Piano Lessons for Children ~ Ages 5 - 20        (Policies)

Teach the child, not the curriculum. That's our philosophy at Jodi's School of Music. Each lesson plan is tailored to meet the individual needs of each student. In the words of the great music educator, Theodore Leschetizky, "The secret of the success of teaching is to work with each student's personality and technical abilities in an individual way. There is no 'method'." Therefore, repertoire and literature is determined upon the student's growth and progress. We use a number of varying genres, including classical music, jazz & blues, pop music, and boogie woogie music.

Ms. Brown emphasizes a solid musical foundation, including being efficient at note reading, theory,  rhythm, sightreading.ear training and all other aspects of music. An important part of a strong  foundation is learning to make good technical choices, which includes decision making on fingering  and other technical "moves". Once a student has knowledge of the basics, the student is encouraged to apply their knowledge by making choices in repertoire and literature, approaches to the piano and each piece and it's interpretation.

Practice is required, however the schedule is not stringent. Kids have good & bad days, just like adults.  On days when concentration is high and distractions are at a minimum, practice sessions may be longer and more intense. Practice on these days may include technical drills, working on a new piece, polishing a piece already learned, memorizing, and the such. On days when the child isn't feeling well, is tired, had a fight on the playground, has a test the next day, etc, the practice sessions may be shorter and less directed. Maybe the child will play piano to create and make up their own music on those days, or may review pieces already learned. On any given day, our hope is that the child plays to release their emotions, fmd peace, and have fun! Playing piano can help to relieve our tensions and stress, resolve issues of the day, prepare our minds to go to our rooms and study for that big test, and express our emotions. Of course, any & all music study is a crucial part of brain development, and critical in the process of higher thinking, as is math and science.

We often incorporate vocals and other instruments, as needed and available.