My Teaching Philosophy
As someone who has taught in the piano pedagogy field for the past five years, I have always made the success of my students my first priority. Throughout my five years of teaching, I have become more sensitive to the general concerns and problems that my students may face during their week of isolated practice. Because of this, I consistently make it my goal to clarify even the tiniest shred of doubt that any student may have, in the hopes of eliminating potential roadblocks and worries they may hit. I refuse to end a piano lesson until I believe a student is fully and properly prepared for a week of practice. I also alleviate these concerns by staying in contact with students, especially right after their lessons (to clarify and outline all expected assignments for our next meeting). I additionally am happy to field any questions throughout the week from either the student or the parent; I encourage this atmosphere, because I truly hope each student’s lesson builds upon another in a curricular fashion. This cannot happen if students are still clarifying assignments from last week’s lesson. A piano curriculum is detrimental simultaneously to the student, parent, and teacher if it only relies on monotonously moving page by page through a lesson book. Each student must be met weekly with any personal and performative challenges they face; it is the teacher’s job to cater to this while encouraging the student to push themselves to the best of the student’s abilities.
January 2017 - Present
Private Piano Instructor, Self-Employed
Duties and Responsibilities:
Provide piano lessons in-person or using online platforms to individuals in the local area
Train students utilizing the Piano Safari method and additional supplemental materials
Engage with students of varying ages and skill level
August 2020 - May 2021
Ohio University, School of Music
Teaching Assistant
Duties and Responsibilities:
Assisted with grading student discussion board posts and exams in a timely fashion
Handled any student inquiries regarding grading policy
Aided the overseeing professor by delivering curricular musical excerpts and materials to students
August 2018 - June 2021
Ohio University, School of Music
ACMS Master Student Instructor
Duties and Responsibilities:
Instructed piano students in-person or utilizing online platforms such as Zoom, Facetime or Google Hangouts
Scheduled weekly lessons with students
Submitted a tracking sheet to ACMS bi-weekly to log lessons, in accordance with the purchased lesson package
Research Experience
Conference Presentations and Applied Research
April 2018
Teaching Music in the 21st Century: The Implementation of Technology into Popular Music Pedagogy Methods
Capital University, Undergraduate Research Symposium
With the help of revolutionary music philosophers such as Jacques-Dalcroze, Kodály, Orff, and Suzuki, musicianship training and the pedagogical methods surrounding it have been strengthened over the past 100 years. However, none of these pedagogues predicted the rise of technological advances that has occurred over the past three decades. With these advances, it is vital music teachers familiarize themselves with the benefits of technology in learning environments, as technology often provides students with more hands-on experiences in overall musicianship training. Numerous teachers have documented the success and benefits of technology in general music education; however, it is also important to consider implementing these devices across popular music pedagogy methods. Using Choksy’s Teaching Music in the Twentieth Century, I outline these popular methods and the core beliefs of their founders. Drawing from research on the implementation of technology in the general music classroom, I provide examples of how technological devices and applications can be incorporated into popular music pedagogy methods, while still keeping intact the core values of each philosopher behind them. This implementation reflects current trends, while also exposing students to more meaningful resources, the likes of which were unattainable at the time the aforementioned music pedagogy methods were developed.
January 2020
What I Learned About Group Piano Teaching from Playing Video Games: Teaching Takeaways from MMORPGs
Ohio University, MTNA Piano Pedagogy Symposium
In an increasingly technological age, adolescents make various hobby choices, one of which includes video games. Despite their associated stigma as a wasteful hobby, some of these games provide exposure to avenues which promote pedagogical dialogue. MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games) like Bungie’s Destiny franchise include multiplayer activities called ‘raids’ that require consistent communication in order to achieve goals. In the community of players in Bungie’s Destiny and Destiny 2, some players make themselves extremely familiar with these raids and, after perfecting their strategy, become appointed ‘sherpas’ (derives from the similar terminology for guides that assist travelers up Mount Everest). These sherpas teach and use pedagogical language for newcomers into raid activities in a manner that is reminiscent of a group instructor or pedagogue. My research highlights the ways in which this pedagogical language is useful in both settings, most notably the nurturing and helpful nature of a beneficial pedagogue and student relationship. Furthermore, I draw from my beneficial experiences in MMORPGs under sherpas to increase the connections I make with students in a group piano setting. Sherpas (and other audiovisual MMORPG tutorials) formed as a means to educate the masses, much like the rules formulated from the Classical Era that are taught in music theory courses across the globe. Raid guides and sherpas are the means by which the video game masses are educated about MMORPG raids and their encounters. Ultimately, the best sherpas are on par in their community with great piano pedagogues of our world.
April 2020
Brahms, Schumann, and Wieck: Piano Romanticism
Ohio University, Graduate Lecture Recital
July 2019
Creating Art in the Community: An Interdisciplinary Approach*
NCKP 2019, The Frances Clark Center
April 2020
The Benefits and Inclusion of the Alternative-sized Keyboard for Pianists*
Ohio University, Global Arts Symposium
*presented in collaboration