About Me
Welcome, and thank you for finding my website! I'm Liz, a piano and music theory teacher based in Edinburgh. I was fortunate to learn piano from the age of five up to Diploma level, and now have a few decades of experience playing piano and cello, and singing, as a soloist and in ensembles from piano quartets, choirs and symphony orchestras to a pop/rock cover band. Taking a circuitous route via a PhD in Chemistry, I have returned to my passion for making music and sharing its benefits for all, and am currently training as a Music Therapist. My fundamental belief is that music can improve lives by providing a creative and therapeutic outlet, helping our brains work in different ways, and by fostering positive social connection which is vital for our wellbeing.
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Practical Information
- I am happy to teach piano and/or music theory to children and adults from beginner level up to approximately Grade 6 (I have a PVG certificate for working with vulnerable adults and children).
- I can travel by bus or car within Edinburgh as needed or can offer a relatively central venue for lessons subject to availability, and have daytime and evening slots available.
- I can offer lessons of 30–60 minutes as needed, weekly, fortnightly or less frequently depending on your needs.
- I offer a free introductory session (up to 1 hour) to allow us to meet and consider how we might work together.
- My rates are: £14 for 30 minutes; £20 for 45 minutes; and £25 per hour. If this feels too difficult, please get in touch to discuss payment options.
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My Approach
We all have our own musical journeys, from the pieces or songs that mean most to us to the ways that we want to engage with music (playing solos or accompanying, singing, dancing, listening, composing, analysing, remixing...) I therefore believe that music teaching is as much about developing a safe relationship in which we can work with an individual's creative instincts and aims as it is about sharing information. Having experienced the relative rigidity of the Classical training approach, I am keen to allow pupils the freedom to learn in their own way, focusing on the aspects that are most meaningful to them while imparting key principles and knowledge. The important thing is to enjoy the process as well as the results! I understand how life's challenges and ups and downs in our mental wellbeing can affect our capacity to practice and learn, so I am careful not to put pressure on pupils but instead seek to cultivate a trusting relationship in which we can both be our authentic selves, faults and all! I employ this approach to my teaching at OM Music Sanctuary, a local community mental health music project that I help to run.
I think of learning music like a jigsaw: there are lots of different interconnecting parts which are all important, but no one correct order in which to build them up. Pieces of the jigsaw that we can work on include:
Technique
Making the playing experience as easy and painless as possible by considering aspects like posture, seat height, hand position and finger movements
Theory
Learning how to read and write out music and the foundations of harmony
Listening Skills
Developing the musical ear to hear details like pitch, rhythm, tonality and harmony
Improvising
Expressing our innate creativity and emotions through spontaneously created music
Historical Context
Understanding different musical styles and influences in the context of how and when they developed
Playing Pieces
Consider what kind of music you would like to play - classical, jazz, pop...? Playing solos or accompanying yourself or someone else singing?
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