Music Lessons in Southwick

Musical materials for the beginner 

Pupils start with me from a variety of stages of their musical journey. Total beginners are wonderful but often pupils have had a previous teacher, or are coming back to the instrument after a hiatus. Pupils can come with their own books, their own ideas and preferred way of learning. I want to reassure you, I am adaptable in teaching style, but I am a firm believer in grounding all musicians with a solid foundation. Yes, that means some music theory! Do not be alarmed. You are not about to have a scary lesson, purely analysing structure or rhythm or chords and cadences. So what do I mean? As you learn to play, I will include bite size chunks of knowledge that will make it easier for you to read the music, understand the music and ultimately help you perform the music. These fundamentals will form the foundation of your playing and musical journey. The syllabus I usually follow with beginner piano pupils is the Lang Lang Piano Academy. Why? Because it is fun, modern and aligns with my own style and method of teaching piano pupils. It is very easy to branch off into initial exam grades, should the pupil want to do exams, and then come back to it after to continue progress. Essentially they are great books to help you progress! Of course, I know many of you also want to play other styles of music. The music that inspired you to take up the piano. I have many requests, ranging from Taylor Swift and Adele to Duke Ellington, Thelonius Monk and Burt Bacharach, to Ludovico Einaudi, to simply Beethoven and Chopin. I will work with you to make sure we can cover some of that material.