James Herried

Introduction: When it comes to performing music, greatness isn't born, it's developed! And as a professional concert pianist and teacher, with many years of experience performing and teaching, plus a vast body of knowledge to share, I will show you exactly how to achieve it. I began playing the piano at the age of six. I studied with two of the best teachers in Los Angeles, and then with one of the best teachers at the world-renowned Juilliard School in NYC. So I have plenty of valuable secrets to share, many of which are hard to find elsewhere. And I'm always happy to share that information with other people, whether they're beginners, advanced, or anywhere in between. People often ask me what method I use for teaching piano. My reply is this: a good teacher does not teach by blindly following stereotyped formulas. And that's simply because there is no one method of piano instruction that works equally well for everyone. A good teacher will customize his or her approach to suit the needs, desires, goals, learning style, level of instruction and personality of the individual student. And that's my approach to teaching piano. With that said, there is one thing that I do teach all of my students, and it's this: how to practice correctly. And that's simply because the progress that you make in your endeavor to master any instrument, plus the quality of your performances on that instrument, is determined by the quality of your practice sessions. So the old adage that practice makes perfect is actually incomplete. The full truth is that only "perfect" practice makes perfect. Imperfect or flawed practicing will do the opposite, by causing you to develop and reinforce bad habits. And in order to practice perfectly, you need to know what practicing actually is; otherwise you won't know how to do it properly. You need the correct definition for practicing, one that can be readily applied to your practice sessions, to ensure that you do indeed obtain "maximum results in minimum time" from those sessions. So when it comes to practicing a musical instrument, quality is definitely more important than quantity. Yet amazingly, very few music teachers ever share this vital information with their students; which explains why so few music students ever reach their full potential as performing musicians. In addition to generating high-quality practice sessions, there's another secret that is essential for giving stellar performances. All great performers make use of this secret, which is one of the reasons why they're great performers. But again, almost no music teachers ever share it with their students. But you can be sure that I'll share that secret with you. I commit myself to providing you with the finest piano lessons you can possibly get, in that I use the only method of instruction there is, that will enable you to achieve "maximumn results in minimum time", in your endeavor to master the piano, and the music that you want to play. And even though I studied at the prestigious Juilliard School, I will do it for the most reasonable rates around. James Herried MTAC member