Piano Lessons in Howell, NJ For All Ages

If you are interested in piano lessons in Howell, NJ, at my studio in Freehold, or online, I’m glad you found my studio. I work with students of all ages and abilities. My intention is never to force you into a particular playing style or genre - we can study classical music, contemporary genres, rock or pop, and I will build a foundation of correct playing technique and music theory knowledge along the way.

For more information about my lessons, please fill out the form or give me a call. I have several decades of teaching and performing experience, and I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

About My Background

All told, I have over five decades of professional music experience. I teach piano, organ, and music composition lessons, and I’ve held numerous church music director posts over the years. I’m currently the music director at First Presbyterian Church in Freehold, where I direct choirs, lead congregational music, and lead other music ensembles. I also direct the choir at Temple Shaari Emeth Synagogue, and I’m a teacher at Red Bank Catholic High School.

I have helped pianists, organists, aspiring church music directors, and composers gain a deeper understanding of music, and I would enjoy helping you do the same.

Piano Lessons For All Skill Levels in Howell, NJ

Beginners and advanced pianists are equally welcome to enroll in lessons. If you’ve never touched a piano before, I can teach you how to read notes, identify the keys on the piano, play scales, arpeggios, and chords, and improvise. If you already have some experience at the piano, we can either shore up deficiencies you have or dive into deeper musical concepts (more on that below).

In your first lesson, we will discuss your goals for yourself or your child, and we will assess your current standing at the piano. From there, I will build a curriculum and learning approach that best suits your needs and aspirations.

I encourage questions and discovery, and I’m far more interested in helping you find joy in music than passing an RCM exam or performing a concerto (although we can do that too if you would like). Whether you have prior music knowledge or none whatsoever, I’d enjoy working with you.

Piano Lessons For Kids and Adults

My teaching experience includes young children, high schoolers, young adults, and seniors, and each demographic has a unique set of needs at the piano. Furthermore, students of different ages require different teaching methods, and I am comfortable with many approaches at the keyboard.

In children’s lessons, I encourage educational activities “off the bench,” so the student won’t feel confined to the piano and get bored. Young children especially benefit from kinesthetic activities and rhythm drills, and my method material is fun and inspiring. Of course, I always encourage my students to exercise creativity - I introduce improvisation and musical interpretation at an early age.

For teens and adults, I will engage with their specific goals at the piano. Some teenagers want to prepare for formal college auditions, and others are trying to learn how to read lead sheets so they can play in a band - I’m happy to help with both, as well as many other musical outlets. Adults, and especially adult beginners, often have very specific goals at the piano. How can they learn to sight read? Why do they have so much tension when they play? How can they write their own songs at the keyboard? We can work on all of the above, and along the way, you will acquire the fundamentals to be an independent pianist.

What Will You Learn In Your Piano Lessons Specifically?

While a piano education is too significant to distill into a few paragraphs, here is a general overview.

Firstly, my students learn to play correctly and without tension. The piano won’t do you any good if you experience wrist pain or shoulder tightness, so we will work on posture, hand position, wrist rotation, breathing, and more.

Secondly, you will need to learn how to read music. We’ll learn the notes on the keyboard, what they look like on the treble and bass clef, and how to read them fluently in real time (aka Sight Reading). Children may benefit from flashcard drills at this stage, and adults will very often go home and study YouTube videos until they are fluent.

Thirdly, we will train your ear. You will be able to identify major and minor keys, intervals, and more, and this knowledge will lead to the ability to improvise and create melodies on the piano.

We will also study music theory along the way. The word “theory” is somewhat of a misnomer in this case, as this simply breaks down the inner workings and organization of music. We will learn key signatures, chord names and inversions, accidentals (flats and sharps), and as you become more advanced, you’ll learn the form of classical music and pop tunes.

Another important aspect of piano lessons is the study of rhythm. You will learn to count eighth notes, quarter notes, whole notes etc., and we will learn music in various time signatures.

All of the above will be reflected in the music we choose to work on. Even if you are a beginner or intermediate pianist, we can identify pieces of classical literature or contemporary transcriptions that will challenge your abilities and reinforce the concepts learned in lessons.

Howell, NJ Piano Lessons In Your Home, My Studio, Or Online

If you live in Howell, NJ, I’m happy to teach you in your home on your instrument (with a travel fee). If you would like to take lessons in my home studio, I’m just a quick drive up Rt. 9 in Freehold. If you would prefer to take piano lessons online with Skype, Zoom, or a different platform, I can also accommodate that - let me know and we will schedule a test call.

If you have any questions about lessons, my piano studio location, or anything else, please let me know. I’d love to help you learn how to play the piano.