Did you ever fool around on the piano? Picking tunes out by ear, learning "Heart and Soul" from a friend, making up a tune of your own? If you have, then you may have already started one of the most enjoyable and rewarding activities of your life.

As a piano teacher I build on this kind of spontaneous play. I enjoy improvising accompaniments to the pieces my beginning students have practiced. And we sometimes make up pieces and write them down so that they can be practiced at home. In these ways my students and I share in the enjoyment of making music together...just like two friends playing "Heart and Soul" together.

And... to be able to play other people's pieces, my students take learning to read seriously. They learn about letter names for notes, counting beats, and what all the symbols on the page mean. Soon they are able to play many songs from many different books. They practice every day--or as close to every day as they can. And then once a week they entertain me with what they have learned. That's the part of the lesson I like the best: when I get to hear my students play.

If you live outside the Pittsburgh area and would like the name of a qualified piano teacher, try the links on my piano lessons page..