A BIT ABOUT ME
I grew up in Orkney and studied in London and I've been working my way back north ever since!
I sat my Piano Teaching Diploma as a teenager and passed with distinction. As I prepared for the exam, I became increasingly sure that I wanted Piano Teaching to be my career.
I went on to study piano at Trinity College of Music in London and followed this with an MMus at Royal Holloway, again specialising in Piano.
As well as giving private piano lessons, I have taught piano in several independent schools and for Fife Council. This means that my teaching has been observed and inspected and that I have had the chance to benefit from the expertise of various colleagues over the years.
I also work as a music examiner for Trinity College London. Again, this enriches my teaching, bringing me into contact with a wide range of candidates and their teachers across the UK and Overseas. It is always fascinating to hear different interpretations of the exam pieces and to witness a variety of approaches to music education in action. Interaction with examiner colleagues, with their diverse backgrounds and high level of expertise, is also a fantastic, life-giving experience.
More locally, some of you may have encountered me as a Kodaly tutor in various Highland primary schools. The Kodaly approach to music education involves the development of musicianship skills through short songs and rhymes. Activities often include games which embody the music concept that is being explored. This work keeps me in touch with primary-school-aged learners and I am able to incorporate some Kodaly-inspired activities into my piano teaching.
While the majority of my piano pupils sit exams and enjoy the sense of progress (and indeed the UCAS points) which exams bring, some pupils prefer not to engage with the exam system. In these situations, I endeavour to structure lessons and guide progress so learning remains balanced and systematic. Pupils explore a wide range of repertoire in a variety of styles. Technical skills are developed progressively, so pupils are able to tackle increasingly advanced repertoire with confidence.
I encourage all my pupils to collaborate with other musicians in order to further broaden their experience. I also run occasional pupil concerts and I hope my new digital presence will allow me to do some pupil showcases online.
As a piano teacher, I keep my skills up-to-date by regularly taking part in various training courses. Recent courses covered Jazz Piano for Beginners (Richard Michael), Colour Keys Kodaly-based Piano Tuition and Nikolaev's Russian School of Piano Playing.
To find out more about my background, classes or approach, please get in touch.