Teaching Philosophy
When I begin teaching a student, I first get to know what music means to them. What music do they like, listen to, perform? I believe that successful learning and teaching both begin with a unique plan for each student, based on their musical and personal background, their musical goals, their learning styles and their existing relationship to music. From this information, I develop individualized curricula to help students become happy and independent music-makers, whether their piano goals might be amateur, professional or somewhere in between.
My professional experience as a piano pedagogue and music therapist leads me to teach not just the pianist, but the whole musician. Music is a language and my aim is to teach students the ability to express themselves in sound. If a student is losing touch with this aim, I remind them that “there’s really no reason to move your fingers in complicated patterns on the piano if you aren’t expressing yourself. It’s MUSIC!”
As a graduate student, one of my pedagogical influences was Emile Jacques-Dalcroze. An early twentieth century Swiss composer and educator, Dalcroze developed a philosophy referred to as Dalcroze Eurhythmics. The three main components of this approach are: 1) using movement to understand music rhythmically and expressively, 2) using solfege syllables to develop the musical ear and 3) improvisation. Although this philosophy is often applied in a group setting, I apply it in my private piano studio. At the piano, it is easy to become focused on the small muscle groups to execute complex and repetitive motions. Learning piano technique with larger muscle groups, we can not only try to avoid repetitive injuries, but also create a broader range of techniques and tonal sonorities at the piano.
For my private students, I hold monthly studio classes in which students play for one another, learning to listen to one another’s music and thus to themselves and their own music. These studio classes are attended only by students; these are not recitals but active classes.
Along with providing a human connection and peer group, these classes teach a heightened ability to hear musical espressivity, tone, form and rhythmic accuracy, as well as hearing each other’s musical personalities develop. Interestingly, students are often more receptive to one another’s peer feedback than the same advice from their teacher.
Dransfield Piano Studio
When I begin teaching a student, I first get to know what music means to them. What music do they like, listen to, perform? I believe that successful learning and teaching both begin with a unique plan for each student, based on their musical and personal background, their musical goals, their learning styles and their existing relationship to music. From this information, I develop individualized curricula to help students become happy and independent music-makers, whether their piano goals might be amateur, professional or somewhere in between.
My professional experience as a piano pedagogue and music therapist leads me to teach not just the pianist, but the whole musician. Music is a language and my aim is to teach students the ability to express themselves in sound. If a student is losing touch with this aim, I remind them that “there’s really no reason to move your fingers in complicated patterns on the piano if you aren’t expressing yourself. It’s MUSIC!”
As a graduate student, one of my pedagogical influences was Emile Jacques-Dalcroze. An early twentieth century Swiss composer and educator, Dalcroze developed a philosophy referred to as Dalcroze Eurhythmics. The three main components of this approach are: 1) using movement to understand music rhythmically and expressively, 2) using solfege syllables to develop the musical ear and 3) improvisation. Although this philosophy is often applied in a group setting, I apply it in my private piano studio. At the piano, it is easy to become focused on the small muscle groups to execute complex and repetitive motions. Learning piano technique with larger muscle groups, we can not only try to avoid repetitive injuries, but also create a broader range of techniques and tonal sonorities at the piano.
For my private students, I hold monthly studio classes in which students play for one another, learning to listen to one another’s music and thus to themselves and their own music. These studio classes are attended only by students; these are not recitals but active classes.
Along with providing a human connection and peer group, these classes teach a heightened ability to hear musical espressivity, tone, form and rhythmic accuracy, as well as hearing each other’s musical personalities develop. Interestingly, students are often more receptive to one another’s peer feedback than the same advice from their teacher.
