1st lesson free
Ellen's profile and their contact details have been verified by our experts.
Ellen
- Rate $60
- Response 2h
-
Students35
Number of students Ellen has accompanied since arriving at Superprof
Number of students Ellen has accompanied since arriving at Superprof
$60/hr
Contact
1st lesson free
- Piano
- Music reading
Experienced piano, clarinet, saxophone, recorder and theory teacher offering music lessons in the Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes area.
- Piano
- Music reading
Lesson location
Recommended
Ellen is a respected tutor in our community. She is highly recommended for her commitment and the quality of her lessons. An excellent choice to progress with confidence.
About Ellen
I am a piano, clarinet, saxophone, recorder and theory teacher based in Kirkcaldy with 25 years experience. I am passionate about music and love to pass my enthusiasm on to my pupils. I can teach from 8.30 in the mornings until 8 in the evening. I have a B. A. (Hons) in Music And Education Studies from King Alfred's College (now the University Of Winchester). I am very patient and have a good sense of humour. I have taught privately since 1997 and have had many exam successes with my pupils. I will structure each lesson according to the pupil's wishes. I can take pupils down the exam route if desired or do the lessons purely for fun. No two pupils are the same which is one of the joys of teaching! I have students of all ages; from the age of 4 to one gentleman who started the clarinet a couple of years ago at the age of 90 so age really is no barrier. I have pupils who have autism plus a deaf pupil and a blind pupil so in terms of barriers there is very little to stop people enjoying such a wonderful hobby. I am learning sign language to further my contact with my deaf pupil. I love the way I can see the confidence increase in my pupils as they progress with their learning. I teach mainly Classical though do some Jazz and am happy to enter pupils for Jazz exams if that is the way the pupil would like to go. In terms of exams I normally use ABRSM though can use Trinity or London College Of Music if those are preferred by the pupil. I am working my way to an ARSM in Treble Recorder at the moment which means I can empathise fully with exam nerves! In terms of the length of lessons I would recommend 20 minutes for 6 year olds and at least 30 minutes for anyone else. Some pupils may find it easier to have 30 minutes for wind instruments at first due purely to needing to build the stamina for the facial muscles but there are exercises which I can show you which will help with this issue. 45 minutes or an hour are the ideal lengths once the stamina issue has been addressed or for piano as you can spend more time on particular things in the lessons. Weekly lessons are ideal as well as this helps the momentum of learning though fortnightly can work well also. I always encourage pupils to ask as many questions as they need to; I would rather have a multitude of questions than a pupil who is struggling with something and is too worried to mention it. I am happy to teach anywhere which suits the student. It is mostly online but am happy to do face to face whether it's in my own home or the student's home if they are local. The first lesson will consist of getting to know the pupil's musical ambitions; whether it's something as simple as playing Happy Birthday on the school piano in a weekly school assembly or wanting to be a grade 8 saxophonist. I will take you through the care of your instrument and the correct posture when playing it. I am happy to use any tutor books the pupil already has but also have my own preferences for tutor books, exercises and pieces for fun and am happy to recommend any of these. I am also happy for the pupil to suggest a piece they particularly wish to learn. Each lesson will consist of a warm up, some sight reading as this is an essential area of learning music and a fantastic way of increasing a pupil's confidence, listening to the piece/s the pupil has practised, going through something new in a lesson and there will be some aural training as well. This is also important due to it helping hugely with musical memory and perception. I am the Musical Director for a local theatre company which is great fun and involves rehearsing with the cast on a regular basis and allows me to indulge my love of pantomime each Christmas! I have also played for primary school Nativity plays and helped with primary school orchestras as well which is very fulfilling. Helping the children with their performances is fantastic; I have arranged music to involve varying amounts of instruments and have risen to the challenge each time. I have also played piano in a local church for a number of years for services and played for a couple of weddings.
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About the lesson
- All Levels
- English
All languages in which the lesson is available :
English
I have loved music from an early age. My first instrument was the recorder - as it is with a lot of people! From there I progressed to the clarinet, piano and saxophone. I love the experience of making music and the joy it brings to people. I have taught pupils of varying ages; from children as young as 4 to older people in their 70s. No two pupils are the same which is part of the love of teaching for me. I get a lot of satisfaction if I can help pupils to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve; whether it is a small ambition such as playing Happy Birthday in a primary school assembly or a larger one like passing their music exams. I studied for my music degree at the University of Winchester (or King Alfred's College as it was then called). I have taught privately since 1997 and have had many exam successes with my pupils. I have never had any problems establishing a teacher/pupil relationship and I enjoy the lessons as much as my pupils do. The lessons progress at the pace of each individual pupil; I can adapt lessons to suit each pupil. Everyone is different and some will learn faster than others. I introduce sight-reading early on as this is a skill which will be useful in many ways. Aural skills are also a part of lessons as listening is an essential part of learning and playing music and in other areas of life as well. I always encourage pupils to ask as many questions as they need to; I would rather have a multitude of questions than a pupil who is struggling with something and is too worried to mention it. I will set you pieces or technical exercises to practise between lessons though I do understand that day to day life gets in the way of practice from time to time! If you would like to work towards any graded exams this is something I am experienced in and there are various examination boards available for us to use or if you just want to learn for fun that is fine as well I am more than happy to teach pupils with special needs and have had several autistic pupils before. I have one pupil who is deaf and another who is blind which goes to show disability really doesn't stop you doing something if you put your mind to it. I use ABRSM or Trinity for exams but I am happy to use other boards if preferred as there are several options now for music exams. I am also happy to do one-off lessons if needed; it may be that you need just a double check or an extra practice for your sight-reading or aural skills for example. I have been an Assessor for the Duke Of Edinburgh Awards several times under the Skills section for learning to play a musical instrument. I am also the Musical Director for a local theatre company which is great fun! I have also played for school Nativity plays and helped with school orchestras as well.
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Reviews
All of our reviews are collected by us and are 100% reliable. They correspond to a real experience had by the students of Ellen.
5 (5 reviews)
Perfect! Really enjoyed my lesson. Ellen explained everything clearly and I felt really comfortable. Looking forward to my next lesson.
Perfect! Lovely lady with lots of patience and easy ways of explaining.
Perfect! Ellen was great.. I felt highly motivated by the lesson. She has a very happy,relaxed, encouraging and motivational approach and I feel I am going to make great progress and enjoy learning with her.
- Graham is an absolute gentleman and he has a good working knowledge of music. We are going to work on getting his music reading more comnfident.Ellen's response :
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Recommendations
Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher
2
Ellen is a down to earth music teacher with patience in abundance, putting me at ease from my very first lesson.
I was 70 years old when she started teaching me to play the piano and I found her style and method of teaching suited me perfectly. Her’ easy to talk to’ manner allowed me to ask her to explain anything I didn't understand the first time around, and she would explain it in a different way until I got it!
I enjoyed my lessons with Ellen. I would highly recommend her, and I do believe my loss is Scotland’s gain!
Bob
Basingstoke Hampshire
Ellen is a very knowledgeable and talented pianist and her tuition style is calm, relaxed and friendly. She makes an excellent tutor for all age groups.
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Rates
Rate
- $60
Pack prices
- 5h: $300
- 10h: $600
online
- $53/h
free lessons
The first lesson with Ellen will allow you to get to know each other and discuss your needs for future lessons.
- 1hr
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