Music on the Brain

Introduction: Everyone is unique. Each student’s own personality, past experiences, and learning style influence their development as a musician. I believe that music instruction should be designed around each individual student, helping them find their own musical voice—not mine. By contrast, music instruction should not plod through method books page by page, lesson after lesson, forcing students to conform to some generic view of a “music student.” Music on the Brain’s dedicated studio space was remodeled in the summer of 2016, and was specifically designed to inspire and foster the development of musicians. Special attention was paid to making room for “off the bench” games and activity sheets, music history and composer studies, and more. During group lessons, the space can comfortably accommodate as many as 12 students at once. All of my piano students receive their lessons on my well-maintained professional series Samick piano with superior tone and touch, allowing students to play with great musical expression. Music on the Brain students have access to a wide variety of stylistic periods including Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist, 20th Century, and Contemporary music, as well as numerous genres such as classical, pop, jazz, and blues. The studio lending library includes nearly 200 books and 150 CDs and MP3s available for study by both piano and voice students, and is growing every week. I am passionate about teaching. Sharing my love of music with others. Instilling that love of music in my students, young and old. Seeing my students grow both musically and personally, learning things about themselves that they never imagined. And I especially love that spark of joy in a student's eyes as they reach their goals or have an "aha!" moment! I draw on a wide variety of music methods, games, activity sheets, and opportunities to design learning paths and lesson plans individually for each student. In their lessons, my students “experience” music with their whole being through not only exercises and books but also through sight reading, ear training, creative improvisation, composition, and whole body movement/ expression, as well as music history and composer studies to encourage confidence and shape musical ability. My students learn that practicing is integral to their development as musicians. To encourage good practice habits, each year I feature a new practice incentive program, which includes rewards for completing milestones such as finishing a method book or memorizing a set of scales. My students are motivated to make the most of their music studies not only by the inherent joy that music brings, but also friendly competition among students in the studio and the chance to earn recognition and rewards. Students learn how to set goals and take steps toward reaching them - an invaluable life skill.