Information About Mary - Wareham teacher

Personal Description:

Personal Descriptiion

I am a professional piano teacher with over thirty five years of successful experience in my own private practice with students of all ages and abilities. I began playing the piano when I was 3 years old and have studied to diploma level. I moved to Dorset in 2001 and have been teaching from my home, near Wareham since then.
With the increasing popularity of the internet as a tuition medium I later introduced online lessons, which has enabled me to continue teaching my pupils without interruption during the pandemic.
I love teaching, and my only criteria for accepting students is that they want to learn, and are willing to practise regularly. I welcome all students from the age of five years upwards although younger students may be considered where they show real interest. There is no upper age limit. I am happy to teach adults who have not played an instrument before – you are never too old to learn. I also really enjoy teaching children, who often approach their first lesson a little uncertainly, and I love sharing their journey as they grow in confidence and ability.

Tutoring Experience:

Tutoring Experience

Having studied the piano from an early age to diploma level I began developing a private practice teaching piano and violin in the 1980’s. I later developed a large and highly successful piano and violin practice in a midlands market town during the 1990’s teaching students of all ages and abilities. After the millennium I ‘retired’ to Dorset where I continue to teach piano.

Tutoring Approach:

Tutoring Approach

I aim to engender a friendly and relaxed atmosphere during lessons, and to offer my students an opportunity to gain experience with varied musical styles. I am happy to work with any genre that my students enjoy. If a student has a desire to play a particular piece I will do my utmost to make it possible for them.
I offer exams at all grades for those who choose to take them. Although I mainly enter students for the ABRSM examining board. I can offer exams with most examining boards if desired. I have a 100% pass rate and most of my students pass with merits or distinctions although exams are not essential and many of my students play just for fun.

I include formal theory at an appropria**Contact Detail Removed**vel, during the lesson, for all my exam students and in a less formal setting as appropriate to the pieces my non-exam students are studying.

I believe that correct technique is essential if students are to reach their full potential, so I always incorporate this into the lesson, sometimes by using a suitable excerpt from a piece we are currently studying, frequently by designing exercises to help them overcome a particular difficulty, and occasionally by using technical exercises from well known composers.

Online tuition

I have been teaching via Skype for a number of years and I have students from all over the country who enjoy online lessons with me. Using several cameras, providing varied views, I am able to show a variety of really useful shots, and an animated keyboard that lights up the keys when I play the real piano is very popular and effective for students who find keyboard orientation a difficulty.

It is possible to video appropriate sections from lessons, for the student to refer to during practice. The use of several cameras each offering varied shots can display really useful views that would not always be possible in face to face lessons. Each student has a personal online folder into which I can place notes taken during the lesson, marked theory, music examples and other useful resources.
Exam results have remained just as high and families find the convenience and flexibility of online tuition very beneficial. Due to the restrictions of the last two years I now have students who have commenced learning with traditional face to face lessons and then gone over to Skype tuition when personal visits were no longer possible. Many of them have remained on line rather than return to face to face tuition.