Teacher's Philosophy 

My Teaching Philosophy 

I started learning piano at the age of 7. One day, a classmate came over to my home to work on a school project with me. She asked me if I could teach her a bit of piano and of course, I excitedly agreed. I dug out my old beginner’s piano books and began teaching her the first notes on the keyboard. In a few minutes, she was able to play a basic version of Mary Had a Little Lamb. It was such a rewarding experience that I knew teaching piano is what I wanted to do in the future. 

After earning my level 10 certification at the Royal Conservatory of Music, I have embarked on a journey of teaching piano in my local community. I took a break from teaching piano to pursue my dream of traveling and becoming a flight attendant. After starting my own family and moving from Toronto to California, I have found my way back to teaching piano. I have also completed the elementary piano teacher’s designation and is a certified RCM teacher. 

All beginner students are assigned Faber Piano Adventure beginner books. Younger students from age 5-6 will engage in more games, activities and play during their lesson. Students that have finished the beginner series may choose to participate in the Royal Conservatory of Music certification program or continue playing more advanced repertoires from their chosen piano method series. I don’t believe in a ‘one size fits all’ method of teaching. Each student comes with their own interest, personality, learning abilities and I take each student’s difference into account and cater it into my lesson plans. 

I hold piano recitals twice a year during the summer and winter. All the piano recitals are done in a supportive and non competitive environment. I believe recitals are important because it gives the child the recognition that they deserve for their hard work and dedication in the past months. It also gives children a tangible goal to work towards, display the knowledge that they have learned and motivate them to further their musical journey. 

Everyone loves incentives and to help foster a positive and fun experience during my lessons, I offer a reward chart to each student in their first class. Students accumulate stickers at the end of each lesson which could earn them physical rewards. I also give lots of praise for practicing diligently during the week and completing assignments. 

Keeping parents informed on their child(ren)’s progress in-person after each class or on text is something I do frequently. Students and I work on setting short and long goals at the beginning of the year. At the end of each year, I conduct an evaluation and assess each student’s progress, areas of improvement and see how much of our goals we have achieved. 

I am constantly looking for ways to help each student succeed and also to improve my teaching methods. I hope to use my years of experience in piano pedagogy to help inspire a new generation of musicians to learn, enjoy and share music for a lifetime.