Michael C  

5

  5.0 (3)

Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Music, Keyboard, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Salsa, Showtunes, Reggae, Merengue, Latin Jazz, Swing, Samba, Bossa Nova, Soul, Avant-garde

I used to teach piano at a music store in the Village of Webster for about a year. The majority of my students were kids, from age 8 to roughly 16. I ended up teaching a 5 year old at one point. I do like to encourage regular practice but only if the student is genuinely interested in learning and enjoys playing the instrument. Piano is not for everyone but I try to make it as enjoyable as possible! Before that, for a few years I was teaching privately in various families homes to kids in the same age range. Sometimes friends of friends or acquaintances will approach me after seeing me play and ask me if I'm available to teach them. I'm just as passionate about sharing my knowledge as I am about performing :)

I typically start with Alfred's Basic Piano Course if I'm teaching beginners, there are also Alfred's books for intermediate level students. It really depends on the student's preferred way of learning. There are a ton of great books out there to supplement teaching. I've also found John Thompson's series of books to be very helpful. Before I start teaching out of books though, I usually try to have the student write things down in a blank notebook of their choosing. Again it's really dependent on the skill level and familiarity with certain aspects of music / music theory. I try to focus on one thing at a time, to gauge how well the student is absorbing and see how well my teaching methods are working. Knowing what the notes are and where they are comes first, before anything. Once they have a solid grasp on that, I can start to teach chords and scales in C and explain the concept of tonality (if needed). Playing with one hand first, then the other, then using both hands. Working on rhythm and coordination follows that. For students that are in the intermediate-advanced stage, how the lessons go really depends on what the student's goals are and what they want to focus on. I have a lot of music theory knowledge and compositional skills, I can teach active listening, playing by ear, composition itself, improvising, arpeggios with fingerings, altered scales, hybrid structures of chords, tritone substitutions, voice leading, inner harmony, soloing, phrasing, and comping.