Introduction: I offer private and group piano lessons for all ages and levels in Kansas City.
With currently more than 100 students, ranging between the age of 3 and 85, Dr. Boccard has quickly become one of the most sought-after teachers in the area. Dr. Boccard’s multifaceted experience blends the fields of pedagogy, music performance, keyboard injury prevention, auditory stimulation, somatic education, and coaching to constitute a unique approach to modern education.
Free consultation/trial lesson!
I offer various tuition plans for children and adults in my home studio.
Email me for detailed information about packages and semester tuition for children and adult private lessons.
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At Boccard Studio my teaching primarily focuses on guiding and helping students reach their full artistic potential. Music is the most important medium to achieve this goal, but I also regard each of my students as completely different individuals, who require a set of different approaches. Before beginning any musical education, I always ask my student for his/her musical background, his/her goals, how much time he/she will devote to studying and practicing, and most importantly, why he/she wants to play the piano. A healthy start usually avoids many misunderstandings and allows students to grow at their own speed.
My teaching approach equally emphasizes the two main principles of piano playing: musicality and technique. I consider them fully connected and believe that music must always start from an emotion or a thought, which in many cases resolves most technical problems when properly guided. Thus, I encourage my students to always use their technique to serve their musicality. I believe it is important to first open my students’ ears to the beauty of music and trigger their curiosity by encouraging them to go to concerts and to listen to recordings as much as possible.
Evidently, any students must understand the biomechanical function of piano playing (i.e. their shoulders, arms, wrists, and fingers, and how each contribute to the end result) to play with a well-coordinated technique. It is a passion of mine to educate my students acquiring the tools and necessary knowledge to play pain-free, as this is, unfortunately, not always the case. As I have been trained with keyboard techniques such as the Lister-Sink method and the Taubman approach, my teaching approach and specialization is oriented towards teaching students a well-coordinated piano technique and helping injured pianists acquiring a healthy technique.
In the lesson, I use different methods (Faber, The Music Tree, Alfred, Succeeding at the Piano, Hal Leonard and the RCM curriculum) along with various repertoires (classic, jazz and popular) that fit best my students’ interests and level. I also believe that it is important to engage students in artistic reflection and discussion to encourage them to think critically in addition to helping them articulate their thoughts in front of their peers if they have to. I have realized that students at any level who can carry a discussion on a piece of music are also better equipped to play and interpret their music as well as experience a deeper connection with their repertoire. This is why I create a comfortable environment in my studio where my students can feel the right to make mistakes and learn from them without being judged. I apply this sense of discipline to both children and adults in my teaching.
As a pedagogue, I see my work as a mission to inspire the younger generation to thrive for excellence, dedication, and passion. I do no to force my students to participate in competitions, but strongly encourage them to share their work in smaller festivals and recitals. The most important part for me is to create and nurture a relationship between my students and the piano that will last for their entire life. Whether they become professionals or not is not important and not the main goal. Sharing the gift of music is my primary focus, which can be done in many different ways; performing solo and with others, by teaching, or pursuing other music-related activities. My reward in my teaching is to encourage each of my students to pursue their own musical journey.
