Piano Works In Progress is built on the belief that everyone has the potential to make music. No prior qualification is needed. Music is in all of us.

Adults who study the piano learn differently from children who take lessons. The time commitment is different. A child may have ten years to learn to play, but adults have the present moment, now. Sometimes the only time spent at the piano during the week is the hour at the lesson.

This is exactly why precious lesson time should be mindfully spent. As a guide for teaching, I use a framework that touches on five subjects: keyboard skills, sight reading, foundations, repertoire and improvisation. The framework is customized for each pianist and provides a road map that is musically creative and grounded in fundamentals. It is the plan that tells a pianist what they have accomplished and what they are going to learn next.

Studying the piano is meditative. It also stimulates the mind and challenges our motor skills. But that is only part of the benefit. I believe music is made to be shared. Within a few months of study, pianists have the option to join Works In Progress Sundays, to share the piece they are working on with other pianists. It expands the learning environment to include support and encouragement from one’s peers.

Whether you are taking your first piano lessons or picking it up again after many years, studying the piano will enrich your life. You will find the people you work with (and play for) have a generosity of spirit that comes from the awe and wonder of making music.