Musical Dreams Piano Studio - piano lessons

 My name is (Ms) Erika and I am the instructor here at the studio. I have been offering piano lessons for almost 40 years, please see my “About Me” page for more on my background and experience. My basic philosophy in learning is that learning is a partnership between the student and the teacher. The teacher acts as a facilitator, sharing their knowledge and experience and supporting the student in their musical exploration. It is the teacher’s role to meet the student where the student is at and to assist in the student’s voyage to where they are wanting to be. I have created several categories of lesson experiences, described below, to accommodate the variety of objectives and contexts which I commonly encounter in my students or potential students. If you do not feel as though any of these presentations quite matches with your context and your objectives please do not feel nervous about reaching out to discuss variations that might be more applicable to you.  Please note that all of my lessons are delivered online.

Traditional lessons

These are the historically traditional lessons run in conjunction with the traditional school year (September through June) and oriented towards children and youth attending primary and secondary education. Lessons are typically presented weekly with a duration of between 30 and 60 minutes although for those with shorter attention spans I will consider two lessons per week with a duration of 15-20 minutes for each lesson. The “year” is divided into two semesters, the first from September through to the end of January, the second from February through to the third week or so of June. Fees are paid by semester, pro-rated for those who start their lessons part way through a semester.

Adult lessons

These are oriented towards those who are no longer attending primary/secondary education. Lessons are provided weekly or bi-weekly, dependent upon level and suitability, and are between 30 and 60 minutes in length. Payment is typically made for a set number of lessons on a pre-determined schedule with renewed payments made at the end of the previous set, thus preserving the reserved lesson day and time. There is generally more flexibility in scheduling and breaks in this category than with the “traditional” category.

Get me going

An 8- or 12- week session to “get you going”, to support you in your independent learning of the piano, or to provide you with some basic keyboard and musical knowledge to support your independent explorations of another musical modality, such as voice. We discuss your current state and where you want to get to and plan a set of between 8 and 12 lessons, offered weekly, to accomplish this. Fees are paid on an agreed-upon schedule, typically fully in advance (for 8 weeks) or half in advance and half at the four weeks in (for the 12 week set). Common objectives include learning to read music, developing the ability to learn simple tunes from music, understanding musical context, basic technique, hand and body positioning. Teens are often interested in this series in order to support their independent exploration of music, other commonly interested students include adults with some musical background but wanting a little more knowledge to support their independent exploration. 

For parents

This is an 8- or 12-week session oriented towards parents of piano students (they do not have to be with me) so the parents can have some experience with what their children are learning. We cover some piano basics such as reading music, associating written music with keyboard notes, proper body positioning at the keyboard, practicing techniques, musical notation, rhythm and keys, and some simple tunes. If you are interested in learning all of the above except the practical (played) aspect, with add-ins such as effective practicing and the developmental benefits of appropriate piano learning and how to support this in your child, please take a look at the Musical Context for Parents course on my Theory page.

I want to know…..

A set number of lessons individually tailored to accomplish a set goal. These are offered to anyone, new pianist or experienced, up to Level 9 Royal Conservatory.

Summer lessons

Offered over the months of July and August for anyone interested in taking lessons over this period. The lesson schedule is pre-determined and fees are paid in their entirety in advance. These sets of lessons can be used to extend the traditional lessons year, to experience a shorter set of lessons, or to accomplish a set objective. Registration and scheduling begin in February, it is recommended to contact me by the middle of May for the best scheduling options. Highschool students with a developing interest in music are often interested in this option to use the summer respite from their highschool studies to get a basic understanding of music and keyboard to support their independent musical explorations. 

Special Situations

There exist many exceptional situations which call for individualised organization outside of the above categories. If this might apply to you and lack of such individualized planning would present a possible barrier to your participation in music lessons please reach out for discussion so we can collaborate on an arrangement which will meet your situational as well as musical needs. 

One exceptional situation that I frequently run into is that of children and youth deemed “special needs” by our society who wish to participate in music lessons. In recognition of the additional challenges these individuals face in participating in many aspects of our society in the ways forced upon them by our society I offer extra flexibility in timing, commitment, and payments for music lessons, so if the “exceptionality” situation applies to your child and the commitment required for a full semester is intimidating please reach out so we can discuss your situation and possible alternatives to the standard commitment and payment schedule.

Additional Notes

Minimum age for lessons is 5. There is no upper age limit.

Within the above age restriction all are welcome.

All lessons are offered online. In order to participate in this the student requires a fast (minimum 25 Mbps upload and download), stable, internet connection and a device with a minimum 10” screen size, camera and microphone. I have found online lessons to be quite helpful for students and their families in managing their busy lives as it eliminates travel time as well as reduces the number of missed lessons resultant from illness and weather.

With appropriate interest from my students I provide for studio recitals at semester-end. These are typically online.

I do also support in-person performances for those of my students who are interested. I am currently physically located in the Ottawa area and thus can attend myself at live performances in this region. For students in other regions we discuss how live performances can be realized. 

For those who are interested I support participation in both online and in-person Royal Conservatory examinations up to and including Level 9.

Questions?

Please reach out via my contact form (below), directly to my email at Erika.Gomez@musicaldreamspianostudio.ca, or by telephone at 1-403-472-8405

What next?

If after any outstanding questions you might have are answered you feel you might be interested in registering with the studio the first step is to schedule a complimentary “meet and greet” appointment where I meet with the potential student and their parent/guardian (if applicable) so we can meet, get a feel for each other, and discuss objectives. If after that meeting there is still interest and I also deem there would be a good match then we discuss lesson scheduling, confirm fees and payment scheduling, and off we go! Registration is open at any time, but I do start fall scheduling in June.

I look forward to chatting!

Sincerely,

(Ms.) Erika

Erika.Gomez@MusicalDreamsPianoStudio.ca

(403) 472-8405