School Policy
Teaching Philosophy (Michael Kravchuk - Founder): I have been a piano teacher for 16 years. I have developed an approach to piano lessons that works with my strengths and personality. I focus on 3 things:
1. Technique: development of finger/wrist strength, dexterity, form, posture, and accuracy.
2. Improvisation: learning the language and structure of music in practical application.
3. Repertoire: Piano literature in many different styles with a focus on sight-reading. Important notes: I focus on learning to read music - which means I assign many easy pieces to learn every week. This may seem as slow progress to some parents - but learning to read piano music takes a long time and skipping important steps is not a good idea in the long term. Think of it as learning to speak in another language. The language of sheet music.
I work with a 90% rule: Each piece only needs to be learned to 90% - because making it absolutely perfect will slow down progress. Recital/competition pieces are exceptions - those will need to be 100%.
Although I’ve had a lot of success teaching many kinds of students, each with different personalities and characters, I understand that my teaching style and personality may not be a good fit for everyone. I encourage you to find a piano teacher that best suits your educational needs. Do not worry, I will not be offended.