music teaching
I teach flute and music theory to children and adults, from complete beginners up to diploma/ degree level. I love helping people of all ages to learn, improve and enjoy their playing and understanding of music. My approach to teaching is to bring all the ideas that I've gathered from my own learning and use them to give my students the tools to experiment and find out what works for them. My teaching is very 'adaptive' - I'm very efficient when it comes to organising my diary but I'm not big on lesson planning. I spend lots of time thinking about what my students need and want, then 'play it by ear' in lessons, responding to what comes up on the day. I love it when a student brings me a new idea - "I want to learn this song" or "I wondered what happens if I...".
I believe that it's never too late to learn, and it's never too early to start playing with other people. I encourage students to make music with other people from the start - playing duets in lessons and taking part in ensembles. I run Sheffield Flute Choir for adult players from Grade 5 upwards, and a monthly group playing session for my adult students from beginner to around Grade 4-5. I offer group lessons to work on ensemble skills and arrange workshops and informal concerts for students. I also teach recorder, piccolo, alto and bass flute.
For students who want to take exams, I can support you to take exams with any of the UK music exam boards, and the performance aspects of GCSE and A Level music. I can help you prepare for auditions for music scholarships, university/ college entrance or for ensembles. Recent students have gone on to study music at Leeds College of Music and the University of Oxford.
All my flute tuition includes music theory, learning about how music works, some music history, and what all those signs and symbols mean! I also teach theory separately, to players of any instrument, via in-person/ online lessons or support by email. Learning theory enriches your knowledge of music - helping you to understand different styles, technical terms, harmony and the structure of pieces, and to start composing your own music. Theory tuition can help with the written sections of GCSE and A Level Music, and can be useful for entrance to University music courses. I can support you to take music theory exams up to Grade 8, if you choose to.
I also offer support for the written elements of music diplomas, and university-level assignments in music.
I am an ISM Registered Private Teacher, which means I have been through their vetting process, have a current Enhanced DBS check and follow their code of conduct and safeguarding procedures.
I teach in person around Sheffield either travelling to you, or you can come to me (in Heeley, S2), and online so you can access lessons from anywhere. For music theory, I also offer support by email.
I work on a monthly ‘subscription’ payment system for lessons, as shown in the table below. You pay the same amount every month, regardless of how many weeks are in each month, to spread your payments evenly across the year. This is based on me being available to teach for 42 weeks in the year (this takes into account holidays and training days).
Any less frequent, extra or ad-hoc lessons will be charged at £35 per hour. Fees are normally paid by bank transfer, credit/ debit card or PayPal (cash or cheque payments may be possible by arrangement).
I offer email-based distance learning tuition for music theory up to ABRSM Grade 8 level - setting and marking exercises and past papers, giving advice and guidance on learning materials and working through the theory grades. If you're working towards exams, I can enter you for theory exams at the centre most convenient for you.
This music theory support is available for £60 per month, payable by bank transfer, credit/ debit card or PayPal. You will need to buy the appropriate theory workbooks and exam past papers, and need to be able to send me a copy of your completed work by email (either a clear scan or photo works fine). I provide quick, thorough feedback by email, and additional resources for any areas where you need extra practice or revision. You might choose to add an occasional in-person/ online lesson to this to cover topics in more depth - these are available at the rates above.
To enquire about lessons for yourself or your child, please contact me with your requirements - let me know if you have any previous experience, if you have an instrument and if you are looking for in-person or online lessons. If you would like in-person lessons, please let me know where you are based.
Existing students - log in to your account here.
Existing students - log in to your account here.
