Kathy's Keys To Piano

I try to get a little background information about a student prior to our first meeting.  This helps give me an idea of what type of books I should purchase for a particular student.  There are many different piano curriculums out there and although I have my favorites there are certain curriculums that work better with younger aged children or some curriculums that work better for older children and then there are still some that are made for adults.  I have also worked with special needs children and  I have my favorite curriculums for those students as well depending on the specific need.  I just want to make a connection right away if I can and I do not want to scare off a student with a curriculum and extra books that they might find boring and  or overwhelming and thus quit before they even get started. 

Currently I am 48 years old.  I started taking piano lessons when I was 7 years old and did not quit taking until I was 20.  Then later I went back and took lessons from a college professor for 2 and a half years.  All of that said the bottom line is that I have taken over 16 years of lessons.  From 7 to now 48 I never stopped playing, always trying to push myself by playing new music, new types of music and or studying up on my music theory.  

I charge $30.00 for a one hour lesson.  I like to teach one hour lessons because a half hour just never seems to work out to be enough time to get through everything thorougly.  When a lesson is over I want to be sure I am sending my students away with a good understanding of the concepts that they will be practicing at home for the next week.  I want them to leave feeling confident and sure of themselves versus unsure and confused.  All books are included in the $30.00 per hour fee.

I would prefer to receive payments on a monthly basis versus weekly if possible.

My husband and I had recently moved to Rochester, MN and I needed a job.  I had tried a couple things outside of the house but we had just adopted a brand new baby boy plus we also had a 5 year old boy and I really wanted to be home with them as much as possible.  My husband was an RN at the time and his shifts/schedules made it possible for me to teach in the afternoons and early evenings.

I have taught children from the ages of 3-18.  I have never had the chance to teach adults but I would absolutely welcome the opportunity.  Over the years I have worked with students of all skill levels as well as all levels of interest in playing the piano.  I have also worked with a few autistic students as well as many students with ADD/ADHD.  No matter the student however, I would say that in the 50-60 students I have had over the years, I have only lost a few simply because I could not gain and retain their interest in music and or playing the piano.  I work very hard to keep my students engaged, interested and happy with the music they are learning and playing. (Slight disclaimer here.  I truly do work very hard to keep my students engaged, interested and happy, however there will be one or two things that come along that someone is not going to like but it still has to be done because it is important to the learning process.)

As a teacher I have many events and or moments that I am fond of. I have so many students that have gone off to college and continued to play other instruments either with the marching band, concert band or symphony.   I know I am not responsible for their skill levels on those particular instruments but I also know that I was their first music teacher and I am thankful that I was able to instill in them a love of music.  Many of my students have continued to play the piano through college as well, taking lessons from professors and in a few cases performing solo for college recitals.  I have to say that my most fond memories of my students are always from our own recitals.  Even though I may hear their recital pieces a hundred times over before the actual recital it does not matter.  Once they are in front of their family, friends and fellow students and they get up and play, pushing their nerves aside even if just for a moment and then there is magic.  The room is quiet, the music is played and fills up the room with a beautiful sound and even if a mistake or two is made, almost nobody knows, everyone is just so happy and so proud of what each and every student has accomplished, most of all me!

I would tell any and every student to make sure that you feel a connection with the person you choose to be your teacher.  Make sure that your teacher is open to various types of learning, meaning that he/she is open to different curriculums so that if the first curriculum does not work for you then maybe you could try a different one.  Be sure that your teacher teaches music theory.  Although theory may not be your favorite and it may seem boring at times it is truly so important and it will help make you a better pianist and all around musician.

I would tell students to ask teachers what their expectations are from them as students.  Some examples would be; how much time do they expect you to practice, can you make up missed lessons, do you have to memorize music for recitals, do you have to play in recitals, are there other performance opportunities, are they a member of the MMTA, what type of curriculum do they use and are they willing to help you with "special music" should the opportunity arise for you to play at your church, school talent show, grandparents senior living apartments, what have you.  Some of those questions might seem silly but what may seem small, some teachers can be very picky about.  It just depends on the teacher.