Practicing Tips for Students...

Practicing Tips for Piano Students...

Practicing piano between the lessons is extremely important part of music study. It is a real challenge for many students, either children or adults, to practice correctly. I hear sometimes: "I like playing the piano, but I do not like practicing". Most students do not know how to practice in order to improve their playing and therefore to enjoy the results. It takes time (sometimes years) to learn how to be productive in practicing and actually to enjoy it. Parent's involvement with young children is crucial, the first couple of years at least. Even though adults students are more organized and disciplined, they have trouble to make their practice effective too.

Here Are Some Suggestions:

• The important thing is to practice regularly, preferably every day. Even 15-20  minutes on a busiest day is better then two times a week for 40 minutes or an hour. If it is a longer (30-40 minutes a day) practice, then it's better to break it in two 15-20 minutes sessions.
• It is good to start practicing with music which the student enjoys the most (about 5 minutes) and then to work on the things that were assigned. 
• Also, make sure to practice challenging "spots" rather then playing a whole song or a piece in a fast tempo over and over. Practicing slowly, hands alone, with a metronome when working on rhythm or tempo - those are the things that demand discipline, focus and patience. That's where the parent can be very helpful, reading with a child teacher's instructions and friendly encouraging him/here to do it. That kind of "work" should take only about 10-15 minutes, since it takes a lot of concentration and patience.
• Often, students (especially children) "practice" without sheet music, thinking that they know their piece by memory. And they often do, in general, but they leave out important fingering, articulation, sometimes memorize some wrong rhythm and/or notes. By playing this way, either enjoying themselves or accomplishing practice time goal (20-30 minutes) they actually polish up mistakes which is much harder to fix later. Then, when they come for a lesson, they are not "excited" to fix them. Obviously!
• Choose approximately the same time for practicing when possible. Many of my students were doing 10-15 minutes in a morning before going to school (or work for adults) and then after dinner. This way they are not as overwhelmed with a lot of thing at the end of the day.
• Try to find a place in your home where you or your child can not be distracted by every day routines and noises.

Follow these tips and you will see that more can be accomplished in a shorter session time and be actually fun and enjoyable!

No to playing piano?!

Summer Piano Lessons

Is Summer a Good Time to Start Piano Lessons?

The school year is almost over and many parents are looking for new and exciting activities for their children. From my many years of experience I know that summer is an excellent time to start piano lessons since there is: 

- no pressure of home work and tests

- no tight schedules with other activities

- more free time

Keeping all of the above in mind, you can see if your child is ready to commit to long term piano lessons and if the teacher is a good fit for your child before he/she gets fully involved with school and other activities in a fall.

Summer is great time for adults to start lessons as well. Some of my adult students who started lessons in the summer commented that it is a much less stressful time of the year for them. There are no major holidays in the summer, which can be sometimes quite hectic and distractive. 

My own schedule usually is not as tight in the summer. So, there is more flexibility and availability for scheduling lessons.

Try it and decide for yourself!

What I Offer...

I offer private piano lessons in Santa Barbara, California for children and adults of any age and level. I teach music fundamentals (reading music, techniques, theory etc.), playing in various music styles (classical, popular, contemporary, traditional etc.), playing by ear and improvising. I teach students to interpret the music that they play and develop the appropriate touch for music of different composers and styles.

Over 25 years of teaching experience in Russia and America allowed me to establish solid teaching method which combines advances of Russian traditional method and some new approaches. It proved to be very effective with wide variety of students, according to their abilities, goals and music style preferences.

My Teaching Philosophy...

The main idea in my teaching is to develop and improve in each student the love and appreciation for music and piano as their instrument. That is why I never force them to study and play music in any certain style, but follow their interests and preferences. I learned from my experience that when students are inspired by particular piece or a song, they improve much better and faster. 

I love teaching and I am dedicated to pass on my knowledge, experience and love for music. Being caring and very patient with students is one of the very important ingredients in my teaching.  

My focus is on achieving the best results through productive practicing, enjoyment, fun and love for music while learning to play piano. You don't have to spent months and years to learn to play some of your favorite tunes and pieces. I aspire to teach students efficient and enjoyable ways to practice independently.

You choose what you want to learn and I build a lesson strategy for your personal abilities, needs and passions.

Annual Piano Recitals are held to show student's progress, to teach them to perform and share their achievements with others.