
Amy C.

Teaching Locations:


Teaching Locations:


Levels taught:
Beginner, IntermediateAbout Amy C.
Welcome to Amy's Piano Studio!
Amy trains her student using the Russian piano technique—students will develop a beautiful, relaxed style of playing and learn to constantly release tension while they are at the piano. When Amy first began piano lessons as a young child, she was taught the way most American children are taught: to play with her fingers, and only her fingers! As a result, she carried a lot of tension in her hands and arms, and she was limited in the amount of expressiveness and color she was able to achieve in her playing. It wasn’t until she had an instructor who’d been trained in the Russian tradition that she realized there was a better, more holistic approach!
An important tenet in the Russian school of piano playing is to use one’s wrist weight to aid in sound production rather than playing only with one’s fingers. In fact, the entire upper body should be involved in playing—wrists, arms, and the strong muscles of the back. By learning to use the whole upper body in playing, one can achieve a greater variety of sounds and truly learn to play with the beautiful “singing” tone that Russian pianists are known for.
The late classical pianist Vladimir Horowitz sums up Amy's ideas about tone and color very well: “[The piano] is capable of sounds which are loud or soft; but in between there are many, many degrees of sound which may be played. To be able to produce many varieties of sound, now that is what I call technique, and that is what I try to do…You must practice for color. Each color you must be able to get on each finger. When you are able to do that, when you have real color in your playing, the interpretation cannot be artificial.”
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.
Reviews
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Extremely happy with her teaching method. I would highly recommend her.

Very engaging first lesson! Ali is excited to continue.

We had our first piano lesson today and Amy was absolutely fantastic. My daughter left very excited and looking forward to her next lesson.

Amy has been great. She adjusted quickly to my skill level (somewhere between beginner and intermediate), tailored what she taught me to my interests, and is generally very patient and helpful. She's skilled, knowledgable, and is great to work with!
Amy is one of the best piano teachers you will ever find. She loves music and is able to pass that passion on to her students. She works with each one as a unique individual, no rote formula or one size fits all approach. We drive from Dayton to Columbus every week because it's worth it to have Amy as a teacher. I would recommend her anytime to anyone seeking quality, enjoyable music instruction.
My 6 year old daughter takes lessons with Amy and it's been a wonderful experience. She is excited to show us what she's learned and really enjoys her lessons. She was very comfortable with Amy from the start and many times she is shy with new people. I would highly recommend her to anyone wanting to learn piano.
My 6 years old daughter had a wonderful experience with Amy in Boston, MA. In general she has issues focusing on tasks, but Amy was always able to keep her attention and motivate her to do her best. Amy is very personable, professional and most of all patient, a very important skill to have when dealing with young students. She assigns homework and rewards students for it, helping them to practice with consistency and take pride of their accomplishments. I highly recommend Amy if you are in Columbus area and looking for a positive and enjoyable learning experience.
My daughter just started lessons with Amy and she loves it. She has clicked with Amy and enjoys going to get lesson and wanting to practice to show Ms Amy how much she's learned. I would recommend Amy to anyone in the Columbus area looking for a piano teacher.
Amy is teaching my daughter her in Columbus and she is really really enjoying it. Amy makes it fun and has a great structure for piano lessons that allows her to enjoy practice and look forward to the fun - thank you!
Amy taught my children piano lessons in Ann Arbor, MI and I highly recommend her. The kids responded really well to her teaching and enjoyed the lessons. She focuses on posture, technique, has them play songs that they enjoy and can't say enough great things!

Amy is a wonderful teacher! She is very skilled and experienced, as well as very enthusiastic. My 6 year old son started with her and absolutely loved his lessons, and more importantly grew a love to play. Amy is reliable, flexible, makes the lessons both fun and technical and can tailor to your preferred kind of music.

Amy is kind, organized, and has a diligent, positive approach.
Photos & Videos
11 Photos & VideosEducation
MFA in Creative Writing
Aug 2015 - Jan 2017Boston University
Minor in Music
Sep 2010 - Jul 2014Goddard College
BFA in Creative Writing
Sep 2010 - Jul 2014Goddard College
Languages
Spanish
Limited Proficiency
Certifications
ARCT Performer's Diploma
Aug 2014Royal Conservatory of Music
High School Diploma in Piano Performance
Jun 2005National Guild of Piano Teachers
Affiliations
Music Teachers National Association
Oct 2016Royal Conservatory of Music of Canada Music Development Program
Jan 2015Let Our Student Counselors Help You
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