Where Education and Inspiration Meet

Teaching Techniques


Some students come to lessons ready to learn and capable of focusing their attention for the duration of the lesson.  However, others may need extra encouragement to remain attentive throughout the lesson or motivation to practice at home and make progress in their education.  At Emerald City Piano Academy, I make every effort to educate students while providing activities that stimulate them and engage them in the learning process.

Each lesson is divided into two parts: (1) a theory/technique session and (2) Student’s Choice. During Student’s Choice, students bring music that they would like to learn to play, and we work on it together. For younger students, this often entails Disney or pop music. For older students, it could be a pop song, creating jazz arrangements of favorite songs, or composing an original piece.

Due to training in developmental psychology, I have also devised and utilize a number of games, full-body activities and other play techniques during lesson time to adapt to younger students’ developmental levels/attention spans and keep them actively focused during their lessons.