Finding your Voice at the piano

Embodiment, mindfulness and care: a holistic playing and teaching method

My sound is something I care for. Although I shape my sound, I also carry it carefully, as though it were something fragile. My sound is also a personal expression: as I play, I speak and I am then heard. As such, I need to understand how to make my sound, which requires an exploration of its many aspects, including the physical, mental and emotional. However, the beautiful way this develops through different habits, personal preferences and experiences is something that is completely unique and forms my voice.

Over my twenty years as a piano teacher, my teaching practise has developed to notice and honour the uniqueness of a student and work with them to unearth and explore their method of playing. My understanding of different body movement methods, most notably the Feldenkrais Method and yoga, has contributed to my ability to notice a student’s physical preferences or habits (good or bad) that, for them, define the way they play. My meditation training and teaching enables my practise to then unearth mental aspects - a student’s ability to concentrate on the music score, or their awareness of how they move or sound. This perhaps then unearths emotional aspects relating to a student’s sense of self as a player, their confidence as an expressive voice, or their general wellbeing as a unique individual. My extensive professional experience, research and training means that these nuanced and personal aspects may be considered in the scope of piano playing. This is carried out with extreme respect, care and space and is constantly informed and updated by my ongoing professionalism, research and development. Moreover, my professional performing of recent piano repertoire, with its roots in classical technique, contributes further knowledge of ergonomically healthy techniques with a focus on sound production, stamina and individual expression.

Depending on what you are looking to gain from your piano playing practice, I will work with you to explore what is possible and nurture your voice.

I am truly grateful for every student I have worked with.