Hi! My name’s Nicola Cantan and I have been teaching piano in Dublin, Ireland since 2005.
When I first started teaching, I was teaching the way I was taught. Nothing wrong with that right? It got me to where I was.
What gradually started to become more and more apparent though, was how much of music had been left out of my own piano lessons. No one had ever encouraged me to compose, taught me to play pop tunes by ear or allowed me to improvise and embellish melodies.
All I could do was play classical pieces exactly as the composer intended. (Oh, and scales. I could play lots of scales quickly and accurately in many different permutations and configurations.)
I decided this wasn’t what I wanted to pass on to the next generation.
Well, I did want to pass on this ability – but also so much more! I don’t want to throw out what’s working, but I think the standard piano lesson format could use a makeover.
What I do at Colourful Keys is to open students up to their own musical journey. What’s going to really inspire each student is going to be different. My job is to open the doors.
My students perform confidently, write their own music, play with great technique, get great exam results, and enjoy collaborating with other musicians. They play jazzy pieces & pop songs as well as the great classical masters.
This is what I call a well-rounded musical education.
It’s a big wide musical world, and I want my students to have all the tools needed to go exploring.
What I stand for as a teacher…
- I believe in providing valuable piano lessons that are fun, motivating and inspiring.
- I believe in piano lessons that focus not only on learning necessary skills but on enjoying music and building a lifelong appreciation for it. I value students’ individuality and personality and work hard to achieve student satisfaction.
- I continue my own learning and research to ensure that what I teach is relevant and interesting, and make it a priority to keep lessons fresh.
- I believe in exciting lessons and piano students who are passionate and confident about learning the piano.
- I believe my program is unique and I continue to tailor it to each individual student’s needs. My students will always be my inspiration to strive for perfection in my teaching.
I went through about 13 years of music education before I knew anything about improvisation, playing from lead sheets, composing or how pop music is constructed. When I finally started learning about all these things I felt pretty cheated. Why had no one introduced me to all of this great stuff?
I don’t want to cheat my students out of anything that could help them connect with music-making.
Want to see some more?
Read the piano teaching blog to get inspired.
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