I teach beginner and intermediate piano and vocal lessons, for both children and adults. Local in-person lessons in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, as well as online (coming soon).
My teaching philosophy: Music is meant to be fun and at times, outrageously joyous.
Piano: To get there (to the fun), practice is essential (and I try to help make that fun). Ten minutes a day for beginners is the recommended minimum. Besides teaching the reading of music, I also teach playing by ear as both are valuable and exciting. Learning piano can be a joy for its own sake, or can be the foundation for moving to other instruments. Both are good.
Voice: I enjoy teaching people who believe “I can’t sing” to find their voice. Matching pitches, learning breath support, playing around with the voice, and singing some favorite songs are all part of the tools I use. I had one woman student (a professional in her career) who had been ridiculed by her siblings as a child for her singing and was intimidated. She actually had quite a lovely voice, and I told her so as we worked together. Several years later she called to tell me she had tried out and won a role in her local Community Theater music production. I was so proud of her and she was so happy!
Harmony singing: My favorite arena of music is harmony singing, especially a cappella (unaccompanied) which requires superb breath support, keen listening and a sense of togetherness much like the starlings have when they fly and dance in the sky (murmurations). If my clients are interested in this I’d be thrilled to coach a small group for harmony singing.
Exposure to live music is important, and you will be encouraged to find your student various (free or ticketed) live music opportunities of different types of music to attend. I can make recommendations.
I love teaching children and adults both.
My background: I have a Bachelor of Music Education from Washburn University (Topeka, KS), summa cum laude, 1970. I gave my senior recital on the piano in White Concert Hall, and voice was my minor. I’ve taught public school music a number of years, in addition to raising my children full time for awhile and running my own businesses. Off and on, I’ve taught piano and voice lessons wherever I was living at the time.
As a child, I lived in rural North Central Kansas. When I was about 7 years old I took piano lessons from a family friend who lived a few miles away on the same gravel road we lived on. I did well for awhile. But toward the end of the red John Thompson beginner book, the songs changed. Suddenly middle C was no longer 1 (my thumb). What a shock! I was devastated and stumbled through the last couple of songs embarrassed and eager to be done. I quit lessons.
I was reading finger numbers instead of notes and when the numbers changed, I was lost.
But over that summer, I came to this realization in my 8 year old brain: I really loved piano and I realized that I would never get any better if I didn’t practice - and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t practice without a teacher.
So I told my parents, we found a different teacher who helped me learn to read notes instead of finger numbers, and I took lessons from then on.
I sang as much as I could and fell in love with choirs. In college I majored in music education because I loved teaching also, and spent some years in the public school system (teaching many grades, the most being K-12 at my last school). I also did a variety of entrepreneurial ventures during that time, and many private lessons, both piano and voice. Here in Lee’s Summit I co-founded a folk/rock/original trio called Green Spirit Band. We specialize in harmony and accompany ourselves on guitar, piano, with occasional recorder and pennywhistle.
Currently my time is spent with native plants, organic gardening, my small grandchildren, our Green Spirit Band, reading, and preparing healthy foods as well as a variety of artistic and musical endeavors.
