The Method
Teaching piano students and coaching them in their musical and pianistic development is my expertise.
On all levels of playing I pay a lot of attention to the development of the piano technique and the musicality.
In my vision technique always serves the music, it is never a goal in itself.
The remarkable results my students and I achieve together, are the result of my special approach.
During the past fifteen years I have developed and perfected a very effective step by step approach for developing the pianotechnique and the musicality.
Using matching repertoire to teach in this way is of the utmost importance.
Very often I create my own lesson materials and compositions for my students.
For my unique approach I found inspiration in the well known model used for giving instructions at the elementary schools (Direct Instruction Model) and in the breathing techniques applied in playing wind instruments.
Apart from playing the piano I also learned to play wind instruments (clarinet, recorder and saxophone). This gave me extra insight in the importance of breathing techniques in musical phrasing.
I have succeeded to translate both this direct instruction model and the breathing techniques to piano education. This enables me to teach the development of the musicality very effectively.
Another very important part of the Direct Instruction model is the guided practice. This is also why pianolessons for beginners at PianolesAlmere are 60 minutes per lesson weekly.
Experience has shown me that the minimum lesson duration of 60 minutes at my studio enables my students to progress at a faster pace compared to students who receive shorter lessons. Fast results keep my students highly motivated and together with their dedicated practice at home the results are excellent!
In my lessons I do not only use a standard method or book, but that I tailor all my lessons to the individual student.
Matching my pianolessons to the student's personal interest and skill level increases their progress, expression and enjoyment in piano playing.
This repertoire may consist of various musical styles like: classical, baroque, romantic piano music, movie themes, new age, boogie woogie, blues, jazz and pop.
Most of my students remain with me for many years, often even when they go to university.
The individual piano lessons last for 60 minutes and they are given in my piano studio in Almere Muziekwijk on the Grotrian Steinweg piano and the Sauter Delta grand piano.
For my piano students I organise many concerts.
I also encourage my students to play music together, either in orchestra or with other piano students or other instrumentalists like the flute and the violin.
The concerts take place in various locations in the Netherlands.
