Piano lessons for all, with a focus on accessibility and fun, but also excellence through music

The Student and Tutor reviewed three piano pieces: Bach's Minuet in G, "Wind in the Willows," and Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, discussing dynamics, stylistic interpretation, and effective practice strategies. They also practiced fundamental scale, arpeggio, and chord progression exercises in C major and G major, with the Tutor introducing the Circle of Fifths for transposition. The Student's homework is to practice the first five keys of the Circle of Fifths for the fundamental exercises.

Student and Tutor had an introductory piano session where they discussed the Student's background, goals to strengthen music theory, and overall piano technique. They practiced major scales, arpeggios, and chords, delving into the theoretical construction of scales and chords, including inversions and a chord progression. The Tutor suggested practicing these fundamental exercises in all twelve keys as a future learning objective and offered to share materials.

Student and Tutor engaged in a comprehensive piano lesson focusing on jazz improvisation and theory. They reviewed the student's performance of a Debussy piece, discussing musicality and rhythmic density. The session also covered essential jazz concepts such as scale-chord relationships, 2-5-1 voicings and licks, and the structure of jazz performances, with follow-up recommendations for ear training apps and learning songs by ear.

Student and Tutor reviewed a new song composition, focusing on refining its rhythm, notation, and chord placement using music software. They corrected several rhythmic and lyrical misalignments, experimented with notation techniques like fermatas and triplets, and discussed best practices for musical phrasing. Educational follow-up included the Student continuing to compose new songs and exploring alternative digital music tools for their iPad.

The student and tutor reviewed fundamental guitar techniques, including strumming, chord formation, and finger placement. They practiced forming basic chords, discussed tuning methods using both ear and an app, and learned to read chord diagrams and tablature for playing melodies. The session concluded with an emphasis on consistent practice for improvement.

The Student and Tutor reviewed two piano pieces, "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night," focusing on hand positions, key signatures, and effective practice strategies for challenging sections. They then delved into fundamental music theory, covering how to read chord symbols, construct major, minor, and seventh chords, and understand the structure of major scales through whole and half steps. The Student plans to continue practicing and will schedule the next session as needed.