Curriculum

In my studio, I use a combination of piano curriculum and student chosen music. A curriculum is a great way to learn necessary concepts. I use Faber's Piano Adventures. I love this curriculum's pre-notational reading, emphasis on musicality, incorporation of music theory, and many other attributes. After a free trial lesson, I will typically start my students with both a Faber lesson and a Faber theory book. You can purchase these for roughly $20 total on either Amazon, Faber's website, or at many local music stores. For more information about these lesson books, please see Faber's Website.

As students progress past the basics of playing piano, we spend most of our lesson time on their own chosen pieces. One of the main joys of learning piano is playing music you know and love. I have found that when students choose their own pieces, they learn faster and enjoy piano more. Working with students on pieces they have chosen is one of my favorite parts of teaching piano. Some examples of student chosen music I have used in lessons are: music by Olivia Rodrigo, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Adele, music from Minecraft, Undertale, Star Wars, Dune, hymn tunes, and of course music from classical, romantic, and impressionistic era composers like, Debussy, Chopin, Burgmuller, Bach, and so forth. I am open to any song as long as it is appropriate and roughly at the student's skill level! You can see some of the arrangements I have done with students on my Musescore profile here.

As much as possible, I arrange and find student chosen pieces for free. I never require a student to purchase music outside of their lesson and theory books. To help find sheet music for student chosen pieces, I have a subscription to Musescore. On Musescore, I can find arrangements of modern music from a huge library of scores. While some of these scores are not professional, my masters in composition gives me the ability to proof and edit these quickly. I can then send you a free pdf of that arrangement. If you or your student has a specific piece you want to play, please let me know!