Ethan D
Instruments: Piano, Synthesizer, Music, Keyboard
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Musical Theater, Electronic, Avant-garde
Ethan D
Instruments: Piano, Synthesizer, Music, Keyboard
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Musical Theater, Electronic, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 4-80
Bachelor Degree: Montclair State University, Master Degree: Montclair State University
John J. Cali Writing Prize 2021
Outstanding Teacher Award from Global Genius Music Competition 2024
Dean's List at MSU during entire college career
Third Place in the American Talent Music Competition, Piano Ensemble Division 2021
Performances in venues such as Steinway Hall NYC, Carnegie Hall, and Kasser Theatre
For nearly a decade, I’ve prepared students for a variety of different musical goals including: recitals, auditions, competitions, exams, and professional recordings. From my youngest learners around 4 and 5 years old, to my eldest at nearly 90, my students have always excelled well beyond standard expectations for their ages and levels of experience. Completely student-driven, my studio values the input of its students and their families, and always strives for excellence through joy and intrinsic curiosity. My own musical education draws upon not only more than two decades of experience learning with professional musicians from all over the world, but also my varied extra-musical experiences including, but not limited to: competitive swimming, photography, weight-lifting, and kinesiology. Through this multifaceted lifestyle, I’ve come to realize that success as a musician is not only based on dedication to the craft. Through thoughtful connections made across various aspects of our lives, it’s possible to find solutions for seemingly unrelated problems. Maybe how you play video games can teach you something about how to practice at the piano, maybe your favorite sport can teach you something about performance anxiety, or maybe something as simple as opening a door can show you something about trill technique. After all, music is made by people, not purpose-made automatons. With this in mind, all my courses emphasize not only a comprehensive view of music, its history, and its philosophies, but also a high degree of self-reflection through which one can learn to overcome any challenges set before them.
I have been teaching for nearly a decade, my earliest experiences being at the start of college. At first, my specialty was working with young children from ages 5 to 10, but quickly my studio expanded into a student body comprising of all ages, especially high school students and adult learners. During this time, I developed a sense of musician psychology, aiding my students to not only develop musical skills, but a sense of themselves and their performative and artistic inclinations. With this training, many of my students have gone on to excel in musical exams, competitions, and auditions.
Minimally, beginner students can expect to learn how to read notes, play basic exercises, and train their sense of pitch, while intermediate and advanced students will study more complex music theory, technical exercises, and improvisation. All students will also learn how to practice efficiently so as to maintain a consistent rate of growth along their musical journeys. Essential materials for all students include: a scale and arpeggio book, a binder to store new music, and a notebook to write assignments and any other important information learned in lessons.
My teaching style prioritizes mindset and artistry above all, but my approach is highly student-specific. I pride myself on allowing students to discover and pursue their musical interests while still maintaining a base level of knowledge and skill appropriate to the student's age and experience. In the case of young students who may not be familiar enough with musical material to select pieces, I typically assign listening homework to complete outside of the lesson. Regardless of age, students can expect at least some introspective conversations during lessons, as I find it very important to understand oneself when developing his or her musical sense.
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