Gabrielle L  
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical

I have been teaching piano for 8 years, and have experience teaching children as well as adults. My youngest student was 5 and my oldest 73. My experience has taught me that it is important to be flexible depending on individual students' learning styles and needs. For example, if I have a young student and they don't know how to read music, we will play rhythm clapping games so they can understand how to read rhythm rather than trying to read rhythm and play the rhythms at the piano, simultaneously. Similarly, if an adult student experiences difficulty with rhythm I will have them clap or tap small parts of the rhythm rather than trying to play the entire part at once. The most challenging aspect of teaching is finding what works for each student. This detective work is something I am especially good at.

For all students (beginners and students with prior experience) I begin with teaching scales and arpeggios. Scales and arpeggios are the foundation of keyboard technique, and are found in all piano repertoire the student will encounter. I generally use the Macfarren Scale and Arpeggio Manual for older children/adults (those who read music) or the Scales, Chords, Arpeggios, and Cadences: First Book (Alfred) for children. If my student cannot read music I teach them scales and arpeggios without music, while teaching them how to read music from a method book. For repertoire, I like to use the Faber Piano Adventures series. There is also a Faber Adult Piano Adventures series for adults. My students play scales, learn music, and also learn some music theory so they understand why the music sounds the way it does and how it works.