We have another lovely piano teacher who has started at Mt Pleasant School this term. Cate is a little different to our existing keyboard teachers in that she is offering trinity level training/exams so flick her an email if you are interested!

I am Cate van Leuven (FTCL,LRSM,TTC), a registered and experienced piano and primary school teacher.

I am teaching half hour individual piano lessons at your school each week, on Thursday afternoons between 1:30 and 3:30. 

If you would like to find out more please email me at: catevl@stmartins.school.nz.

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Playing the piano/keyboard is something I really enjoy, and I aim to pass this enjoyment onto my students.  Learning to play the piano is fun, especially when you master the skills needed. With my piano/keyboard lessons I aim to teach these skills.

At the lessons children learn to play a variety of tunes and songs through which they learn to play the instrument, and to play music.  At the beginning, the tunes are short, using a handful of notes, and in this way the children learn to read these notes, and how they fit together to make a tune.  I use flash cards too, to reinforce note reading.  We also work on rhythm, and the physical aspects of playing, such as hand position and technique.  Along with music reading, I encourage students to listen to the sounds they are making and to make up their own tunes by ear.

The children need to practise at home, approximately five times a week, to work on what we have done at the lesson, in order to progress.  Just as you learn to play rugby by playing rugby, you learn to play the piano by playing the piano.