My family and I moved to Steiner Ranch fall of 2019 from the Denver metro area.  After a few months of searching, I bought a 1911 Steinway B from Collora Piano in Dallas.  In January of 2020, I started a new position as a Music Minister for a Lutheran congregation in NW Austin.  Then COVID hit and my plans for a piano studio were put on hold. 
It is now my pleasure to announce that I am starting up a studio out of my home near the front of Steiner.  I am accepting students of all ages and abilities.  Although teaching lessons over Zoom is something that can be done in case of illness and inclement weather, it is not my preferred method of teaching.  Because of the current state of the world, all students should be masked.  If a student forgets there mask, I will be happy to provide one. 

 Hi there.  I am just now realizing that it has been a while since I posted on my blog!  In the two years since I did, my family and I relocated an hour away from our old house.  Needless to say, this has been a drastic change for me that I'm just now starting to become accustomed to.  First, I made the decision to drive down to the city once a week to teach some of my students that I had in my old neighborhood.  This worked well while I did some marketing at the new location and attempted to build a new studio in Conifer.  
Currently, I am down to teaching two students in the city and 4 students at home in Conifer.  I'm also one of the organists for Church of the Hills in Evergreen.  Last year, I also added another piano to the studio to realize my dream of playing and teaching 2 piano and concerto repertoire.  Who knows ?...a third might be in the works for an informal recital space in my own home.
Although I have a much smaller studio, it is really the studio of my dreams with students and parents equally committed to learning music!  Life is good in the hills.

Below you can hear a stellar performance from Shira Merenstein!  Shira performed as part of the Denver Music Teachers' Association Community Outreach Recital at Shalom Cares on May 15, 2016.  Shira performed Monkey Blues and followed it with Safari Friends.  These two pieces came out of Dr. Julie Knerr's new piano method entitled Piano Safari.  The book that I use with most of my students who I did not start in this method is called Technique and Rote Pieces.  For someone like Shira who immediately and easily grasped the musical literacy side of things, these pieces on paper seemed 'easy' but they demanded a lot more of Shira technically.  Monkey Blues explored rotation in the RH which she understood within the first two weeks but also required that she learn some staccato technique in order to move her LH around the keyboard.  Understandably, this was really difficult and it took her a while to master.  Safari Friends was a three page piece (with repeats!) that required the combination of many technical elements that we had learned in previous pieces.  Shira was able to play both of these pieces passably well at her lessons in the weeks leading up to the recital but not perfectly.  I knew she was prepared going in but it took that extra push of a performance that led to this superb rendition!  I think this is a classic example of what a external goal and some internal motivation can accomplish in a piano student.  As much as I strive to give all my students the skills to play effortlessly, it is ultimately up to them to take my suggestions and work through their problems at the piano.  There was nothing better than seeing Shira's brilliant and confident smile after a performance had shown off all her hard work. Enjoy!

Charlotte has studied with me since 2011.  She was originally a student of Susan Paradis but came to me after her family returned to the Denver area.  In the years I have taught her, she has grown leaps and bounds as a student.  This past year she participated in Achievement Day, Sonatina Festival, National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival, and Colorado Federation of Music Clubs State Competitive Festival.  Charlotte tackles a variety of repertoire with gusto.  Below you can see her performing three pieces from last fall's recital.  More importantly, I think she has realized her own progress and the pay off of hard work in a good performance. 
Charlotte's repertoire that she performs in this video is pretty standard for students in my studio; something classical (Attwood) something relateable, (Norton) and something right in between (Donkin).  Christopher Norton's music is usually a favorite of my students.  I highly recommend his series American Popular Piano.  The books are leveled to coincide with the Music Development Program or similar syllabus and are divided into different genres (lyrical, rhythmic, ensemble, etc.)  Intercity Stomp, which is technically a staccato study, reminded both of us of a techno jam.  Donkin's Witches and Wizards seemed to capture Charlotte's Harry Potter imagination.  

Every piano teacher knows that practicing involves lots of repetition.  How many times has a student or a teacher written into a notebook, play this piece x amount of times, or play the right hand x amount of times, play the left hand x amount of times, play this piece hands together x amount of times.  And how many teachers have emphasized that practicing (or repetitions) need to happen every day in order for the student to  learn and comfortably play the piece they have been working on?  There is no doubt that repetitions need to happen in order to learn how to play the piano. 

But where does repetition leave off and obsession begin?  When do we reach the limits of what repetition can actually do? 

When I was a Freshman at the University of Denver, my teacher introduced the "3 times game" to me.  When fixing any of my mistakes be it a wrong note, a wrong rhythm or a wrong fingering, she would tell me to play the passage the correct way 3 times in a row before I could move on to fixing something else.  This put on a limit on my repetitions and gave me an attainable goal in my practice sessions.  It's a strategy that I often use with my students to get them to fix errors.

My current teacher told me a story in which one of her early teachers attempted to fix a passage that contained mistakes by circling the offending measure and writing "1000 times" above it.  1,000 times? Really?  Any piano student forced to play a passage that much would have to start hating the piano.

If repetition is not fixing the problem, the answer is to look deeper.  To me this is what is really at the heart of practicing, my own teaching, and my own learning process.  As Elissa Milne, piano teacher and pedagogue from Australia wrote in a recent blog post, "Practice is fundamentally NOT about repetition and discipline – it’s fundamentally about listening and reflecting and noticing and exploring. Take your thinking away from an accuracy = perfection model. Music isn’t about being right, it’s about being human.

And remember, if you’re not making mistakes you’re not learning anything. Every single time you make a mistake you have the chance to become someone even more fabulous than you’ve ever been before – so celebrate your mistakes; they remind you you’re alive."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

that is the question!  Like most Americans, I have a deep love and appreciation for many different styles of music: jazz, country, folk, R&B, classic rock, Latin, and of course classical.  So why only teach classical or only focus on classical music as many piano teachers do?  Classical music demands a tone and technique that should only be produced by the performer acoustically (not electronically).  It also combines a deep intellectual understanding of structure (form) and harmony with a performer's interpretation of a composer's musical ideas and vocabulary. 
I won't lie though.  Some of my fondest memories of playing the piano revolve around playing pop music.  In fact, playing popular music vaulted me onto a whole other level of playing right about the time I hit fourth grade.  That was the year my sister discovered the musicals Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.  I was so taken with the music of both shows that I learned it on my own despite the fact that Andrew Lloyd Weber really likes to vary the keys of all his music.  It was the year I became a great sight reader.  Pretty soon, my family would gather around the piano on Friday or Saturday nights for Broadway sing alongs and I became a little bit of a human juke box.  As I matured through high school, I took lots of solace in the music of Tori Amos which seemed to combine aspects of classical and rock, for me the best of both worlds.
These days I don't listen to the radio half as much as I used to but I can still sight read and play power ballads like Jar of Hearts or Adele's Someone Like You.   This really helps when it comes to accompanying at the Community College of Denver where I play for vocalists in the Commercial Music Recital.  This spring selections ranged from Michael Jackson's Human Nature to R, Kelly's I Look to You. 
So when one of my students prefaced her lesson yesterday with, "I'm ready for a new jazz piece, " I didn't object.  Popular music, which for me also encompasses many genres, demands a high level of musicianship specifically related to rhythm.  For myself and my students, this music has become an essential part of my curriculum.  We still learn classical repertoire with the appropriate technique required to play it but we also enjoy our jazz, blues, or pop piece.  In fact, this music is becoming such a staple that my goal for the upcoming year is to put together a pop recital with a live rhythm section.  I got this terrific idea at the MTNA Conference in 2013 when I heard Kristin Yost give a presentation on the Popular Music Showcase.

Just last week I was happy to pay my dues to the Music Teachers National Association.  As a piano teacher living in Denver, CO, I pay dues to the national organization, the Colorado state organization and the Denver area chapter of the association.  My dues totaled $140 for the year.  In exchange, I receive special discounts to certain retailers, access to insurance options, a subscription to the bi-monthly magazine that MTNA Publishes, American Music Teacher, as well as tons of networking opportunities with other music teachers. 
More importantly, my students receive tons of performance opportunities as a result of me belonging to the organization.  This past year many of my students participated in Achievement Day, an event that encourages musical growth through a variety of activities including evaluation of scales, arpeggios, chords, ear training, music history, music theory, and performance.  Many found it inspiring and motivating and I loved the feedback they received as affirmation of my weekly evaluations at piano lessons.
The Colorado State Music Teachers Association also holds an annual theory event called Student Theory Activity.  This is a rigorous test that evaluates students on their theory skills.  They usually hold this event in conjunction with the Rising Stars Event that offers a non-competitive and competitive performance track.  Students can win prize money and receive comments on their performance.
Finally MTNA holds an annual competition every year for piano and composition.  This is a major competition where winners can go on to participate in state, regional, and national levels.  I have not had a student participate in one of these but its nice to know the opportunity is there!
Personally, I have made so many lasting friendships and business contacts through MTNA.  In fact, most of my students were referred to me through the Denver chapter and I have to say it is a truly wonderful studio with parents and students who respect my teaching abilities and policies.  More importantly, I have met wonderful teachers through CSMTA and DAMTA that have inspired me to become a better teacher and shared with me their own business practices and policies. 

Last spring I purchased an Ipad for my piano studio.  I was so energized after hearing many presentations within my own local music teachers' chapter and at national conferences regarding the various apps available for purchase that I couldn't wait to get started!  I am also very fortunate to be living in close proximity to two music technology gurus, Shana Kirk and Leila Viss.  In the studio, I frequently use the camera to record students performances as well as the note flash card apps to reinforce note names.  The ones I use most frequently are Flash Note Derby and Music Flash Class.  I have also found that Rhythm Cat is a hit with my students and for my more advanced students so is Rhythm Lab.

As much as I enjoy using the Ipad to reinforce concepts of basic musicianship, I really think there is no substitute for one on one instruction, especially technical instruction.  Similarly, I do not think that playing a game on an ipad is any substitute for playing a game with a human competitor.  For that reason, I also have a lot of games that consist of board games and cards.  Many of these were created by Susan Paradis. 

There is no disputing the fact that gamification and technology present exciting new opportunities for learning and motivation in today's piano studio.  However, a lot of my students' parents like to limit their children's screen time.  Incorporating the ipad into a piano lesson or even daily practice can seem to be undermining that purpose. Only with proper supervision, can students make the most of their time spent using an Ipad.

If you read my previous post, you could infer how important it is to choose the right teacher for yourself or your child.  Things to consider include,

• what style of music is to be learned,
• practical experience the teacher has,
• performance opportunities available,
• ages and levels the teacher specializes in,
• location,
• fee
  

If you are a beginner or have a child who is a beginner, do not underestimate the value of choosing a degreed experienced teacher.  Why is that you might ask?  Any beginner's first teacher lays the foundation for technical advancement (i.e. playing fast and evenly), musical appreciation, and inherent motivation to continue and therefore have music as part of their daily life.  If any one of these things are lacking, your child may easily lose interest and quit.  But..."I'm not expecting my child to become a concert pianist/professional musician/music educator, etc", you may counter.  From personal experience, I will tell you that neither of my parents expected me to become a piano teacher/professional musician.  In fact, my father aggressively discouraged me from it.  The question then remains, "Wouldn't it be wonderful though if your child had that choice?" Instead of being woefully behind in many aspects of a musical education and facing daunting odds to becoming a professional, your child would be adequately prepared to audition for a music school, earn a scholarship, and live a fun, fulfilling life!
From the My Story blog post, you can see how many teachers I had before even reaching the college level.  Did I succeed even though I did not have one teacher lovingly guiding me through appropriate, graded repertoire and attending to my theoretical and academic aspects of my musical education?  The answer is yes, but it has been a challenging, daunting, and difficult journey and of course, I wish it had been easier. 
So in answer to most of the questions listed above:
Q.  What Style of music do you teach?
A.  Classical and popular (but notated popular)  I can read a lead sheet (melody with chords) but do not believe this skill is easily accessible to those who cannot read at all. I do not teach jazz or gospel music even though I have a great appreciation for both styles.

Q.  What practical experience do you have?
A.  I have taught piano for over 13 years.  The teacher I am now is vastly better than the one I was 13 years ago or even 10 years ago. 

Q.  What performance opportunities are available to my child?
A.  Seasonal recitals as well as seasonal assessments from other music professionals.  These assessments come in the form of written comments from opportunities such as Achievement Day, National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival, and Royal Conservatory Development Program.

Q.  What ages and levels do you specialize in?
A.  I specialize in teaching beginners, intermediate level pianists, and advanced level pianists.  In the past, I have taught pianists age 4 -65+ but I truly believe my talent in teaching lies with ages 5-18.  I am definitely open to teaching the parents of my students and would encourage that if you have no prior musical education.

Q,  Location?
A.  I am conveniently located in Denver between the Park Hill, Stapleton, and Montclair neighborhoods.  Technically my neighborhood is called East Colfax or East Montclair.

Q.  Fee?
A.  Please contact me! 

Finally, I do not believe that I am the perfect teacher for every student.  I hope that in your interview process you choose to talk to other teachers besides me.