The first skill that every student must develop is the ability to find and play notes at the piano. But once a student can play simple pieces, the musical direction that a student chooses to take can be very unique and individualized.   To help students follow their personal interests, we offer three “learning streams” (or areas of focus) that build the specific musical skills that students want to develop.

Stream 1:  Piano Performance
This stream reflects the more traditional music lessons that most people are familiar with. Even if a student adds other musical skills to their piano playing, basic performance remains an important cornerstone of nearly every student’s work.

• Main focus:  playing written music
• Lesson topics:  piano technique, how to play expressively and proficiently
• Musical style:  mainly classical, but can involve jazz, popular music, etc.
• Goals:  playing increasingly difficult pieces, and optionally taking piano exams

Lead instructor Dana Baitz holds an ARCT piano performance degree (from the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto), qualifying her to teach performance at a high level.

Stream 2:  Songwriting and Theory (for post-beginners)
Supports a student’s interest in writing music, in whichever style(s) they choose. Students enrolled in the Songwriting and Theory stream continue to improve their piano performance abilities, but balance this with guidance in musical composition.

• Main focus:  composing for the piano (and/or other instruments)
• Lesson topics:  music theory (“how music works”), song analysis, writing assignments
• Musical style:  student’s choice, but often popular music
• Goals:  writing complete songs, often with a sung melody

Dana’s degree in Theory and Composition (from the University of Toronto) and her ongoing work as a film composer enables her to teach theory and songwriting.

Stream 3:  Improvisation and Vocal Accompaniment (for post-beginners)
Learn to play more spontaneously and intuitively without requiring notated music. Students may choose to sing along with their playing, or simply improvise at the piano in increasingly expressive and complex ways.

• Main focus:  playing songs using little to no notated music (including “by ear”)
• Lesson topics:  reading “lead sheets,” chord construction and voicings, playing accompaniments and solos
• Musical style:  usually jazz and popular music
• Goals:  playing sheet music “at first sight,” improvising and playing while singing

Dana’s contributions to over a dozen recorded albums and my ongoing performance with a jazz quintet enables her to teach improvisation effectively.