Piano Lessons in Montclair, NJ

Instruments: Piano

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
It was a natural outcome of growing up in my family to become a piano virtuoso. My mother, her parents, and each generation before them mastered the piano. In fact, two sister virtuosos were concert pianists in New York in the 1870's. I've traced our family piano history as far back as an English ancestor around 1850. If they weren't performing, they sold pianos, as with two brother-in-laws in Rochester, NY, from the late 1800's to sometime in the 20th century.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Certainly every pianist at every level must master putting the two hands together, which is likely the more challenging technique of the instrument. We all begin by mastering each hand separately before putting them together. On the other hand, at some point a pianist can sight read a piece a couple of levels below his or her current ability with hands together, without having to first separate them.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I prefer to use Helen Marlais' "Succeeding at Piano" for most students. I was selected by the publishers to review this series when it was first published. I found it to have the technical concepts and notation requirements of John Thompson's series, but the curriculum moves at a relative pace to the student's capacity. For the highly talented student who accelerates quickly, I use John Thompson "Modern Course for the Piano", which progresses fairly rapidly and introduces more advanced concepts quickly. I find the curriculum of the older methodologies, Bastian and Alfred, to move too slowly such that the student's progress is very little over time. For technical mastery, I use "Technic is Fun" by Hirschberg, and later, Junior Hanon, as well as scales, chords, and arpeggios from the Celebration Series by the Royal School of Music.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
Having experienced the pressure of competitive performance while growing up and in college, I prefer not to have my students commit to competitions, but rather to learn the instrument for their pleasure and personal pursuits. Some parents ask me to bring their children through assessment exams through the Royal School of Music or Academic Board of the Royal Schools of Music, which I am happy to do.

When will I start to see results?
Learning an instrument is not about "results". It takes time, like learning a new language, to absorb the concepts of musical notation, rhythm and fingering. So, please be patient with your child as he or she learns the piano!

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
My teacher, Phyllis Weiss, during childhood gave me technical expertise, and never discouraged me from wanting to play increasingly harder pieces. My mother emphasized having musical artistry and expression. My later professor, Dr. Chang, at my request, prepared me for Julliard, but without my parent's support I never completed that commitment, to my great disappointment at the time. I later studied with two concert pianists, who gave me their own inspirations and expertise. I think once someone reaches an advanced level of performance, it's important to study with various teachers as we all bring something new and different to the repertoire.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
Most pedagogy experts report that children should begin learning the piano no younger than age five, and best if they are already in or starting Kindergarten. This is because a child's developmental stage, hand size, and attention span are undeveloped at earlier ages.

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
The concept of effective practice depends upon the child's age and level of piano. A very young child is likely to play for a few minutes. An older child has more challenging, and longer, pieces, and requires more time to perfect the repertoire. The best use of time means correcting mistakes during practice until we can play without making the same mistakes. This isn't because we are perfectionists, necessarily. The reason we need to correct mistakes from the outset is because the brain and muscles are trained to "remember" how to perform the mechanics. This is known as "muscle memory". If we play with mistakes overly long, it becomes harder to change the memory. Again, with very young children, some mistakes are expected and to spend too much time perfecting might bore the child, so a teacher must judge when it's time to move on.

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