Composition and Harmony for Pianists:
Lessons and Classes
I am now offering private and group instruction specifically geared towards intermediate to advanced pianists with some music theory background (such as basic roman numeral analysis). These lessons give pianists the tools to expand their creativity by learning to compose. In addition to this, the aspects of score analysis and keyboard harmony can help guide interpretations as a performer, and are extremely useful for improving sight-reading.
For pianists interested in composing, I can create composing projects based around the study of piano works the students know and love; I can also introduce pianists to aspects of score reading and help them make sense of scores for larger ensembles, from string quartets to orchestral scores. My keyboard harmony pedagogy will, of course, work especially well for pianists; drawing on their physical knowledge of the keyboard, it teaches harmony in a physical, instinctual way.
Private lessons are the ideal way for me to help students of all ages build on their strengths and study the music they love. In addition to these, I do however also offer group lessons in score study. These consist of weekly group meetings on zoom in which we listen to and analyze diverse repertoire. In doing this, my intention is to teach the skill of analysis, so that students can start applying it to whichever pieces most interest them.
To put it briefly, my specific approach to teaching composition differs from many others in that:
1. I prioritize score study—specifically a kind of “composers’ score study” which allows students to learn from repertoire in a way that informs their own composing, and,
2. I consider keyboard harmony as an essential part of a composer’s training, and practice a specific “schematic” approach to it in which students drill and assimilate harmonic and voice-leading patterns.
For more details on this approach, see my composition pedagogy page
.