It’s my great pleasure to impart a multitude of musical skills on a wide variety of students of all ages, backgrounds, and musical inclinations. There’s no subject in music we can’t cover and no person is beyond the reach of musical growth. I help you put one foot in front of the other, always meeting you where you are at and leading you to the next level in your musical journey. It’s easy when we work together going Step By Step!
Sincerely,
Alex Atwood
I don't need to tell you this, but I'm gonna tell you anyhow: the Piano gives you more options and control than any common instrument (since I'm not considering a pipe organ to be "common"). You have 8 octaves of range and complete dynamic flexibility. You can easily play chords and melody simultaneously. You can play ten notes at once and sustain as many as you need. This instrument is unparalleled and has found its place in every style of music.
As with everything, my piano lessons start with technique. I make sure that you are placing your fingers on the keys in the most efficient manner and holding your hands and arms in a comfortable and sustainable position.
Most piano players learn to read music. The traditional path is to learn treble and bass clef for the right and left hands, but there's also another way. I can teach you to play melodies in the right hand while playing chords in the left. This is a more creative approach because you are taking a song and making it your own through choices regarding chord voicings, rhythms, bass notes, and arpeggios (don't worry, we'll go over all that stuff!). Whether we focus on reading traditional pieces, improvising songs, or both, we will always have fun and make steady progress, one step at a time.
Everything you always wanted to know
about piano but didn't know to ask...
Practice routine
Making goals
Dedicating time
Warm-ups
Memorizing music
Finger positioning
Multi-octave scales
Understanding crossovers
Block chords
Voice leading
Inversions
Finding the beat
Underlying rhythms
Counting in
Triplets and swing
Syncopation
Odd timing
Formats
What to ignore!
Phrasing
Repeats and Codas
Staves and clefs
Major and minor
Modes
Synthetic scales
Scale degrees
Octatonic, whole tone
Identifying keys
Roman numerals
Diatonic function
Harmonic function
Secondary dominants Extended dominants Substitute dominants
Modal interchange
Contiguous ii-Vs
Non-functioning dominants
Deceptive resolution
Delayed resolution
Arpeggios
Triads
6th & 7th chords
Suspended chords
Extended chords
Voicings
Alternate bass notes
Chord tones
Non-chord tones
Melodic motion
5-to-1 resolution
Transition notes
Voice leading
Ostinato