I’m an adult learner who started out on the piano without a background in music. I’m pleased to say that after doing some searching in my area, I found Andy and decided to give him a try. I like that Andy started off my journey by talking to me to find out what my interests in music and expectations were. It showed me that Andy was considering my needs and goals even from the outset.
Andy has been very communicative and quite lenient with rescheduling, which is something I appreciate, as my current lifestyle is hectic and can cause a lot of scheduling conflicts.
I can tell from the way that Andy approaches teaching that he wants me to build strong fundamentals and a solid grasp of music theory so that I’m able to understand and appreciate the music I play, instead of just learning to perform pieces mechanically.
Andy’s passion for piano is evident in all his interactions. The man’s eyes light up whenever he’s talking about music theory. As an example, he once got so excited about explaining chords, he went a full 30 minutes explaining them in various ways to help me understand them. I had wanted to see if I could catch on to what he was talking about, but 30 minutes went by quickly along with the realization that I had retained/understood very little of it.
As the lesson closed, I was embarrassed and admitted this to Andy. What did he do? Instead of ending the lesson as scheduled, he gave me 30 minutes of his own time to discuss material that I could work with that week (side note: Andy performs in events and has to practice his own material as well). Was he obligated to do this? Absolutely not. The whole situation could have been avoided if I had just communicated that I was lost early on. What makes this astonishing to me is that- not only did he give me additional time outside of what was scheduled- he was also very patient and understanding throughout the whole process.
Even without the additional time from that session, there is also the fact that Andy openly offers to answer any questions I have via text, in between our lessons. I would say that learning with Andy has been an absolute bargain, but I think it would be insulting to frame him in those terms; it is because he legitimately comes across as somebody who cares about me as a fellow human being (instead of a business transaction) and as someone who wants me to excel and find fulfillment in piano.
Thanks Andy!