you have to be your own teacher between lessons.” Eventually, this practice should lead to them being able to decide what they need to do to prepare pieces that they desire to learn for their own fulfillment or for future study.
I often tell my students that I have never met an adult who says “I wish my mother had let me quit piano when I was young,” but I can’t even count the number of times I have heard, “I wish my mother hadn’t let me quit.” So many adults wish that they could sit down at the piano and make music for their own enjoyment. Not every student will be a competitive pianist, a scholar for life, or a concert pianist, but every student can play and enjoy music for the rest of their lives. That is my goal for each student musically.
Each student studies with a comprehensive curriculum including technique, theory and music history. I take into consideration each one’s individual learning speed and style, trying my very best to give them a rounded approach. Using the many different learning modalities, I strive to make sure students do not end up using one as a crutch. One of the best things about teaching music is that it is a great tool to encourage a rounded learning style. If a student is a visual learner, I may hum the melody as we tap and count a new song instead of following along with my pencil on the music. If a student is an aural learner, I may make them define the intervals and direction of phrases in a new piece before allowing them to play it. Conversely, I can use their strengths to give them other opportunities to shine and feel pride in their abilities.
I provide many performing opportunities, most with as little pressure as I can manage, as performance anxiety is a very real thing, and can be scary for students. I try to balance the importance of them overcoming those fears with understanding and support. One of the best ways I accomplish this is through the use of group lessons. Students get comfortable performing for each other first, before they are ever put in a recital or competitive environment. As the years progress, students learn and grow together, supporting one another and encouraging one another in their performances.
My students become a part of my family. I care about each and every one of them, and I love to hear about their day, exciting things going on in their lives, or to hear about their trials and challenges. Having taught long enough now to see many of my students grow from small children to young adults, this relationship is unique and wonderful. I treasure each one, and strive always to be a voice of encouragement, reason and support in their lives. While music is my passion and our foundation of relationship, I do believe my support of their entire person is equally important to the music education they receive.