PianoJam is the name,

but not the only game...

Lessons here at PianoJam are not only on the piano! Though lessons in contemporary piano (also Hammond B3 organ and synthesizers, beginner to advanced/professional levels) are my specialty, I also offer contemporary lessons in:

Also Lessons in:

Real 'jamming' for fun and profit!

The evolution of my teaching methods and techniques has been developed through over 20 years of interaction with my pupils. Most of my older students have had a background in the Royal Conservatory method and found that even after years of playing, they still needed a book to play, and then they only played classical conservatory music (and maybe a Christmas or ragtime tune). If they weren't passionate about the music, they would just lose interest and stop playing altogether.

I believe classical training to be invaluable and I highly recommend it for any beginner. However it seems that it's not for everyone...

Many of the parents of my younger pupils have contacted me after trying the conservatory route and decided that it wasn't working for their children. They wanted something different to keep the youngsters' interest in music alive.

I specialize in teaching improvisation and composition - without the detailed scoring - and 'jamming'; where people just sit together without any music and play in a variety of contemporary styles. With this approach, I am often asked to teach lessons to other music teachers, so that they might share these techniques with their pupils!

At PianoJam, rather than working towards the goal of festivals and exams, we work towards the completion of a CD of the student's own original music, as well as some of their popular favourites. This work, as well as all lessons, takes place in the PianoJam Recording Studio. Sometimes it's one CD per year, sometimes more! This has been extremely popular because younger students make gifts of them for familly and friends (grandparents love them at Christmas - they make great stocking stuffers) and many of my adult students have used them for fun, song contests and audition submissions. With practice, as they learn and develop confidence in their musical abilities, many have recorded demos for paying gigs at social occasions like weddings or in clubs and coffee houses.