Positively Piano Studio provides unique learning experience
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Hannah Salamon is passionate about piano, both teaching and performing.
The 21-year-old opened Positively Piano Studio, west of Tillsonburg on Pigram Line, in September 2016 after receiving her elementary level pedagogy certificate through the Royal Conservatory of Music, allowing her to teach elementary students ranging from no experience in piano - just beginning - up to Royal Conservatory Level 4, which completes the elementary level of piano. Levels 5-8 are intermediate, and Levels 9+ advanced.
"Students of all ages, not just young students," she noted.
"My goal with opening my studio in this area was to provide excellent private piano and theory instruction primarily in Oxford and Elgin Counties," said Salamon, who accepts students from Woodstock, Tillsonburg, Aylmer, Ingersoll, and surrounding areas. "I feel, in this rural area, there is a need for more high quality private music teachers offering the same level of teaching that is often more available in cities.
"I've had quite a good response, there are a lot of enthusiastic parents in this area who are really passionate, especially about piano education. It's been a building process - I've been doing a lot of advertising and spreading the word, reaching out to local groups, schools, home school groups, private schools, and I'm looking forward to continuing to build my studio."
Salamon can be contacted through her studio website, Positively Piano Studio (positivelypiano.com), or her performance website (hannahsalamon.com).
"I believe that learning music is a very positive endeavour and I try to be a very positive person myself," said Salamon, who wants to distinguish herself as a unique teacher because she is a member of the Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association, a professional body of music teachers.
"I also have a website and a really professional presence, and I'm very easy to access. Prospective parents and students can learn a lot about me before coming to my studio."
Her studio is also unique, she said, using curriculum that integrates theory with the music. She even has a few students who come just for theory.
"Often piano is taught just learning the pieces, and some technique, but your work is not done - sight reading, rhythm, and especially theory is very neglected. So I'm very passionate about theory. Students learn theory in their music and in their books, so they understand the language of music right from the very beginning."
Theory starts with note reading on the piano, keyboard geography, rhythm, note-drawing, writing melodies and analyzing pieces.
"It is the language of music. It's one thing to be able to just play music, it's another thing to be able to understand exactly what the chords are, the rhythms, and the whole structure of the piece that you're playing."
Salamon, who is currently working on Level 10, is a piano performance and pedagogy student through the Royal Conservatory of Music, studying with Dr. Michael Berkovsky in Toronto; Karen Rowell in London; and Tobias Cramm (via Skype) in Switzerland.
"Currently I am working towards completing ARCT diplomas in piano performance, pedagogy, theory and history. Those are Associate (Bachelor level) diplomas."
After Associate comes Licentiate, which is a Masters level in performance. But first she wants to specialize in teaching the elementary level for a while, get experience, then move up to teaching intermediate.
"My students come on a weekly basis. So it's a balancing act between all my studying - basically my life is teaching and studying. But they are very correlated because what you learn from your own studies, then you can teach your students right away. And I learn so much from my students because they have incredible imagination and creativity. They teach me how to be a better teacher because I focus as a teacher on the individual learning style of each student. I never use just a set curriculum, or a set book. The parents and student come to me for an interview - I'll kind of get to know them, and what their levels are and their interest, and where they'd like to go in music.
"In the first month of lessons, I will learn how the child learns, what motivates them, whether they're a visual learner, aural learner; whether they are very physically active. So that helps me select the right curriculum for them."
She focuses on strengthening weaknesses and developing strong points.
"It's a very rewarding experience, as a teacher, because I'm very privileged to have very hard working students. They love coming to their lesson, they're looking forward to learning, they always come with extra things that they've done, so it's very satisfying. They want to learn more and they advance very quickly."
Students can start taking piano lessons as young as 4-6 years old.
"Age 4 or 5 is a very good age to start. I have a special program that I use for children when they're not reading words yet."
Salamon started learning piano at the age of 7.
"My mother completed her Grade 8 Royal Conservatory exam when she was 13, so we were raised in a very musical home. I have three younger sisters as well and they are all very eager, dedicated pianists. My dad doesn't play piano, but he loves music.
"So we've been raised in a music loving home from a young age. We took lessons from our mother at 6 or 7, then we went to an outside teacher. Our parents always had music playing in our house, we love listening to music and watching videos of our favourite artists in classical and sacred music. And we always went to orchestra concerts in London, Toronto and Waterloo. So that always inspired us every day to continually work hard and enjoy our music."
Salamon encourages her students to practice on a daily basis.
"When students begin with me, they commit to lessons for a year. Learning an instrument involves a commitment... you couldn't learn to play a piano well in a month or two. It takes at least a year. You're playing pieces right away, but it takes a couple of years to develop good skills.
"An important aspect of learning to play an instrument is daily practice, so with young students who are just beginning to learn piano, ages five, six, seven, two 10-minute practices a day is what they need usually. Then it goes up to 15 minutes twice a day. So it's a matter of creating a schedule, which helps a student develop a daily practice routine so they advance every day."
An inspiring teacher, she said, who teaches them music they like and shows them how exciting it is, helps students 'love it.'
Her goal is to equip the students with a well-rounded musical education so that they have the tools to be self-learners.
"So they can learn any piece on their own because they know how to learn. If you only teach students by copying you, or if they have to depend on you for everything, then they could never pick up their favourite pop tunes at the local store and learn them themselves. I develop their listening skills so they can learn by ear - if they hear a favourite song on the radio, then they can go play it on the piano. Or they have good visual skills, so they can just go pick up the latest piece of music and learn it."
It's something they can learn that they can enjoy for the rest of their lives, she said.
Learning piano is not just for children, however. Any age can learn to play piano, and especially for older students, it can be a great relaxation tool.
"There are also a lot of seniors who never had the time to play the piano, but once they retire they want to play the piano and that could really help them with their cognitive abilities, to keep their minds sharp and busy. Learning new things is great at any age."
Having a piano at home is a requirement for Salamon's students.
"Many parents, you don't want to invest in a piano unless you know your child's going to like the piano. So the important thing is that there are many upright pianos that are available for free. Kijiji... and I have a source where I get my pianos - they are giving away free pianos all the time. That's an important resource for me as a teacher for my students."
Salamon encourages students to use fully-weighted keyboards. Those can cost $1,000, she said, so she recommends getting a free or inexpensive piano.
"There's a lot of them.
"My main goal is for each of my students to develop. Whether they take music for a year, or it's going to be something they want to do for many years. Students develop differently - some like performing at a younger age, some it's the other way around."
Salamon loves to perform, even more so as she advances through the Royal Conservatory.
"The purpose of learning music is to not only enjoy it yourself, but to share it with other people. And live music is something that you can't transfer to a recording or a video. The emotions that you can convey from a live performance are totally different from what you experience through a video. That's why live recitals and performances - in many different places, whether it's retirement homes, concerts, church - are the most important way to enjoy music."