Piano Lessons in Kansas City, MO

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Organ Ukulele Recorder Keyboard Djembe

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Don't skip over the parts you're making mistakes in. If you find yourself making mistakes consistently in the same area, stop, and practice those measures until you can play them without error. It is a frustrating, tedious way to practice, but muscle memory is huge when it comes to your music skills. When you play the same passage with the same mistakes, your muscles learn those mistakes and it is that much harder to correct errors. Take the time to learn correctly and you will find yourself a more diligent, excellent musician.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
My personal recommendation is to never start students in lessons until they know their alphabet letters - it's very challenging for students to grasp the concept of notes when they cannot differentiate a B from an E. Typically, if you place your child in front of a given instrument and he/she attempts to play it, there is enough interest there to begin lessons. Almost every study shows the ideal age for honing music skills ranges between 3-11. Does that mean you can't start at age 12? Of course not. This is a decision only you can make. No one knows your child better than you. Trust your instinct.

When will I start to see results?
After your first lesson. Will your beginner student come home with a song learned the first lesson? More than likely not. There is a decent amount of rapport building done in initial lessons, asking each other questions, learning interests, and learning the basics of the instrument - how it works, where the notes are, etc. For intermediate/advanced students, you'll likely see results from lessons quicker because I'll be building on skills that are already there. To put it bluntly, music lessons are like anything else in life - you get what you give, and if you're practicing with good technique, you will absolutely see results.

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I didn't. My parents both grew up in homes that had pianos, and wanted me to play piano. I didn't start til 4th grade, which is later than the typical musician. I learned quickly as I have a skill for sight-reading, and now that I've got a degree in music, I truly believe piano is the best instrument to start with. It worked out for the best that piano was my primary instrument, since it is a necessary music skill across every single music degree. I believe I would have ended up with piano as my primary instrument, anyway.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Practicing technique. There's nothing harder in lessons than discipline. That's really the hardest thing in life - discipline. It's a cliché, but the saying "There is no progress without struggle," applies perfectly here. It's so easy to slide over mistakes and play music "good enough." Practicing with GOOD technique takes so much self-control, and I make each of my students aware of the cost/benefit of not using good technique. Am I a stickler for playing every single note correctly? No. We would never attempt hard music if we had to play it perfectly every time. But the key is to recognize when you need to stop and work on smaller sections in order to produce a more excellent product.

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I have a degree in music therapy. I had my grandma go through hospice care and played piano for her/sang to her in the few weeks before she died. She told me "Never stop helping people with music the way you've helped me." At the time, I agreed, but had no idea there was a way to do that with a college education. I heard about music therapy about 3 years later when I was attending college for secondary education, and decided to switch colleges to pursue music therapy. Today, I am still teaching music lessons, but am also actively pursuing a position as a hospice Music Therapist!

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