Piano Lessons for Adults and Children; online or in person in my studio. Learn the joy of music from a classically trained musician with an M.A. in Music Education and performance experience at a top 10 global conservatory of music.**
I am a classically trained musician/pianist/cellist/accompanist,
but first and foremost, I'm a teacher. My goal is to enrich my students’ lives by helping them develop an appreciation for music. My students have ranged in age from 4 1/2 to 78 years, each with different needs and ways of approaching the learning tasks at hand, requiring flexibility and understanding from their teacher. With a multi-faceted career as a musician and teacher, I draw on a wide variety of techniques to teach the skills students need to truly enjoy playing the piano.
“We currently have three children taking piano lessons from Deborah. Each child has a different personality and is at a different level. She teaches each one in a manner and level appropriate for their stage of education. She is always positive and is interested in the person she is teaching, not just the material. She assigns challenging pieces chosen to both broaden the musical appreciation and improve the student's technical skill. All of our children love taking lessons from Deborah, and all have excelled in their piano studies. She inspires them to be the best they can. They rightly feel she cares about them, their likes and dislikes, and their progress. She is a wonderful teacher, and we feel truly blessed that she is our family's piano coach, and our friend.”
-Lori Rellick Arroyo Grande
My daughter is a high school senior and since the third grade, she has studied piano with Deborah for weekly lessons. Deborah is an amazing teacher! She has met my daughter over the years exactly where she was - at first, a child hesitant to start her first music lessons, to someone over the years who has grown more confident in her abilities and has developed a real love for playing piano.We attribute a lot of this to Deborah who has enthusiastically wanted my daughter to play the music she enjoys. My daughter started where many younger children start, with the Faber lesson books, and over the years, has progressed on to classical pieces, jazz standards, popular music and contemporary soundtracks. For almost ten years, Deborah has been a consistent and motivating mentor and teacher for our daughter. This type of mentorship is invaluable today where our children often goto different schools, have different teachers, various coaches, and try all kinds of activities. Deborah expects students to practice and our daughter has met thatchallenge with pride and a great sense of accomplishment. Through quidance, enthusiastic instruction, and specific feedback, our daughter has blossomed under Deborah’s teaching and has become a very accomplished pianist. We are so grateful!
-Carolyn Eicher
“When I retired, I wanted to relearn a few things that I had enjoyed. Piano was one of them. Deborah was recommended by a friend and I am delighted to have found her. She is a classically trained pianist with degrees from stellar music programs in the US. More than that she is a remarkable teacher who is endlessly patient with her adult students recognizing their desires to play music and their trepidations about starting over as a beginner. She has a delightful sense of humor and I look forward to my weekly lessons. As mentioned by others, she tailors your selection of music to your interests. Some like classical pieces from various musical periods, some like show tunes, others, jazz. She finds pieces that suit your interests and abilities. Her approach allows you to enjoy the music and look forward to practicing while fostering an understanding of theory and techniques. Her adult students range in age from college students to those of us in our 60's and beyond. Taking lessons from her is one of the very real pleasures of my retirement. I wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone -- adult or child-- who wants to enjoy music, learn or relearn an art form that is beautiful and satisfying. She's terrific!! “
S.D> San Luis Obispo
“At the annual Christmas recital, I found myself amazed and delighted at the different children and young adults playing the piano, and Deborah’s competence in preparing them to perform music. My daughter is enjoying learning new songs, and is cultivating the ability to read and play music. Developing new skills can be a source of self-esteem in young people. I am thankful to Deborah Marcus, who is an excellent piano teacher and important resource in our community.”
“Under Deborah’s guidance, encouragement, and thorough instruction, we have watched our daughter go from being a shy and hesitant student at the beginning to someone who embraces the piano now as part of her daily routine. Deborah has helped instill growth and confidence in our 13 year old and we remain so grateful for the careful attention to detail, the joy of music and the love of learning that Deborah has shared with our whole family.”
“There are many qualities that make Deborah an exceptional piano teacher. Firstly, taking piano lessons has been part of an extended music education including music theory, discussions of the different music genres and listening to many professional performances of a selection to appreciate the varied interpretations of a given piece. Secondly, practice methodology is stressed to avoid tedium, to render faster mastery of a passage and therefore more personal gratification and thus more motivation. She has developed many practice techniques to help work on difficult sections.”