Well, the first thing to say is: no two sessions will look the same. Our focus is on using music to express ourselves and it doesn't matter which instrument we use to do that!
So we do music sessions that don't have any particular instrument focus... these might include elements like field recording, listening to music from around the world and making instruments.
Then we also do more piano-focused sessions. Traditional piano lessons use a method book and students learn one or two pieces a week till they finish the book, then they progress through the series, then do exams.
I'm giving you the tools to make your own music! So I don't use a method book, do exams or competitions.
My teaching style is based around the concept of audiation (I draw a lot from the work of Edwin Gordon (Early Childhood – GIML – The Gordon Institute for Music Learning) and Kodaly and Orff).
So the idea is that we learn music in much the same way as babies learn language.... first they listen lots and absorb, then they start to imitate and babble, then they start producing words, then put them into sentences and way down the line... they learn to read and write. The idea of reading straight away is, well, impossible! If we start kids (this totally applies to adults too) with reading music straight away we are asking them to read with no understanding of what they're saying/playing. So I believe in using the same sequence we use in learning our first language... lots of listening, then copying and absorbing, lots of playing with sounds (improvising) and finally (maybe!) reading.
So progress is going to look very different to someone in a method book. We're not learning middle C position. We're not learning Old MacDonald, Twinkle Twinkle, etc straight away.
But we ARE:
singing lots of songs in different tonalities (not just major and minor)
learning to move to music so we can play with flow rather than than stop/start of someone playing off a page
learning about complex rhythms through chanting
learning to take a musical idea and make it our own (improvise with it)
learning about loud and soft, high and low
learning to play with other people
learning beautiful technique
These things provide such a beautiful, rich foundation for you/ your child to continue their musical journeys. I personally would argue if you want you or your child to just learn pieces, you can do that on YouTube. Every song you could possibly want to learn is on there! But learning to play an instrument is about so, so much more than just playing the notes. This audiation journey is not a quick fix to playing some well known pieces. It provides so much more and my teaching has totally transformed since I started teaching this way. I've seen people (children and adults) grow so much in their understanding, enjoyment and musicality. It's magic!
Over time I have come to believe that this approach is so much more productive, enjoyable and intuitive than starting with reading straight away and it being the main focus (and there's amazing research to back it up... this article explains the theory well: https://www.allianceamm.org/resources/gordon/).
Babies develop their audiation between the ages of 0-18th months. They are like little sponges! I totally recommend baby music classes with lots of singing for this reason... this is more than something fun to do... what is sung really does sink in and form part of the baby's understanding. Musical aptitude stabilises at the age of around 9... so lessons before this time are so precious to me... everything that is learnt will bare fruit abundantly later on and I always feel so privileged to be involved in those first few years.
For people who come to me having played before, we start to incorporate these ideas straight away and it's amazing what a difference it can make to musicality. Of course, we continue with reading if the student wants to... I'm not anti-reading! Reading music is an amazing skill and let's us play all sorts of music we wouldn't otherwise have access to. But it's not for everyone. There is so much else we can do to access music and you can totally be an amazing music without learning how to read. We just make sure the foundations are laid first and then see what each individual needs and wants.
So I hope that gives you a little flavour... please do send me a message if you have any questions!
