01. Rote pieces: I teach rote pieces from the very beginning. Rote pieces allow beginners to learn “big pieces” straight away, by imitating the teacher, within one lesson or two, without having to stare at a sheet of music for hours. The pieces look and sound complicated, however, they are not and thus giving high satisfaction to both kids and parents from the very first lessons. If used alongside reading, the highly patterned rote pieces actually make better sight readers because the students develop those patterns in their fingers, body and aural.

02. Improvisation: For Kinney (rcmusic.com, 26.01.2024) improvisation was at the center of music education and “a daily journal, a musical diary… at the heart of my lifelong friendship with the piano.” Introducing improvisation in my lessons (mostly as duets) will inspire my pupils and enable us to create meaningful music together, giving the student a sense of confidence.

03. Singing and Aural Skills: Singing, tapping and clapping is at the heart of each lesson and I strongly encourage my pupils to listen to various styles of music from the baroque to the modern era whenever possible, at home or in the car.

04. Music Theory: My piano lessons include music theory, within the lesson. Each theory concept is reinforced by activities and games away from the piano. While I do believe that Theory Concepts should be taught simultaneously within the lesson, in relation to the “ingredients” of the pieces they are learning, I do however also teach Music Theory to students who are learning other instruments and whom don’t benefit from learning theory.

05. Sight-Reading: I make sure to introduce Sight Reading “themes” during lessons and give the pupil lots of sight-reading exercises to practice at home. Sight-Reading is an invaluable skill, not only for exams but also for learning pieces more quickly and acquiring independent music learning: “the greatest gift we can give” (Harris, p. 4, 2017). It takes time and can seem daunting and scarry, but it should not be. (Pitkevica, 18.02.2024).

06. Scales and Technique: “Scales are important; they are the building blocks of both pieces and technique and can be quite pleasant, to teach and to learn, if approached with a little imagination.” (Harris, 2021). I believe in teaching scales from the very beginning through fun games and appropriate practice books. Each technical ingredient the student encounters in their pieces is also dissected and practiced separately.

07. Exams: I believe Exams are the cherry on top of the cake, however they are not the curriculum. I don’t recommend jumping from one exam to the other, but rather solidifying one grade before moving to the next and I won’t take pupils whose it’s the parents objective. However, if an adult pupil goal is to go through an exam, I will help them achieve their goal.

08. Method Books: I use a variety of method books depending on the pupil’s age and level. I always make sure a student has at least 2 piano method books to choose from. Some books are more geared towards children while others are better suited for teenagers and adults. Some of my main books include:

• Piano Adventures and Piano Adventures Accelerated (Faber and Faber)
• The Russian School of Piano Playing (Nikolaev)
• Pianoworks (Bullard, A. & Bullard, J.)
• The Foundation Pianist, The Intermediate Pianist and the Advacned Pianist series (Marshall, K. & Blackwell, D.)
• Paul Harris’: Improve your Scales, Improve your Sight Reading and Improve your Practice series
• Penelope Roskell’s “Essential Piano Technique” and lectures series
• Sally Cathcart’s “Ready to Play”: Musicianship.
• Forrest Kinney’s “Create First” improvisation pieces

09. Piano Studio: My home piano studio is dedicated to teaching music exclusively and is well equipped with a grand piano, as well as an upright piano (for playing duets) and lots of materials for activities..

10.  My Students Profiles: I teach students from ages 6/7, as well as teenagers and adults.

11. My Students Objectives: I believe that lessons should be bespoke and adapted to each pupil’s goals and needs, to a certain extend however. I specialize in teaching classical music and eventually pop music. However, I do not specialize in Jazz.

12. My professional Development: After having studied for 10 years as a child and adolescent with Erik Truffaz and at the Conservatory of Geneva (with Mrs. Katalin Horvath), reaching the “Pallier V/I” level, (equivalent to UK’s Grade 8 in piano). I took a completely different career path in the aviation industry and in the International Humanitarian field that took me away from the piano. However, in 2020 I went back to the piano, (Re-did) ABRSM Grade 8 Piano, decided to become a piano teacher and completed my Level 4 Diploma in Piano Teaching (DIP LCM TD) with the London College of Music / University of West London, as well as the Level 5 Cert PTC (Piano Teachers Course) – the gold standard in piano teaching. I am currently studying for the RSL Level 6 Diploma in Teaching (Rock School) and ABRSM ARSM diploma in Piano Performance. I intend to further my piano pedagogy further. I am often enrolled in online workshops and CPD courses. I currently still take piano lessons with Mrs Tamao Totsugi.