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Stylistic Piano Playing
Chord Playing Improvisation Beginner to Advanced Level Customized Piano and Music Theory Lessons 
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Since 2009, I have completed over 600 public music performances as a part of a band and as a solo keyboardist. I have performed at over 50 venues in Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York City, Baltimore, and New Jersey. I mainly play piano, electric piano, and Hammond organ. As a band member, I have played Funk, New Orleans, Classic Rock, Blues, Jazz, and Fusion. As a solo pianist, my playing style includes Jazz easy listening (Swing, Bossanova, Foxtrot), Pop/Rock Standard, Blues/New Orleans, and ragtime.
I have been playing keys for over 25 years and graduated from Berklee College of Music with degrees in Jazz Composition and Music Production & Engineering. I have taught students, teenagers, adults, professionals, and small children. My teaching is focused on stylistic piano playing (chord playing, improvisation, transposition, style awareness) for students over 8 years old with at least 2 years of continuous piano training. Digital piano and keyboards are available at my house for piano tutoring. Currently serving Radnor Township and the Surrounding: Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Villanova, Rosemont, Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Wynnewood, and Haverford. Please use the "Contact" above to send a message to me.
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"Music study teaches self-expression, discipline, and creative thinking"
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What do you offer for a beginner?
Assuming a student has never played a piano and is 10 years old or older, lessons will focus on fundamentals of technique and sight reading classically oriented material. I follow the piano curriculums developed by John Thompson and Alfred.
A preparatory book may be used for students under 8 years without any prior piano training.
After a minimum of 6-12 months of continuous piano lessons (assuming a weekly schedule), music theory will be introduced, along with chord playing.
A preparatory book may be used for students under 8 years without any prior piano training.
After a minimum of 6-12 months of continuous piano lessons (assuming a weekly schedule), music theory will be introduced, along with chord playing.
What do you offer for a non-beginner?
Assuming a student has had at least one year of continuous piano training, depending on the lesson customization, lessons will be based on the Alfred and/or John Thompson curriculum, and music theory and chord playing will be introduced.
Should a student know chord playing, I will forward the lesson to sight reading lead sheets/fake books and learning pop, rock, or jazz piano styles. I will also teach how to transpose (play in different keys), improvise, and study a particular playing style.
Should a student know chord playing, I will forward the lesson to sight reading lead sheets/fake books and learning pop, rock, or jazz piano styles. I will also teach how to transpose (play in different keys), improvise, and study a particular playing style.
What do you offer for an Intermediate or advance player or Professionals?
I have taught a few classical pianists (with Bachelor's and/or Master's music degrees) who intend to learn modern piano playing, such as Pop/Rock/Jazz/Blues styles. Throughout my 15+ years of teaching experience, I have developed a private curriculum to introduce chord playing effectively, train left-hand movement based on a certain style, and learn how to speak in the modern musician's language. In addition, I will teach students how to capture a certain music feeling best. Please also see the question about the improvisation teaching approach below.
Training to 'get' a certain music feeling is not a hard lesson, but it is a tricky process and requires specific customization based on the student's skill. I used various teaching techniques such as shifting the metronome counting, creating different beat subdivisions for the same song, and guiding with simplified written improvisation, which can help students to understand different styles of music.
Training to 'get' a certain music feeling is not a hard lesson, but it is a tricky process and requires specific customization based on the student's skill. I used various teaching techniques such as shifting the metronome counting, creating different beat subdivisions for the same song, and guiding with simplified written improvisation, which can help students to understand different styles of music.
For students who have never learned how to improvise or want to learn more about modern music (such as moving from classically oriented training), learning how to improvise can be confusing or non-existent.
Starting with pop songs, I will guide learning improvisation by writing the notes in different colors. Please see the image below, a partial score of My Way, where the red color shows improvisation or melody fills.
Starting with pop songs, I will guide learning improvisation by writing the notes in different colors. Please see the image below, a partial score of My Way, where the red color shows improvisation or melody fills.
When a student has learned about guided melodic improvisation and would like to learn, let's say, how to play Jazz independently (including getting the feeling right). I will provide customized sheet music with modified chords and melodies. The example below is a jazz version of Little Brown Jug.
By learning a known song (such as a kid's song) with a modified melody/or chord, students can relate to different playing styles. This teaching method is further expanded by learning how to play the same song in two or three different styles (such as pop to ballad to bossanova, or bossanova to stride to walking bass/swing).
Do you teach music theory?
Yes, I teach music theory as a part of chord playing, for which a basic foundation of music theory is required. I used several book resources for music theory; however, I also have a compact fundamental music theory approach (Not requiring a student to do a lot of paperwork. The teaching is done through a repetitive music theory concept, orally), focusing on how to 'visualize' music theory on the keyboard.
Should a student want to learn Jazz or a more advanced music theory level (i.e., college level, music theory), I will be happy to provide these. Advanced topics include harmonic function analysis, modes & modal interchange, chord scale, tension theory, reharmonization, and Lydian chromatic concept.
Should a student want to learn Jazz or a more advanced music theory level (i.e., college level, music theory), I will be happy to provide these. Advanced topics include harmonic function analysis, modes & modal interchange, chord scale, tension theory, reharmonization, and Lydian chromatic concept.
Do you offer a free trial lesson?
Yes, I offer a free trial lesson for the first time. This trial lesson is meant to be the initial interview.
Do you do student's recitals?
I do not do recitals, but I do video recordings after a student acquires a major skill set. In some cases, I will submit the video recordings to online piano competitions.
How young can my kid start to learn piano with you?
Five or six years old is a good age to start learning piano. At this age, a kid can interact and behave well to the teacher's instructions. However, the success of the training also depends on the parent. Parent involvement is mandatory to motivate and make sure their kids practice at home.
Do five lessons adequate to boost One's skill?
In my professional opinion, No. The piano lesson is a commitment to the lesson itself and continuous practice at home. For beginners, a significant development in piano playing is usually seen/felt after completing approx. 20 lessons. That's about a 4-to-6-month range for a weekly lesson. It takes time for the muscles and brain to form a new ability. Therefore, taking a short period (less than one year) of any musical instrument lessons is ineffective.
Do I need a keyboard or piano at home?
Yes, otherwise, how will you (or your kid) practice? Piano training will only succeed with continuous practice at home. I recommend 3+ hours of piano playing exposure in a week.
FAQ (from a parent): what do we expect after the piano lesson stops? Does the skill fade away quickly?
This question focused on a graduating high school student leaving home for college who may never retake a piano lesson.
I want to point out a common piano teaching mistake in new students with prior piano training. Some students have weak reading skills because their lessons focused too much on song memorization and allowed too much note name marking on the music sheets or piano bed. This leads to forgetting what has been learned when a student continues to a new song. While the training still helps brain development, many acquired skills can be forgotten in the near future. I teach how to sight-read music properly without encouraging too much song memorization (unless required for a performance).
I teach music theory as a concept, and students are reminded of the theory they have learned with each subsequent lesson. I have developed a teaching method that explains how a theory is directly applied, such as teaching transposition (how to play in different keys) and teaching practical ways to find a chord or a scale. My target is to transform a music student into an amateur musician after they complete as fast as three years of continuous piano training with me. Understanding a chord playing correctly and applying music theory independently will last for a long time, even after the piano lesson is discontinued (in many cases, the concept won't be forgotten).
I want to point out a common piano teaching mistake in new students with prior piano training. Some students have weak reading skills because their lessons focused too much on song memorization and allowed too much note name marking on the music sheets or piano bed. This leads to forgetting what has been learned when a student continues to a new song. While the training still helps brain development, many acquired skills can be forgotten in the near future. I teach how to sight-read music properly without encouraging too much song memorization (unless required for a performance).
I teach music theory as a concept, and students are reminded of the theory they have learned with each subsequent lesson. I have developed a teaching method that explains how a theory is directly applied, such as teaching transposition (how to play in different keys) and teaching practical ways to find a chord or a scale. My target is to transform a music student into an amateur musician after they complete as fast as three years of continuous piano training with me. Understanding a chord playing correctly and applying music theory independently will last for a long time, even after the piano lesson is discontinued (in many cases, the concept won't be forgotten).
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