Hi, I’m Jackie, and I love playing piano and teaching piano lessons.
In addition to teaching piano, I’m the founder of HomeSchool ThinkTank and the host of the HomeSchool ThinkTank Parenting Podcast. I’m also a licensed NM physical education teacher and am currently pursuing certification as a life coach.
Rather than creating another website for piano lessons, I’m simply sharing information about my piano lessons from HomeSchool ThinkTank’s website.
How I Teach Piano Lessons
Rather than having students come to my home, I teach them in their homes. In essence, I am a traveling piano teacher. If you live in the Four Corners near Durango, Colorado, or Farmington, NM, and want to take piano lessons with me, you can email me at jackie@homeschoolthinktank.com. Please add the words “piano lessons” to the subject line.
My Teaching Philosophy for Piano Lessons
For my piano lessons, I have the philosophy of connection first, then education, then community.
- My connection with the student.
- Education about piano & music.
- Community with other piano students around music.
When teaching piano, I first focus on creating a connection with my student. To teach your child effectively, I believe that I need to first connect with your child. In our first three lessons, my number one goal is to create a bond with your child. Certainly, I will teach your child what I can about piano in the first lessons, but my first priority is connecting with your child.
After this, we will focus on piano education next. When meeting with your child, I want to learn what the child already knows about playing piano. I first want to make playing the piano fun with young beginning students. We may or may not use a piano book in the first few lessons.
Finally, we will incorporate a sense of community into your children’s lessons. My goal is to help my students, and their parents, get to know one another by attending local musical community events, gathering together both in person and online, and playing piano in public places at various times.
A Local Low-Key Performance
While I have been playing piano off & on since childhood, I have become nearly obsessed with playing the piano over the last few years. One of my goals for personal growth is to play piano reasonably well in public at least once a quarter.
In reality, this was and is a big goal for me. Until the little performance below, I hadn’t played in public since I was a child. I led up to this by preparing. First, I needed to know my music fairly well. Next, I sometimes play live on my personal Facebook profile account for practice. Finally, I set a deadline to play in public. The first time I played in public, I was so nervous that my hands trembled as I played. I was much more relaxed on this second performance at a different venue and did well enough to share it.
Learning how to work through my nerves has been a valuable lesson. I will also help your child learn to play and work through their nerves. I believe that learning new things and getting outside of your comfort zone are vital to personal growth.
Piano Should Be Fun!
Here’s the deal, I will only teach students who WANT TO LEARN. That said, I understand that some kids need a chance to overcome their fear of trying something new – like piano lessons. They might even need a chance to get comfortable meeting someone new – like the piano teacher. I will try to help a hesitant new student to overcome their own discomfort with this new “piano thing.” However, after a while, if the student is uninterested, I will cease lessons.
Sometimes though, we need to mix things up to keep piano interesting. While we can stick with one book or method for a while, if the student loses interest, we’ll re-evaluate and take a different approach to keep things interesting.
I’ve had some TERRIBLE piano teachers in my life and some EXCELLENT teachers too. I strive to be an excellent teacher who has a positive impact on the lives of my students.
I’m teaching piano lessons because I want to share the JOY that playing piano brings me.
Keeping Piano Fun!
While we are still working through the first piano book, this student is clearly bored with songs like Old McDonald. That’s when I found a piece of music that is interesting to my student. Now, we’re mixing up the regular lessons from his piano book while working on one of my student’s favorite songs.
While it’s important to work on the fundamentals, it’s my belief that the student must also have fun to stay interested in learning piano. That’s what the video below illustrates.
Watch This Video with My Piano Student
Mindset Coaching with Piano Lessons
As you or your child learns how to play piano, there will be times when learning how to play the piano feels hard.
As a teacher, I believe it is my job to help a student learn how to overcome challenges.
I firmly believe that a person’s ability to manage their mind is vital to self-growth. As a result, I am currently in the process of earning my life coach certification.
I will integrate my life coaching skills as I help you or your child learn how to play piano. This is a tremendous bonus as the skills I teach my students are transferrable to all areas of a person’s life.
You can learn more about my life coaching sessions here.
Do You Want Me to Teach Your Child How to Play Piano?
If you think my piano lessons might be a good fit for you or your kids, book a call or email me at jackie@homeschoolthinktank.com.
While I don’t share my phone number on HomeSchool ThinkTank’s website, if someone shared my phone number with you, please feel free to call me.
I look forward to meeting you and your family.
When booking, please type “Piano Lessons” in the notes.
Are You Already a Student?
If you’re a student & need to pay for one or more lessons, you can pay through PayPal. Simply pay our agreed-upon price and include the dates you are paying for in the notes.
Available Piano Lesson Times
I have the following times available for piano lessons in Farmington. I will also consider teaching in Durango and other surrounding areas, but you’ll need to book a call with me to see if we can work out a common time.
Farmington Times
- Thursdays from 3:00 to 3:30
- Thursdays from 5:45 to 6:15
- I will likely open new piano slots in the upcoming months on another day of the week. If you want me to add you to my waiting list, please email me at jackie@homeschoolthinktank.com.
Pricing
I do not share my prices publicly. While I am not the cheapest teacher, I am an excellent teacher who truly cares about my students, and my services are priced accordingly. Please call for more information.
Cancellation Policy
I have reserved time in my calendar for each piano student. I appreciate full payment for the time reserved for you or your child.
Scheduled Time Off
- April 13, 2023: It’s likely we won’t have lessons. I’ll let current students know soon.
Piano Books
My young students use Alfred’s All-In-One Course for Children.
I recommend Alfred’s books whether you are an adult or a child. I’ve been using them to learn from for over 20 years and have never looked back.
You can find more of Alfred’s piano books and levels on Amazon.
More Piano Music I’m Currently Practicing
While this isn’t a comprehensive list by any means, you’ll see some of my favorite music I’m currently learning to play below.
Racing Against the Sunset by Philip Wesley
Over a decade ago, I started learning this piece and actually played it quite well. However, I quit practicing it and am now learning it again.
Philip Wesley is left-handed, which makes his music more difficult for right-handed players.
Philip Wesley’s music stirs my soul. While I can play all of this version, I have a lot of room for improvement. Hand’s down, Philip Wesley is my favorite pianist.
Over a decade ago, I drove 7 hours to watch Philip Wesley and Michelle McLaughlin play in Phoenix.
Human by Ragin’ Bone Man
The music for this variation of the piano cover below isn’t currently available. As a result, I purchased Ragin’ Bone Man’s copyrighted music through www.musicnotes.com.
With the help of my piano teacher, I am learning this very complicated music.
What’s complicated about it? There are five chord variations, and the rhythm and syncopation are difficult to learn. While working through this music has been challenging, I’ve learned so much by pursuing it, and eventually, it will be incredibly fun to play.
Ragin’ Bone Man’s Video
You should be glad I didn’t try to sing this. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. But this is such a fantastic video that I want to share it. I love the lyrics in this song.
Ophelia by The Lumineers
I’m learning how to play Ophelia by the request of my oldest daughter. This is Jenny Kaufmann’s cover of Ophelia. She is an amazing pianist. I purchased Lumineer’s copyrighted music through www.musicnotes.com.
Piano Printables
At this time, this is the only piano printable available through HomeSchool ThinkTank. There will likely be more in the future.
I created this because it’s easier for students to learn how to read and write music on large lines.
You may print or use the image if you keep the HomeSchool ThinkTank Logo and URL on the bottom and link back to this page.
Music I Plan to Learn In 2023
The links below are covers of the originals, and they’re excellent. I also have some other music in mind, but I’ll add these pieces to the list later.
2018-2022+. HomeSchool ThinkTank, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
2018-2023+. HomeSchool ThinkTank, LLC. All Rights Reserved.