Lessons take place in a dedicated teaching room at Charlotte’s home in Caversham Heights, Reading. She also offers online tuition via Zoom.
They last 55 minutes and are weekly or on an ad-hoc basis, Monday to Friday. Lessons can also be on an ad-hoc basis for those who want lessons less than once a fortnight or work irregular hours.
Weekly lessons are recommended for beginners, although this also depends on your own circumstances and Charlotte’s availability. Less frequent lessons are more appropriate for those who have been playing a while, and advanced students usually have lessons on an ad-hoc basis.
Students can learn a wide range of piano music, from arrangements of well-known tunes for beginners, to popular notated jazz styles, to the traditional classical piano repertoire. Charlotte recognises that everyone has different tastes in music and when choosing teaching material will always be guided by the interests and aims of the student.
Charlotte understands that for nearly all students the piano is just a hobby and needs to fit around other commitments as well as family and social life. She knows that occasionally a week will pass without the piano being touched, and structures lessons to take account of this.
Lessons are different for everyone, although they are based on playing pieces that progressively develop musical and technical skills. For those wanting to do exams; technical exercises, aural training, sight-reading and music theory are all part of the syllabus, and are therefore included in lessons. For those playing purely for pleasure, developing these skills in addition to playing pieces can be helpful, but is by no means obligatory.
As well as piano lessons, Charlotte teaches music theory to those who want to study it for pleasure or need to pass grade 5 theory as a prerequisite of higher grade piano exams. For grades 1-5, this is usually done as part of regular piano lessons, although Charlotte also offers intensive theory lessons for students wanting to study theory beyond grade 5. She particularly enjoys working with those wanting to take the piano teaching diploma (for which grade 6 theory is a prerequisite), and offers practical support to inexperienced teachers embarking on their career, as well as providing coaching through the entire teaching diploma process.