FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
If you don't know how to read music, and are local, I offer a special free one-on-one 3 hour class to teach basic and solid music reading skills of both the Treble and Bass clefs, on a limited availability. You must have a keyboard, or access to a keyboard, and learn the layout of the notes on the keyboard, which I can send to you, in advance of our class. As far as ongoing lessons for serious students, my rates are flexible, so please ask! Standard rates: Rates for school age students average $70/hour, in-studio, when paid with monthly tuition. Rates for professional adults are $90/hour in-studio, For students 15 and up, 90 minute lessons are standard. For students interested in more intensive study, based on historical precedent, lessons of 120-180 minutes are available. (see *1 below). In-home lessons are also available within a 10-25 minute commute time, with the "Uber" fee added to the cost, when paid with monthly tuition. NB: In-Home Lessons are a minimum of a 2-hour lesson due to the travel-time; for instance, a 1 hour lesson, In-Home, will take me at least 30 minutes to get there, and 30 minutes to get back. ***Rather than charge the travel time for a 1-hour lesson and only give a 1-hour lesson, I charge for a 2-hour lesson, and add no additional cost for the travel time. This also accomplishes the significant accomplishments below, please see "2) Longer Lessons; a Historical Basis", described just below** I offer a 25% discount for adult students who work at retail establishments, baristas, and for nurses and other support personnel in the medical field, as well as for students in Public Service. I offer sliding rate based on discounted rates for serious students who would be otherwise unable to study; an example is that I offered a very serious student lessons at the rate of $35/hour to a finally struggling, but serious and determined student, looking to take 2 three hour lessons per week, over the course of one month) General rates and discounts of tuition are determined by the the amount of hours lessons per week - especially packages for 90, 120, and three hour "one-on-one" Conservatory "Private Masterclass Lessons", and financial need. During our first meeting (see below), we will discuss options, including Package deals, Scholarship rates, and come up with a plan to get the piano into your life, or back into your life again. **1 )About longer lessons For professional students with minimal time to practice, 2-3 hour lessons will yield remarkable results, and I have testimonials to that effect. I have had a number of professionals who were VPs in high profile companies, where this approach would always give clear, visible, and significant progress between the beginning and the end of the lesson, even to the most skeptical! - It's like working with a "personal trainer" - it's why people if the are able to, work with personal trainers: The results are exponentially striking! ** 2) "Longer Lessons - A Historical Basis" When possible, with older children and adults, I recommend weekly 2-3 hour lessons , based on historical training as described by great pianist/composers/teachers, following the practices of Bach, Haydn, Beethoven and documented by Czerny - Beethoven's teacher - and the most sought out teacher of the 19th century - where 5 lesson hours per week was the norm well into the 1940's. While it is not feasible to have 5 lessons per week in our modern 21st century society, I have found one or two 2-3 hour sessions per week to ensure advancement even for the busiest student with minimal practice time. For performers - singers, actors, or musicians, who need an intensive study for a particular event, audition, play, competition, recording. school recital, or concert, due to the time demands, on a limited basis, I offer a one-on-one "piano bootcamp"; usually consisting of three to four 120-180 minute lessons per week, during a one or two week period, for a package price. Piano Bootcamp, I include the initial materials to get us started; after which I will recommend additional materials in order to accomplish deepest study. I also offer the "Piano Bootcamp" / Conservatory style Master-Class lessons for any students who seek to make a great deal of progress in a short period of time, or students generally seeking an "immersion" approach. Due to the time commitment of this special offering, openings for such intensive study are available on a limited basis, and occasionally I have a waiting list. Depending on location of lessons, travel fees will be explored and discussed at our first introductory session.
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
Initial free session/meeting and discussing students goals, backgrounds, and current ability. If the student does not have a keyboard or piano, I will make recommendations as well as assist students to find a piano to be able to practice and have the greatest enjoyment, ease, and success at the keyboard Also a Studio Policy Teach Agreement will be filled out by the student/parent, and also a list of require materials will be provided. I offer materials to get us started that will be sufficient for the first few lessons at least.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
My students have often said of me that I "show up with a music conservatory in my back pocket"; which is said in jest, but also seriously; that has been my goal. I have long felt a strong calling and a responsibility to deeply study many historical descriptions of the greatest composer/teachers of the past - JS Bach, CPE Bach, Quantz, Turk; and the huge piano tutor treatises by Clementi, Czerny, and Hummel; and to share the insights gleamed with all my students, and with my fellow teachers and any student searching for mastery and ease at the keyboard. I have trained with truly some of the best international keyboard artists and renowned teachers: Anthony Newman, Trevor Pinnock, Sophia Rosoff, Charlotte Mattax, and Juilliard's star instructor, Mary Anthony Cox. In greater detail, while at Juilliard and Columbia University, I trained with colleagues and proteges of Schoenberg: Dr. Patricia Carpenter, Severine Neff, Jaques Monod at Columbia; and international concert artists and proteges of The Paris Conservatory - Olivier Messian, Alfred Cortot, Isador Philipp and Nadia Boulanger: Anthony Newman, Trevor Pinnock, and Mary Anthony Cox at Juilliard. All of these teachers I have received profound and a unique combination of training have been direct protege's of the greatest teachers and performers known, including Alfred Cortot, Messiaen, Abby Whiteside, and the lineage of teacher performers tracing from Bach directly through the Viennese side - Haydn, Beethoven, Czerny and Liszt; and that of the Paris Conservatory Tradition - most notably Alfred Cortot and Isador Philipp. As well as the musical ideas and understanding of how music works by direct protege's of Schoenberg and Schenker; both of whose ideas on how to understand the musical and compositional processes that can be found in the greatest musical literature from Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, to the present. I also was asked to produce the final two recordings of the great Mozart specialist, Artur Balsam, as well as numerous recordings including the first recordings recognized as "The Record of the Year" of Beethoven's Piano Concertos on Historical Period Instruments, with Anthony Newman, and members of the Hanover Band. Over all , I have been able to use my musical skills, ability to listen, and imagine, and communicate musical details to "bring out the best of the artist, and the composition in the context of the composer's musical world, as producer and editor nearly 3 dozen CDs for companies such as Sony, BMG, Newport Classics, Chaconne Music, and others.