Bio

Welcoming kids and adults of all ages for in studio, online, and hybrid piano lessons in the San Francisco Bay Area serving the local communities and school districts of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Cupertino, Westmont, Campbell, West San Jose, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Cambrian Park, Santa Clara, Mountain View and for remote and online students everywhere! Traditional private instruction will be tailored to your student using with modern techniques and methods! For online or hybrid students, an immersive multi-camera approach provides engaging and fun remote lessons! Homeschoolers welcome!​

Contact me for a “get acquainted” meeting/lesson! 🍎 🎹 🎶

About The Curious Pianist

Miss Deborah is a Bay Area native and classically trained pianist with a particular interest in teaching young children.  Growing up in the house as the daughter of piano teacher herself, Deborah spent years listening to other students before beginning lessons herself and was a witness to a long trail of different students and personalities.  She often had to practice at odd times and find pianos away from home at school and college as a way to get enough of her own practice time as the home piano was in constant use!  Deborah began teaching in early adulthood and throughout college.   As a long-time student of the late Julia A. Sorci, she received her High School Diploma of Music from the National Guild of Piano Teachers Auditions (a division of the American College of Musicians).  As a second-generation piano teacher from a family of musicians, she is fascinated on how positive experiences in music lessons become a cherished part of an individual’s identity, especially later in life.  A former software engineer at Hewlett-Packard and mom of two grown musical sons, Deborah’s other interests are ballet and Scottish dance, gardening, and her small herd of mischievous guinea pigs.

Teaching Info

Miss Deborah believes that in order to play any kind of repertoire (whether baroque, classical, romantic, or pop), you also need to understand and work on the fundamental principles of piano technique; body movement/rhythm, basic music theory understanding, and ear training development. These fundamentals are introduced naturally and easily as the student progresses and to augment both technique and skills in execution, as well as providing a better understanding of the music to allow different levels of interpretation.

Along with warm, encouraging instruction, students can be inspired to look forward to lessons, improve and progress over time, and truly enjoy the music that they play, a gift that stays with you for life.

Getting Acquainted
All prospective students and parents meet with me for a special “get acquainted” introductory lesson and interview that allows me to learn a little more about your child and set expectations for music lessons. This gives all of us a chance to see if there is a good match for moving forward to enrollment.

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The Studio
In studio lessons are given on my Yamaha Concert Upright in a large living area with a parent sitting area connected to a large padded floor play area where younger students can do rhythmic games and kinetic movement exercises to reinforcement concepts and integrate concepts with multiple senses. A comfortably large tabletop near the piano is used for any music learning games or written exercises.

For parents of students with siblings who accompany the student to the lesson, I have a separate playroom and sitting room which you are welcome to use to allow easier waiting times or a place for homework. All parents and siblings are welcome to use the home Wi-Fi system.

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Online lessons are given from my virtual studio on my Yamaha Clavinova CLP-685 Digital Piano. Multiple camera views are provided to allow for the most effective presentation and immersive experience for the student.