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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Philadelphia . Whether you are looking for beginner guitar lessons for your kids, or are an adult wanting to improve your skills, the instructors in our network are ready to help you now!
Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Keyboard
Great music lessons are a mix of solid technique building and fun application of those skills. I always spend the first few lessons getting the student familiar with the basic technique of the instrument, and then quickly move on to duets, improvising, sight reading, solos, etc. that tie in with the current technique studies. Music can also be heard or read, so I try to strike a balance between reading music/theory and learning/improvising by ear. Read More
Instruments: Piano Organ Keyboard
I describe my teaching style as casual in that I tend to encourage creativity along with traditional classical music teaching. Also, I avoid repetitive drill and favor teaching derivation such as intervals as the basis of all scales and chords instead of memorizing scales. I integrate chords and chard variations as appropriate with the execution of a song. To emphasize the fun part of the lesson, which is song, the student participates in the song selections as well as the type of music which is taught. Read More
Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Accordion
I typically start woodwind students with the Standard of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method series. I like to use the Faber Piano Adventures Series or the Alfred's Basic Adult Piano Course for piano instruction. In addition to the method book, I like to incorporate physical/breathing exercises, supplemental warm-ups, sight-reading, music theory worksheets, and student selected repertoire in lessons. I also encourage students to create their own compositions. In the past, I have digitally recorded many of my students' compositions and have really enjoyed encouraging students to express themselves through original composition. Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute Recorder
I studied transverse flute at Moravian College with Robin Kani from 1985-1992. From March 1996 to May 1997, I studied with Brooks De-Wetter Smith at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I studied recorder for two semesters at Moravian College with professors Dr. Paul Larson and Dr. Larry Lipkis, composer in residence and performer with the Baltimore Consort. 1994 I began to teach privately. I have taught Suzuki flute Book one to beginners,from 1996-1997 in Chapel Hill, NC, and also at the Lehigh Conservatory from 1998-2002 I also teach intermediate to advanced level in flute and baroque recorder. Read More
Instruments: Piano Violin Cello Viola Fiddle Keyboard
My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching private lessons part time 18 years ago, and have been consistently teaching students in my home studio for the last 5 years. Encouraging regular practice on a consistent schedule is one of the key points I like to emphasize for younger students, as it tends to help the student progress and gain a passion for the instrument. I've also found that a combination of classical and modern music can go a long way in helping students enjoy the piano and motivate them to practice and continue to learn. Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute Clarinet Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music
I use a variety of methods and am completely comfortable with giving diversified instruction to students of different age levels and skill/ability levels. I particularly enjoy giving lessons and the seeing the progression of student with Special Needs (I'm a part time para professional teaching grad 2 students with Special Needs). I keep my lessons current with a real focus on what interests the students that I teach, and tailor my teaching and their learning to what interests them. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Flute Harmonica Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar
There are often good lessons that go along with these pieces, and I pick pieces that are famous for good reason! For students of any level, it is useful to have a combination of repertoire that is more challenging, and pushes my students to see beyond their current skill level, as well as repertoire that allows them to enjoy the expression that is possible with their current skill level. There are 4 components to every lesson, and for me, every practice sessions as well: warm up exercises, technical exercises, repertoire, and play (aka performing the repertoire, improvising, writing music, etc). Read More
Instruments: Piano Organ Keyboard
Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
My students have won awards given by the New Jersey Music Teachers' Association, Arts 4 Teens, and the Haddonfield School of Performing Arts Students Competitions.
My students have received full music scholarships to Peabody Conservatory, Northwestern University, and NYU. Have been accepted to Princeton University as a music minor, and have received a grant for music study at Chicago University. Other students have been accepted as piano oerformance majors to Rowan University, Temple University, and the Berklee School of Music for jazz studies.
While not all my students entered the field of music, some have become teachers in their own right, a film score composer, and a well-known television performer as jazz pianist.
Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
John Thompson - it is comprehensive, address the basic issues of piano technique, and
helps greatly to instill a love of music in the student
Bastien - contains attractive music that students enjoy, teaches chords and theory as well
basic techniques
Hal Leonard - has a fine adult course that includes techniques, a sophisticated approach to
musicality, and progresses in simple but effective steps.
I will emphasize, however, that if a student has had some lessons and is already into a particular book, I generally encourage the student to continue in that particular method until it is finished. I then shift the student over to one of the above methods.
If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
My degrees, Bachelor of Music and Master of Science, are both in piano performance.
I chose the music degrees because piano performance was my strong suit. I was fascinated by the piano from an early age, and was playing piano be ear long before I took formal lessons. I also composed many small pieces for the piano before taking lessons.
My degrees included extensive study of music education practices, and a thorough groundwork in music theory.
I also have 40 credits toward a DMA in music composition from Temple University.
I also studied the organ at the Eastman School of Music and play professionally at a Roman Catholic church.
If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
Even while I was still starting piano I was always fascinated by the organ. I suppose I enjoyed the variety of sounds the organ could produce. When my parents took me to visit
a friend of theirs who owned an organ I would sit down at the instrument and stay there until the visit was over! Later, in high school, I taught myself the instrument, even landing
a job at our local church. I taught myself to use the pedals and learned Bach's Toccata and
Fugue in D minor on my own. It wasn't very good but later, at Eastman, I took formal lessons and within a short time was playing all the virtuoso pieces fluently. I still play the organ at a Catholic Church and enjoy it very much as my second instrument.
When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I decided to become a professional musician when I was a sophomore in High School. This was when I discovered that playing the piano could be a form of expression. I also realized the value of being able to hear a piece of music and then, with practice, be able to render it on the piano and enjoy the music as played by myself instead of someone else. I would ask my teacher if I could play, for example, Copland's El Salon Mexico, to which he replied I was not yet ready, yet, I went ahead and learned it on my own! I always enjoyed playing music that I already knew and I always try to afford my students the opportunity to play music that is familiar to them.
25 Years
Since We Started
41,456+
Happy Customers
10,769
Cities with Students
3,123
Teachers in Network
Trusted as the industry leader, for over 21 years the teachers in our network have been providing Piano lessons in Philadelphia to students of all ages and abilities.
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