Q: What genres of piano do you teach?
A: What genre would you like to learn? The most popular choice among adults is a combination of classical and pop piano - classical technique, reading and writing music, a bit of music theory so you understand what’s going on; and on the popular side of things some chord theory, how to play pop songs on the piano etc. From Rachmaninoff to Red Hot Chilli Peppers and everything in between, no qualms when it comes to genre, feel free to ask.
Q: What kind of singing do you teach?
A: I teach ‘popular’ singing. Again, no genre is too weird, don’t be shy and ask me! Pop, rock, jazz, musical theatre are all students' favourites. I don't teach classical singing or Mongolian throat singing.
Q: What are your qualifications?
A: I have two Masters degrees, one in Piano Performance and one in Popular Music Performance in Voice - both with Distinction, both from specialist music schools (Trinity College of Music and Institute of Contemporary Music Performance).
I got my Bachelor’s degree in Music at Goldsmiths University of London with First Class Honours.
I finished secondary school with top marks, a Diploma in Piano Performance, three Grade 8 qualifications in Voice, Piano and Music Theory and a Grade 5 in Flute (after only two years of picking it up), as well as a bunch of awards for Music Theory, Music Analysis and Music Performance competitions.
An avid learner, I regularly attend masterclasses and professional development courses to broaden my knowledge base. I am always looking for new ideas to incorporate in my work.
Q: I am sure you can play and sing really well yourself - but can you teach? What are your teaching methods?
A: Even though I specialised in Performance, I studied Instrumental and Vocal Teaching at postgraduate level, so I have an academic grounding in my methods.
I see each student as an individual and respond to their distinctive qualities to help them achieve their goals. Students' goals can be similar or even sometimes identical, but we all learn in different ways - it’s important to identify and follow our own learning pattern, play to our strengths, while also improving our weaknesses. I use a variety of teaching techniques to guide my students towards the direction they want to go, specific to their own learning pattern.
I believe that strong solid technical foundations are imperative to gaining any kind of momentum without uncovering huge gaps along the way. I value quality over quantity, working smarter over working harder and one of my main priorities is giving my students tools to make their practice more enjoyable and less frustrating.
Q: Where are you based?
A: I’m based in Bermondsey, London SE1, in a lovely little area known as Shad Thames.
Q: Do you teach online or in person?
A: I teach predominantly online, but do offer some in person lessons by appointment and invitation only. In early March 2020, because of You-Know-What, I transferred all lessons to online platforms and invested considerably in ensuring a quality online learning experience for my students. It was a remarkable experience for an online learning sceptic like myself. Students were adapting quickly, achieving the usual excellent results in exams and progressing wonderfully - all this in the midst of a very destabilising and challenging time for us all. I came to recognise that removing the time and effort of commuting from the equation, had beneficial results for students (and parents of students!). The comforting nature of your own setup and familiar surroundings while learning is also another great benefit of online learning. It also fosters a greater sense of independence and responsibility in students, especially children.
Of course, I greatly value the advantages of meeting and learning in person, which I really missed during the extensive period of exclusively online lessons. After discussing and deciding on a frequency that agrees with both our schedules, I invite students to attend lessons in person by appointment only. Please note that the majority of lessons are taught online.
If you have doubts about online learning I encourage you to give it a chance; you may find yourself very pleasantly surprised. Even a modest setup is a great place to start - my students use laptops, tablets, even mobile phones to attend their lessons. I am happy to provide a how-to guide as well as practical advice to fine-tune the experience (pardon the pun). If your setup is unfeasible, I will of course be direct and offer suitable suggestions.
Q: Do you have a cancellation policy?
A: Cancellations really hurt my business and unfortunately they are like buses, not one in sight and then all of them arrive together…
If for whatever reason you cannot make your lesson, please notify me in the morning of the previous business day (at least 24 hours in advance), otherwise please pay the lesson in full. Please be respectful and cover your cancellation cost without asking for exceptions.
The nature of my business means I can’t book “walk-ins” to cover cancellation costs and I do not want to price out students by raising my fees to absorb all potential cancellations.
Q: What sort of ages and levels do you teach?
A: I enjoy teaching all ages and all levels - from young children to pensioners, from adult beginners to university-level performers.
Q: How do I go about contacting you for lessons?
A: Email (through my contact form) is best. Please tell me a little bit about you and what brings you to me. Then, we can set up a consultation session.
Q: What is a consultation session?
A: A consultation session is a lesson-related chat planned as an online meeting. I find it's a bit of a waste of a lesson (not to mention painfully awkward) to meet someone for the first time during their first lesson. How would either of us prepare for that? It's nice to meet in advance, confirm the student's aims and my approach are a good match, as well as sorting out any admin and scheduling. I like to plan a short curriculum before the onset of lessons and need adequate information to do that effectively.
Establishing a solid line of communication is imperative to understanding each other on a human level as well as mapping out the practicalities of lessons. Please don't hesitate to get in touch!
A: What genre would you like to learn? The most popular choice among adults is a combination of classical and pop piano - classical technique, reading and writing music, a bit of music theory so you understand what’s going on; and on the popular side of things some chord theory, how to play pop songs on the piano etc. From Rachmaninoff to Red Hot Chilli Peppers and everything in between, no qualms when it comes to genre, feel free to ask.
Q: What kind of singing do you teach?
A: I teach ‘popular’ singing. Again, no genre is too weird, don’t be shy and ask me! Pop, rock, jazz, musical theatre are all students' favourites. I don't teach classical singing or Mongolian throat singing.
Q: What are your qualifications?
A: I have two Masters degrees, one in Piano Performance and one in Popular Music Performance in Voice - both with Distinction, both from specialist music schools (Trinity College of Music and Institute of Contemporary Music Performance).
I got my Bachelor’s degree in Music at Goldsmiths University of London with First Class Honours.
I finished secondary school with top marks, a Diploma in Piano Performance, three Grade 8 qualifications in Voice, Piano and Music Theory and a Grade 5 in Flute (after only two years of picking it up), as well as a bunch of awards for Music Theory, Music Analysis and Music Performance competitions.
An avid learner, I regularly attend masterclasses and professional development courses to broaden my knowledge base. I am always looking for new ideas to incorporate in my work.
Q: I am sure you can play and sing really well yourself - but can you teach? What are your teaching methods?
A: Even though I specialised in Performance, I studied Instrumental and Vocal Teaching at postgraduate level, so I have an academic grounding in my methods.
I see each student as an individual and respond to their distinctive qualities to help them achieve their goals. Students' goals can be similar or even sometimes identical, but we all learn in different ways - it’s important to identify and follow our own learning pattern, play to our strengths, while also improving our weaknesses. I use a variety of teaching techniques to guide my students towards the direction they want to go, specific to their own learning pattern.
I believe that strong solid technical foundations are imperative to gaining any kind of momentum without uncovering huge gaps along the way. I value quality over quantity, working smarter over working harder and one of my main priorities is giving my students tools to make their practice more enjoyable and less frustrating.
Q: Where are you based?
A: I’m based in Bermondsey, London SE1, in a lovely little area known as Shad Thames.
Q: Do you teach online or in person?
A: I teach predominantly online, but do offer some in person lessons by appointment and invitation only. In early March 2020, because of You-Know-What, I transferred all lessons to online platforms and invested considerably in ensuring a quality online learning experience for my students. It was a remarkable experience for an online learning sceptic like myself. Students were adapting quickly, achieving the usual excellent results in exams and progressing wonderfully - all this in the midst of a very destabilising and challenging time for us all. I came to recognise that removing the time and effort of commuting from the equation, had beneficial results for students (and parents of students!). The comforting nature of your own setup and familiar surroundings while learning is also another great benefit of online learning. It also fosters a greater sense of independence and responsibility in students, especially children.
Of course, I greatly value the advantages of meeting and learning in person, which I really missed during the extensive period of exclusively online lessons. After discussing and deciding on a frequency that agrees with both our schedules, I invite students to attend lessons in person by appointment only. Please note that the majority of lessons are taught online.
If you have doubts about online learning I encourage you to give it a chance; you may find yourself very pleasantly surprised. Even a modest setup is a great place to start - my students use laptops, tablets, even mobile phones to attend their lessons. I am happy to provide a how-to guide as well as practical advice to fine-tune the experience (pardon the pun). If your setup is unfeasible, I will of course be direct and offer suitable suggestions.
Q: Do you have a cancellation policy?
A: Cancellations really hurt my business and unfortunately they are like buses, not one in sight and then all of them arrive together…
If for whatever reason you cannot make your lesson, please notify me in the morning of the previous business day (at least 24 hours in advance), otherwise please pay the lesson in full. Please be respectful and cover your cancellation cost without asking for exceptions.
The nature of my business means I can’t book “walk-ins” to cover cancellation costs and I do not want to price out students by raising my fees to absorb all potential cancellations.
Q: What sort of ages and levels do you teach?
A: I enjoy teaching all ages and all levels - from young children to pensioners, from adult beginners to university-level performers.
Q: How do I go about contacting you for lessons?
A: Email (through my contact form) is best. Please tell me a little bit about you and what brings you to me. Then, we can set up a consultation session.
Q: What is a consultation session?
A: A consultation session is a lesson-related chat planned as an online meeting. I find it's a bit of a waste of a lesson (not to mention painfully awkward) to meet someone for the first time during their first lesson. How would either of us prepare for that? It's nice to meet in advance, confirm the student's aims and my approach are a good match, as well as sorting out any admin and scheduling. I like to plan a short curriculum before the onset of lessons and need adequate information to do that effectively.
Establishing a solid line of communication is imperative to understanding each other on a human level as well as mapping out the practicalities of lessons. Please don't hesitate to get in touch!