About me
Who am I?
I relocated to the Rockford area after more than 40 years living in other areas of Illinois, Wisconsin, California and Oregon. I have a degree in elementary education and taught in schools in Illinois, Wisconsin and California from 1976 through the mid 1990s. In 1996, I decided to combine my passion and knowledge of music with my skills as a teacher to create my own business as a piano teacher. I have taught hundreds of students over the last 20+ years. I love teaching others to understand musical theory, play both the classics and their favorite pieces, and even create their own!
I have a Yamaha baby grand piano and a separate digital keyboard. I have taught on a wide variety of instruments over the years as well as a wide variety of platforms and locations - I have even taught my granddaughters in England virtually via Whatsapp! I am happy to deliver lessons in my home but will also travel locally to my students' houses.
Sharing my Passion
I strongly believe that everyone should be able to have a life enhanced by music. I teach all aspects of music, such as chord structure and variation, scale technique and fingering, because understanding the theory behind the music makes playing the instrument much easier. My expertise lies in being able to explain concepts so they make sense. In fact, I like to call my teaching style a "makes sense approach". Knowing musical theory also enables my students to make up their own music, which is an end goal for any enthusiast because it brings more music into the world.
My Classes
I offer private lessons to individuals from the age of six (but plenty of my students have started with me as adults - you're never too old to start learning piano!). A typical lesson starts with a review of practiced material - playing songs, working with chords and fingering, scales, etc - and introducing new concepts via games, close reading and segmenting of concentrated sections of music, which prepares pupils for independent practice until their next lesson.
While studying with me, students will learn about reading music, proper fingering, chords and their relevance, feeling the keys for clues as to how to play without looking at their hands, and how to prevent injuries to the hands and wrists. Weekly practice in between lessons would include at least three different areas of learning. Practices need not be long or boring. They should be varied, fun and no longer than 20 minutes 3-5 times per week.