Welcome to Amy's Piano Studio! Over the past several years, Amy Cain has taught piano to students of all ages and levels in Ann Arbor, Boston, and Columbus. All of the students in Amy’s studio are trained using a multifaceted approach which includes the study of repertoire (classical, folk, jazz, and more), etudes, technical skills, ear training, sight-reading, theory, composition, music history and performance practices. All of these skills lead to the development of well-rounded, versatile musicians!

Learning an instrument is beneficial for many reasons: aside from the obvious enjoyment one gets out of playing beautiful music, working at a skill week after week helps young people build confidence, increase memorization and focus, create and work toward goals, and become self-directed learners. These are not just skills that musicians need to have—these are useful skills for all areas of life!

Amy descends from a long line of musicians (both her mother and great-grandmother were piano teachers). She has studied piano since the age of eight. She is a creative person through and through—she earned her BFA in Creative Writing at Goddard College ('14) with a Minor in Music, and she earned her MFA at Boston University ('16). She holds an ARCT Performer’s Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music and is in the process of getting her Music Teacher's Certification through the National Music Teacher's Association. She has training in piano, music theory and pedagogy. Amy is a current member of the Central East Ohio Music Teacher's Association; she regularly attends trainings and conferences in order to grow as a teacher!

Amy coaches her students to take pride in their accomplishments, to exude an air of assurance and poise at the piano, and to become self-directed learners. Performing is a key part of one's music education, thus all of Amy's students are given the opportunity to perform in recitals, small group classes, and in Royal Conservatory of Music exams if they choose.

METHOD:
Young beginners (ages 4 through 8) will start with Tales of a Musical Journey Book 1 by Irina Gorin, who is one of the most prominent piano pedagogues for children in the United States and beyond. Written in chapter book form, Tales of a Musical Journey uses a fairytale setting and characters to introduce and expand musical concepts. The book is entertaining, and the logically interconnected stories develop a young student's understanding and appreciation of music and piano playing.

Older beginners (ages 9 and up) will use Piano Safari for the Older Student — Level 1 by Julie Knerr and Katherine Fisher. This method uses a blend of rote pieces and reading pieces to teach beginning pianists beautiful technique AND strong music reading skills. Students learn to read music in this book using the intervallic approach, which helps them become adept at seeing the contours of melodies, as well as interval and chord shapes, rather than reading note by note.

Each of the aforementioned piano methods contains two books; when students finish both, they will move to the Royal Conservatory Series of piano books, of which there are ten levels plus two preparatory levels that may be skipped, depending on the student. At this point, students will have the option to take part in the Royal Conservatory Certificate Program. Even if a student opts out of the program, they will still use the Royal Conservatory books. All of the books contain classical selections from the four major periods of classical music history: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary. I feel it is important for students to have a strong classical foundation so that they understand and appreciate the history of the piano. Royal Conservatory books also include jazz and swing selections, folk song selections, and other non-classical music that appeals to young people.