Ellen R. TakeLessons Instructor piano, music theory, music history Seattle, WA

I have played the piano since I was 6 years old, and have been educated in both the performance and academics of music.  I hold a MA from the Yale University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in historical musicology.  I also have a BA in music from Columbia University, to where I transferred after having studied for two years at the Manhattan School of Music as a piano performance major. 

Since my schooling I have maintained a steadily-growing studio of piano students (ages 4 to 75+).  Before recently relocating to Seattle, I was a member of the faculty at Settlement Music School in Philadelphia, as well as a classroom music teacher (grades pre-K to 8) at parochial schools.  I have also taught college music classes, both at Philadelphia Unversity and at University of the Arts. 

I teach students of all ages and abilities--kids, adults, beginners and advanced students.  My approach is positive and proactive: I go to lengths to help students reach their full potential, instructing them not only in piano performance, but also how to learn effectively as they work towards their goals.  I am able to put students at ease, and I maintain an energetic and casual attitude during lessons.              

I like to work with students and help them achieve their individual goals in music-making.  Generally speaking, in addition to teaching repertoire, I emphasize technique (scales, exercises), music literacy, and independence in musical thought.  That is, from the beginning, I stress an importance of the student being able to make informed musical decisions--from reading pitches and rhythm, to deciding how to interpret a piece appropriately and why.  This is a long process, and it is distinctly different from simply allowing a student to do whatever s/he wants in a piece.

I have taught regularly (but not exclusively) with Bastien and Faber Piano Courses in the past few years, supplementing them with technique books like A Dozen A Day, and with repertoire books as well (such Lynn Freeman Olson's Essential Keyboard Repertoire).  Naturally, more advanced students are given level-appropriate pieces.  Exceptionally young students are also catered to, and while I am not formally trained in the Suzuki method, I was taught it myself and am therefore able to draw from its basic principles when working with very young children.

I specialize in piano repertoire from the Common Practice Era (Baroque to ca. 1900).

Newtown High School - - 1993-1997
Barnard College of Columbia Unversity - music - 1999-2001
Yale University - historical musicology - 2001-2004

piano, music theory, music history