

Brendan's profile and their contact details have been verified by our experts
Brendan
- Rate $43
- Response 1h
-
Students11
Number of students Brendan has taught since their arrival at Superprof
Number of students Brendan has taught since their arrival at Superprof

$43/h
1st lesson free
- Piano
- Keyboard
- Synthesizer
Lessons for all levels from a professional classical and jazz pianist: expert in piano/keyboard technique, score interpretation, and improvisation. Improve technique/ear, prepare for exams/auditions!
- Piano
- Keyboard
- Synthesizer
Lesson location
Super Prof
Brendan is one of our best Piano tutors. They have a high-quality profile, verified qualifications, a quick response time, and great reviews from students!
About Brendan
I am a professional pianist with a degree in jazz and popular music piano performance, and a master's degree in classical piano performance. I gig on the regular in the city playing pop, jazz, and classical music! I play in all genres professionally. As a pop pianist/keyboardist, I have played with pop and rock artists such as Calvin Love, Aladean Kheroufi, Trevor McNeely, Justine Vandergrift, brother Eamon McGrath, and more. As a jazz musician, I perform solo piano improvisations and jazz standards, lead a trio, and have played as sideman to Aretha Tillotson, Jacob Do, Joel Jeschke, Jon Guenter, and more. I play as a classical piano soloist, and collaborative pianist with vocalists such as Erin Selin. I have a number of recordings out as leader or co-leader including "Closet Demon" with saxophonist Leah Harman, and "4 Improvisations February 21 2022" an album of solo piano improvisations. I also feature as a sideman on Aretha Tillotson's debut record, "Introducing Aretha Tillotson". I am featured as keyboardist and co-writer on brother Eamon McGrath's "Bells of Hope". My technical teaching is grounded in the Taubman approach, and I especially love using the music of J.S. Bach, Béla Bartók, and Charlie Parker to help students improve at the piano.
About the lesson
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- +6
levels :
Beginner
Intermediate
Advanced
Proficient
Children
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
My teaching methods are based on emphasizing rhythm, audiation, and technique. My motto is "the simplest method is usually the best method."
I help with the following:
- Technique -
Whether you want to improve your scales/arpeggios, avoid injury, or just make your repertoire feel and sound better, I can assist with technique at the piano. My approach is grounded in the teachings of Dorothy Taubman, Abby Whiteside, George Kochevitsky, and others.
- Repertoire -
I am able to assist with score interpretation. Having done a master's degree in classical piano performance, I can help with the ins and outs of score interpretation.
- Composition -
If you want to compose for the instrument I can assist with that. As a composition teacher I focus on score study, guided listening, and understanding the mechanics of the instrument you're writing for. I specialize in composing for the piano.
- Piano exams -
A piano examination can be great for people who want to learn an instrument with lots of structure. As a teacher, I can guide you through how to learn repertoire quickly and with quality. I can also help you retain a strong technique and feel like you're actually progressing through the tiered repertoire.
Get in touch if you want to explore great works of the piano repertoire in a structured way!
- Auditions -
I have successfully auditioned for both jazz and classical programs and residences. Get in touch with me if you're looking to get into a school or program, and you want some guidance.
Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
Brendan is a compassionate human being, an exceptional communicator, and a deeply committed artist. He always guides his students, as well as colleagues who seek his advice, with patience, humor, and deep insight. He has a great ear for musical detail, the ability to diagnose and solve technical issues, and the ability to distill complex music theory concepts into smaller, comprehensible bits for the uninitiated. I cannot recommend Brendan highly enough as a music educator.
Goodness gracious I could write a lengthy essay about how working and taking lessons from Brendan has improved my music skills but here are a few: 1) He is so patient. He does not rush me and does not expect me to play the concepts that we have done in lessons correctly on the spot. He understands that we are just students and learning but does these exercises to introduce the student. 2) Accessibility! He responds in a timely manner! I occasionally message Brendan at an unholy hour and typically he responds. It is really helpful when im practicing and have a couple of questions that have come up in my own practice. 3) Material and content of lessons. Ive never had jazz piano lessons before ( It was classical piano before) and the discoveries we make during lessons and out of lessons I feel are applicable to any jazz piano player. If im not particularly feeling a topic, Brendan will pick up on it and steer a little to try to introduce the information correctly in a different way. But eventually I will be listening and practicing on my own and what we had discussed, that wasnt interesting to me, will come up and then it makes sense why he covered it. I dont feel like my time is being tossed around when we are in lessons. We have fun during our lessons and have great discussion but it somehow ties back to the lesson of the day.
Brendan is an excellent teacher and musician. I've had lessons from many piano teachers in the past, none of whom I've felt have had such a deep knowledge of both piano technique and musicology; learning from Brendan feels like a series of revelations you wish you knew sooner. His enthusiasm for the piano is contagious, and he's approachable, friendly, and a great listener - lessons with him are always a blast. If you're looking to improve your piano playing and/or musicianship, you're in safe hands with Brendan!
Brendan is a very good teacher. I’ve been playing piano for the last 28 years. He has been a source of motivation, structured my practice, broke down complex concepts and simplified them for me. I think I’m in a much better spot and his constant help and support has been invaluable.
Brendan has been incredibly helpful in helping me piece together technique and theory to accelerate my jazz playing. He is able to come up with exercises that don't feel like chores to build foundational skills while also helping me explore my sound in different sylistic contexts.
Brendan is a piano teacher who encourages our sons interests, and challenges him. This year my son has more initiative to practice and truely seems to enjoy piano. Brendan is a great piano teacher and a talented piano player.
Brendan is amazing!!!! Brendan was my first piano teacher and truly helped me gain key concepts about playing the piano, but also about music in general. He taught me about scales, chords, technique, repertoire, improvisation, interpretation, harmony, and analysis. He pushed me to develop my own practice and helped me understand myself as a learner. He also encouraged me to gain my own understand of music through the venues that most interested me. Learning with him was fun! He is a super accommodating, kind person who listens to your specific needs as a learner and takes them seriously.
Brendan and I met just over five years ago and even then he was an outstanding musician, pianist and individual. We quickly became colleagues. I've always admired Brendan's dedication, work ethic, enthusiasm and acute attention to detail with everything he does musically and in life. I know Brendan McGrath to be an amazing teacher; he's extremely great at explaining things, has an extensive knowledge of the piano, and notices small things a lot of others normally wouldn't. I've learned a lot from Brendan.
Brendan and I have worked together for over five years, as a duo and in various quartet ensembles. He is a brilliant pianist and educator who is dedicated to his craft.
Having taken several lessons from Brendan myself, his lessons are clear, concise, and gives his students the material they need to succeed. I would recommend Brendan to anyone from any musical background and skill level that is interested in learning and having fun along the way!View more recommendations
Rates
Rate
- $43
Pack rates
- 5h: $180
- 10h: $361
online
- $43/h
free lessons
This first lesson offered with Brendan will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.
- 30mins
Brendan's Video
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