Piano with Tessa Y.

I believe learning music should be fun and enjoyable! Nurturing a new skill in a positive environment will not only lead to better results, but will ignite a passion for learning and growth that translates to all areas of life! My teaching style is friendly and encouraging. I strive to be personable so clients and students feel comfortable being themselves with me, optimizing the learning mindset. I especially love working with children! I make lessons fun and exciting by telling stories, using pictures and making jokes. I also have a good client base of adult students because my flexible teaching style tailors to their specific interests. My students would describe me as dedicated, encouraging and bubbly! I am well-versed in a variety of genres from classical, to pop, rock or jazz. In my lessons, I cover a variety of styles instead of sticking to one (unless specifically requested). As we cultivate your musical interests and find your strengths, we can dip our toes into different genres accordingly. I follow the Piano Adventures method books, as it introduces concepts in step by step fashion that build upon previous topics. This gives a great foundation to expand into other genres. In addition, we frequently play supplementary pieces such as pop songs or holiday songs. I encourage song requests from students and frequently create song arrangements that are suitable for that student's level. Every student will have a technique/creative portion of the lesson where we work on scales, arpeggios, chords, improvisation and theory. For late intermediate to advanced students who want to further their studies in Classical, I follow the internationally recognized ABRSM Syllabus. Every piece or exercise we play has a purpose. It might be as simple as a "just for fun" piece, or as purposeful as carefully selected repertoire to strength technique, notation reading, expressiveness or a growth mindset! Visit tessaying.com to learn more about my teaching methods