Key Footsteps Music

Key Footsteps helps students learn to understand music; not just memorize notes and reproduce pieces. I provide online piano and music instruction focused on building strong musical foundations, practical skills, and independent musicianship. Students learn how listening, the keyboard, notation, rhythm, patterns, theory, technique, and musical structure connect, so music becomes something they can understand rather than a collection of disconnected rules. My teaching uses a Sound-First approach, helping students develop an internal understanding of music before relying solely on notation. Students learn to hear and recognize musical patterns, connect what they hear with what they see and play, and use those connections to approach unfamiliar music with greater confidence. Practice is also explicitly taught. Rather than simply telling students to “practice more,” I teach efficient strategies for identifying problems, working through them, listening critically, and knowing what to do next. The goal is to help students become increasingly capable of learning music for themselves. With over 20 years of teaching experience, I work especially well with beginners, neurodivergent learners, transfer students, and students who have experienced frustration, confusion, or gaps in previous instruction. Lessons are structured and adaptive, with an emphasis on clarity, curiosity, creativity, and genuine understanding. Students can explore repertoire, music reading, ear training, theory, technique, improvisation, creativity, and practical musicianship according to their goals. Online lessons for children and adults. Daytime students are especially welcome, including homeschool families, adult learners, and those with flexible schedules.