Michael has played piano since 1989. He started as a child and through his life he has had at least 30 different teachers. His style of teaching reflects the skills, methods, and attributes that he has found to be the most useful, efficient, and has a solid pedagogical approach. He has had experiences where he felt hopeless and extremely frustrated over a certain concept. Later to revisit this same concept with a different instructor and found himself “struck with bewilderment at how he could have previously struggled with something of now great ease.” These experiences have helped him see that every student is different and it is necessary to offer many approaches to an individual student rather than to offer only 1 approach to all students alike.
Michael says, “Every student has a unique set of goals, interests, musical taste, and a general purpose for taking piano lessons. Some have aspirations of studying music at the next level, maybe in high school or college. Some want to improve their current playing, increase their functionality in their current band, or enchance/begin to play solo or paying gigs. Others just want to have fun and enjoy the sense of self satisfaction that music brings them. My main objective is to help a student meet their goals. I may encourage or suggest certain material or techniques, but in the end it is about helping each other to express ourselves through music. Music is art. Music is an expression of love.”
Michael’s youngest student is his 8 month year old daughter.