FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
I do offer discounts for multi-student families, and also to those who prefer lessons more than once a week. Having lessons more frequent is beneficial, as it yields better reinforcement of skills and concepts. This is helpful for those whose parents do not have any music or piano background to support the student at home.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Before piano lessons start, I schedule time with the student and parent to assess what the student already knows about music, the student's interests, learning ability at that point, and then pick a method book based on that, often with input from the student. For ESL students, I assess their English skills at that point, get to know the person's interests, and customize English lessons, based on that.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I have a Bachelor of Musical Arts from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma WA. There my principal instrument was piano. My secondary instrument was bassoon, which I played in the University Symphony Orchestra and the University Wind Ensemble. I also started playing harpsichord at PLU. Later I competed a Master in Music, with an emphasis in Historical Musicology at The Florida State University in Tallahassee FL. There my principal instrument was harpsichord, which I played in the Baroque Ensemble. I also played various wind instruments and the viola da gamba in the Early Music Ensemble program. My formal education studies are done, for now, but I keep a substantial music library at home and use the King County Library System and Pacific Lutheran University Library to further my own studies. In addition to teaching on weekends and weeknights, I also play piano for a church in Black Diamond. While completing my undergraduate studies at PLU, I volunteered as a tutor and classroom assistant with the ACE Language Institute on campus, and continued there until graduation. I also completed a minor course of study at PLU in Teaching English as a Second Language through the School of Education. At my daytime job in the Human Services industry, I also work with clients who speak, read and write a limited amount of English.