Warming up for my first recital after my little one was born.

Recently I thought, I will join some professional associations this year. It was a decision based on several factors. I wanted to see if my brain had recovered at all from pregnancy, childbirth, baby/toddler care and housewifery. I wanted to expand my teaching practice and get better at proactively promoting my business. And quite frankly, I wanted to see if I could meet the challenge of bureaucracy and hoop jumping. I want to go back to school you see, and this seemed like a good way to test my tolerance for forms, tracking down pieces of paper from various institutions and assembling an application package.
Along the way I had to do some writing. Specifically, for the BCRMTA (BC Registered Music Teachers Association) a maximum 2 page statement describing my teaching practice and activities. This turned out to be a difficult yet satisfying task. For the first time in 10+ years of teaching I set down officially what I do, why I do it, and why I believe in my approach.

BCRMTA Application Written Statement Of Teaching Activities and Methods
Alison Maira, B. Mus.

Teaching Practice 2002-present
I am a piano teacher who does in-home lessons in North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Vancouver, and North Burnaby. My music training is in jazz piano and music education. I graduated from Capilano University in 2002 with a B.Mus, Jazz Studies, Education Major. From 2002-2011 I performed and recorded in local bands (pop, indie rock, jazz, classic rock, original music, covers) playing piano, keyboard, organ, and singing while teaching piano full time to a roster of 38-41 students year round.
In 2012 I became a mother and cut back from full time to part time teaching hours. Since 2012 I have taught 12-14 students year round. Lessons are weekly, 45 minutes.
Here is what I consider most important for you to know about me and my teaching practice.

First Things First
Proper technique, note reading skills, ear training, flashcard drills, music theory, understanding music terminology and my personal favorite, playing in time with and without a metronome. These are the essentials for anyone studying an instrument. I design my lesson plans to address all of these elements.

It’s A Beautiful World Of Music Out There
And not just beautiful, of course. Fascinating, disturbing, confusing, exciting, inspiring, comforting, all the adjectives we have are not enough to describe music. For each person it’s a different key that unlocks the door to musical wonder. That is why I expose my students to many genres through their method books, the music I choose for them, and the music they choose for themselves. My goal is to help them discover their taste(s) in music and find sounds that move them. I have seen this happen many times and it is wonderful, to share in someone’s joy of discovering a new song they love and must play over and over again.

The Best Motivation Is Love
I ask my students to choose some of their own repertoire, from any genre. When my students study pieces they have chosen for themselves, their motivation to learn it is much stronger than for pieces I assign to them to address various musical elements. They learn more effectively and are more engaged if they have a say in what’s happening. Often the songs they choose have a higher difficulty level than material selected by me. Yet they eagerly push through the new concepts, master them determinedly, and improve in great leaps and bounds simply because they are playing something they care about.

The Big Picture
I teach beginner, intermediate and advanced piano to children, teenagers, and middle aged adults. I teach piano because it is the conduit through which I can express, explore (and hopefully instill in my students) my fascination with music. I believe in music and its power: to inspire, heal, comfort, inform, and challenge all of us.
Through a great deal of hard work I have made a small career of playing and teaching music. I trained in a very competitive environment and am well aware of what it takes to get to the highest level and then keep improving. My work is not with the small number of elite students who will become professional players. It is with the vast majority of humanity, whose brains are hardwired to respond to music. It is our birthright as a species to be rhythmic and melodic. As more research is published every year detailing the incredible benefits of music making for our physical, mental, and social health as well as music’s ability to heal and alleviate so many painful conditions, teaching everyday people how to play the piano as well as they possibly can is important work I am proud to do. My work not only has a positive impact now on my students, but will continue to throughout their lives as long as they continue to play piano and/or listen to music.