Dmitry S
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Opera, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Flamenco, Salsa, Showtunes, Spirituals, Reggae, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Punk, Mariachi, Avant-garde
Dmitry S
Instruments: Piano
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Opera, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Flamenco, Salsa, Showtunes, Spirituals, Reggae, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Marching Band, Punk, Mariachi, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
Bachelor Degree: Rutgers University , Professional Certificate: Westminster Choir College
2011 - Competition at Westminster Choir College won
2012 - Competition at Westminster Choir College won
2012 - Westminster Choir College scholarship
I am a Russian-born pianist, I’ve lived in America for most of my life. I started playing piano at the age of five and had teacher up until the age of 18. I completed the piano coursework at the Westminster Choir College at Rider University when I was in high school. After graduating, I proceeded to learn piano pieces on my own, and I’ve also worked with DAWs such as Ableton Live. I am currently learning how to play the guitar, and I compose my own music on a website called Noteflight. I have experience with all types of different genres of music.
I began teaching piano at the age of 16, and my first student was a girl aged 4. She was a potential student of my own piano teacher, but this teacher chose to assign this girl to me to teach before taking her on. I successfully taught her the basics of piano playing and in 2 years, when we presented our progress to my piano teacher, this girl was able to play 8-10 pieces, after which she was immediately accepted by my teacher. Since that experience, I’ve had 5-10 other private students and currently I am working at a school where I have 20+ students of various ages and experiences, ranging from 6 year olds to high school seniors. I also teach some adults privately.
If a student comes in as a beginner, I will teach them the notes first, then reading on the staff and chords. I try to encourage everyone to learn how to read music, but certain students prefer to learn pieces quicker, in which case I can speed up the process by telling them the notes to play. I constantly ask the students for the piece that they want to play themselves and I encourage them to try them even if they feel like it appears too difficult. I’ve had students tell me that they have done more than they thought they could l, and I believe that is a common phenomenon.
I applaud the strengths I see in my students and I make them catch up on their weaker parts. However, I don’t pressure anyone too much - I dedicate some time to improving on a difficult task, but I do not spend an entire lesson drilling the same thing, for it gets exhausting and unpleasant. The most important thing is to repeat the same process consistently, even if little by little. I explain the material from many different angles - from reading on the staff, and from the perspective of harmonies, and from listening by ear.
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