Students will learn to play easy songs using the three black keys, become comfortable recognizing finger numbers and left vs. right, and learn about different kinds of notes.

I teach classes on a variety of arts-related subjects: 
  * piano, sight-reading, song-writing; 
  * realistic drawing techniques;
  * comic book creations & anime drawing styles;
  * digital arts, Photoshop, graphic design.

Look at the bottom of my profile to find my other classes. 
    → https://outschool.com/teachers/Elizabeth-Essex ←

As a teacher with over twenty years of experience, I have been running my own piano studio full-time for the last decade. I started learning music in piano lessons when I was four years old and am currently teaching my 15th academic year as a piano teacher. I also am a former public school art teacher, university adjunct professor, swim instructor, dance teacher, and math tutor.

The Suzuki method is at the core of many of my ideas about teaching music. Shin’ichi Suzuki believed that music is like a language and therefore should be taught like one-- learning to speak before reading and writing and that learning should take place in a loving and supportive environment, with constant repetition, and with helpful modeling from the parents. Like Montessori, the Suzuki philosophy is student-centered, includes lots of learning games and enjoyable activities, and demands that learning activities be planned according to the student's needs and level of development.

Homework Offered
Students who are most successful in learning to play an instrument commit to creating a DAILY practice habit. The amount of time should vary based on the age of the student and the number of songs they have already learned.  New beginner 4-10yo that knows 1 song should aim to practice 5-10** minutes every day and play the newest song PERFECTLY at least 3 times at each practice. The rest of the practice time may be devoted to reviewing older songs or free improvisation. 

** Practices should get longer as students learn more and longer songs. Young students may need to break practices into smaller sessions.
1 - 2 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
Grades Offered

"My Favorite Songs on the Black Keys," a public domain sheet music book by the instructor