Piano Lessons in Lakeland, FL

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I think I decided when I started to learn the violin at the age of eight. I am coming from the musical family where my father was a singer and a pianist. That determined in large my future profession.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
My father was a professional singer in the choir. He also learned to play the piano as a child. This had a huge influence on me to learn to play the violin.

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
Playing the viola is similar to the violin except it is a bigger instrument and the music notation is written in the different key. Other than that-there is not much of difference.The violin has bright sound while the viola has darker timbre. It is up to the personal preference of a person which instrument he/she will like more. The violin plays the melodies in the orchestra while the viola accompanies in general. I started playing the piano several years ago. I like it because I can play several melodies at the same time. When you play the piano-two hands are involved and that is what makes it interesting-to hear several melodies simultaneously.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I play classical, pop, rock, jazz, latin, etc. I am open to all genres. Every genre has its interesting sound and harmonies. Jazz and blues is relaxing, classical can be both lively and calm, rock and pop music express intense either calm or lively emotions, latin has lively character... Of course that there are exceptions in each genre-that there are songs that are expressing different moods and that is what makes it interesting-to experience unique sound in each musical style. I enjoy playing all of them. If I must chose-I am classically trained musician and I grew up playing mostly the classical music so I like it along with the other styles.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I would like to play Esaye's solo sonatas and Paganini's concertos. They are technically challenging but not overwhelmingly hard. It is possible to learn them but it requires a huge amount of hours to accomplish that. Esaye's sonatas have rhapsodic character with various harmonies that mix simultaneously. Paganini concertos have beautiful melodies and technically demanding passages so it has combination of both easy and relaxing and hard and lively. These pieces are wonderful to listen and represent the most popular repertoire.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
If I am not a musician-I would be probably the pastry chef or a cook. I like making cookies and cakes. I like also cooking meals. I like also dancing so maybe I would be a teacher in the dance studio. It is nice to learn different things. I like to learn the languages so therefore maybe I would be a teacher of some foreign language. I think it is important to learn different cultures in various ways-not just with music but through their architecture, language, traditional foods, music, etc. It is beautiful to get new knowledge about some culture because I feel a richer person then.

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Practice daily and try not to skip days. Even if you skip-it's not big of a deal because you will practice it the next day. Practicing is very important because it is major part in developing your skills as a player. I would suggest practicing with the metronome and without. Metronome will help you play in the correct tempo. IF you can't at first play in the real tempo-then you should put it to the slower speed and gradually increase the speed. Listen the recordings-it will give you an idea how the piece should sound and make you become more interested in enjoying music while you play it.

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