Little Paws

Sample Teaching Box

Whether brand new to piano, or whether they’ve taken years of lessons, I’ve discovered that there are two essential elements that act as a glue for all my students in the Little Paws program:

(1), everyone uses stuffed animals to learn proper technique at the piano; and

(2), all beginners ease into the note reading process. 

Students begin reading on landmark (memorized) notes and then use the space between notes to read music (intervallic reading).  If your child comes to me already reading music, I will have them steer clear of using outdated mnemonic devices (i.e., Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge) because they are not effective in developing strong sight-reading skills.  Instead, they will learn a new way to read music that will pay off greatly over time!

Why the name Little Paws? 

The very first technical animal the kids meet is Larry the Lion.  Using Larry, children are taught to keep their hands in a paw-like shape while freely dropping on the keys.  This helps kids get out of the mindset that all five fingers need to be on placed on separate white keys, which curl fingers and adds lots of unwanted tension!

In addition,

I leave plenty of room for working on personalized student goals!  I believe it’s important to remain flexible and add material that is student-driven, so I always listen to what my students want and design my lesson plans accordingly.  Some children might want to focus on classical music while others might really enjoy improvisation or a more contemporary repertoire.  I take all of this into account when I plan for each lesson and no matter which route children prefer, I give everyone exposure to all sorts of music and activities.