1st lesson free
Isla
- Rate $38
- Response 1h
$38/h
Contact
1st lesson free
- Piano
- Keyboard
- Synthesizer
Analytical Piano Tutor 8 Years Experience 310+ Students Taught Harmonic Analysis Form Structure Theory Performance Technique All Levels Adults Welcome
- Piano
- Keyboard
- Synthesizer
Lesson location
About Isla
I am a piano tutor with 8 years of experience and a Master of Music in Piano Performance with a dissertation on harmonic ambiguity in late Debussy. I have taught over 310 students across all ages and levels, with a particular concentration of adult learners who found my theory-rich approach online and sought me out specifically. My research background means I approach even elementary teaching questions — why does this fingering work better, what makes this chord feel tense, how does this phrase want to move — with a depth of musical reasoning that many students find genuinely illuminating. I perform regularly in a duo with a flautist and have a particular affinity for the French piano repertoire which directly informs my relationship with the French language and culture I bring to this subject. I run an annual winter recital for all studio students and take considerable pride in the community this creates around shared musical experience.
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About the lesson
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- +8
levels :
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Proficient
Children
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
Graduate Student
PhD
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
My piano teaching is unusually theory-rich for a practical instrument lesson, and I make no apology for this because I have seen over eight years that students who understand what they are playing develop far faster and go far further than those who learn by rote. Every piece we study together is analysed in terms of its harmonic structure, phrase shape, and formal architecture before we begin serious technical work, because this understanding guides every interpretive and technical decision that follows. My technical vocabulary is shared with students from the beginning — I use terms like lateral motion, rotation, and weight transfer consistently so students develop a precise internal language for their own technique. For students at intermediate level and above I use score annotation systematically: fingerings, phrase marks, dynamic gradients, and pedal changes are all written into the score as a kind of map so that home practice is never vague. I have a strong interest in piano music across the twentieth century — Debussy, Ravel, Bartók, Messiaen — and I introduce this repertoire to students who are ready for it because its harmonic language expands musical thinking in ways that standard examination repertoire alone cannot achieve. Lesson scheduling in my studio is flexible because I understand that adult learners especially have complex lives, and I offer both weekly and fortnightly lesson options with clear guidance on how to make progress in each model. Practice logs are required for all students — not as surveillance but as a reflective tool that helps students understand their own learning process. Students experiencing performance nerves receive specific structured support including a graduated exposure programme and cognitive reframing strategies I have developed from reading in sport psychology. My studio policy on mobile phones is that they are welcome as recording devices and unwelcome as distractions. Every lesson ends with the student naming the most useful thing they learned that day.
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Rates
Rate
- $38
Pack rates
- 5h: $190
- 10h: $380
online
- $38/h
free lessons
This first lesson offered with Isla will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.
- 1hr
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