Teachers Statement... curriculum..?

Lately, people have been calling me and asking me what my curriculum is for my piano students. Truth be told, I have studied with a lot of people and in my experience, teachers that put all of their students through the same curriculum are not as effective in the long run, and a lot of the time the lessons seem long, and un-interesting to the students. I understand that music needs to be fun for students. Instead of having a normal curriculum, I try to cater the lessons to each individual student. I teach blues and improvisation to students at a young age, and make deals with students that if 70% of the time we work on stuff that I assign to them, the other 30% of the time we can work on whatever they want -- literally. This can be songs that they want to learn that are on the radio, or from movies, or work on composition, song-writing, whatever they want to do. I have found that this not only helps keep the students excited about studying the piano, but gets them playing and practicing more.

It is also important to me however that my students learn discipline through their lessons, so I require all of my students to practice at least two and a half hours a week while studying with me. One of the most important lessons I teach students of all ages is that their hard work and dedication to a certain task is an asset of extreme value. In a society where all the time people are becoming more and more qualified for their jobs, ideals learned from studying music teach people to work hard for their success.

To hear me play, or check out videos and shows that I have coming up, go to my website, www.mackgrout.com. I have also just been hired as the head piano instructor at the Fremont Music School in Seattle WA. Visit their website here for information on the school.

If you are interested in studying piano with me, visit my website (above) or contact me directly at 360.710.7350 to discuss details. I also know a ton of music teachers, so if you are searching for something else, let me know and I can recommend someone to you.

Below is a little more professional information about me.


Sincerely,
Mack Grout

• I have been playing the piano since the age of three. After studying classical music intensively for ten years, I started learning blues and jazz piano also, and started playing in bands and with other musicians at the age of thirteen.
  
• I received my bachelor’s degree from Cornish College of the Arts in 2008, where I majored in Jazz Piano Performance, and graduated Magna Cum Laude.
  
• I have five years of experience running a private instruction studio, through my own studio and not through a store.
  
• I have an even deeper teaching history and experience with children, I taught karate and ran karate summer camps at UKO Inc from 1998 – 2005.
  
• I have run workshops on improvisation at local high schools, and community centers in the Seattle area.
  
• I understand the importance of music education in children, and adults, and have had experience teaching students of all ages to enjoy playing their instrument.
  
• I have been working as a professional / gigging musician for the last ten years in the greater Seattle area.