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Private Piano Lessons: Contemporary Style Improvisation (Ages 8-18)

In this 4-class online course, students will experiment with the basics of improvising on the piano in a pop style. #confidence
Paul McFarland
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(223)
Star Educator
Class
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What's included

Meets on Demand
schedule meetings as needed
25 mins
per session
Teacher support
Homework
1-2 hours per week. 1-2 hours of practice is recommended per week.

Class Experience

I'm currently offering a coupon for $15 off of any of my classes labeled "Private Piano Lessons" (1-1 format) Valid for one use per family. Simply apply the following coupon code at checkout: 
MCFARV8D3Q15

In this course, students will learn how to play piano in the style of "popular music"-the type of music you might hear while streaming. Students will learn the fundamentals of the style and practice "jamming" or creating their own melodies; they can also choose a specific song they would like to work on.

Improvisation is a fun, relaxed way to learn how to play the piano. Students will learn the major and pentatonic scales and how to improvise with those notes. They will start improvising right away! They will learn how to improvise with these notes using creative rhythms and various groupings. Depending on students needs and skills, they may learn different skills each lesson. 

Some examples of skills students may work on include: 
☆ Improvising with the major and pentatonic scales
☆ Suspensions
☆ Left hand patterns
☆ Inversions
☆ 2-hand coordination
☆ Chords and chord structures
☆ Increasingly complicated rhythmic structures
☆ Improvising with different intervals
☆ Various note groupings
☆ Trills and tremelos
☆ Root hand positions
☆ Scales
☆ Block and broken and chords
☆ Harmonizing
☆ Left Hand Shells
☆ Swing Rhythms
☆ Learning to read lead sheets
☆ Circle of 5ths

There are no prerequisites for the class, and no prior piano experience is required. However, many experienced pianists enjoy taking improvisation courses to improve their ear training and expand their repertoire. 

I believe that students learn best by doing. While I model all of the skills taught in the class, the majority of the class will be spent with the students experimenting in a safe environment and receiving instant feedback. Students will learn to improvise by improvising. 

I’ve had a really great experience learning how to improvise, and I’m excited to pass this on to you. I look forward to seeing you there!
Learning Goals
The learning goals will be directed by the specific needs and skills demonstrated by each individual learner.
learning goal

Other Details

Supply List
Materials
Students will need a keyboard or a piano. It is recommended to point the camera at the keys if possible.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined May, 2020
5.0
223reviews
Star Educator
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Teacher expertise and credentials
Maryland Teaching Certificate in Music/Theater/Arts
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Loyola University Maryland
Bachelor's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from SUNY Fredonia
I'm a certified music teacher with over a decade of experience teaching music in the public schools. My Bachelor's Degree (from SUNY Fredonia) is in music education, and my Master's Degree (from Loyola University Maryland) specializes in Kodály Music Education. 

My mom was a piano teacher and my dad was a public school music teacher, so in one sense you could say I've always grown up around music and the piano. I had traditional piano lessons growing up and in college. However, around Middle School I discovered that my real love for piano is Boogie Woogie music, the blues, and improvisation. I would have given anything at the time for improvisation instruction; that's one of the reasons why I'm so passionate about passing on my love of piano improvisation with young students today! 

Reviews

Live 1-on-1 Lessons
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$30

per session
Meets on demand
25 min

Completed by 18 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 8-18

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