Piano Lessons


  • I teach the young child (5 or 6 year old), and beginners through advanced- intermediate students of all ages. I do not teach advanced level students. Because of the many years I taught the pre-school child in my Stepping Stones program at Civic Arts in Walnut Creek, Ca I have very good rapport and success with the young child and feel very confident about teaching them. There is a knack, a temperament needed, to keep the interest and earn the trust of the young child. Not only teaching in a fun and enjoyable way, but creating that as the atmosphere of the studio.
    , from classical to pop.

  • Learning to read music, like any language, is a lifelong pursuit for it must be nurtured and practiced in order for one to feel successful and confident. To engage the young child from the start, I use various tools and methods such as the Kodaly method, rhythm band, a magnetic keyboard for placing notes on the staff, clapping and feeling the beat, hand signals for feeling and touching sound, improvisation, computer theory and games, and singing songs. When they are ready to play the piano, I usually write their ‘first’ piece which makes them feel very special!


  • Studying piano is an invaluable tool for understanding the process of how to learn anything.Learn the piano and everything else will be easier to learn. A piece of music is like a piece of architecture. All the parts must connect in order for it to be held together. Purpose and meaning, strength and even joy emerge. Self-confidence and self-esteem take hold, grow and stay with them. Not a team sport, but an individual and personal empowerment. At Barbara Becker's Piano Studio in Walnut Creek, Ca students gain a thorough background in every part of music: sight-reading, theory, eartraining, technique, composition analysis and improvisation. Most importantly, they become musicians, feeling music from the heart. They develop a healthy respect for the complexity and beauty of music. Students of all ages develop not only a love of music but the thrill and enthusiasm of learning and performing. And uppermost, the training and education they receive translates well into all other aspects of their present and future lives.
  • Occasionally, I encounter the budding, young composer. It is a treat for me to teach them notation and the rules of getting notes down on paper properly. Moreover, I do encourage all my students to be creative as their creativeness will flow into the interpretation of whatever they may be playing. And, after serious practicing, it is fun ‘to let your hair down” and improvise your own ideas at the keyboard.
  • LESSONS and EVALUATIONS

  • Lessons are 30, 45, or 60 minutes once a week or more. There are monthly workshops
    where 3 or 4 students, of the same level perform in a casual setting. They also work on
    theory, a fun theory game or computer theory. Lesson days are: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays all year long. It is important for students to have goals. Therefore they participate in the National Guild of Piano Teachers annual evaluation and MTAC’s Certificate of Merit. There are also 2 studio recitals: December and June..
  • For more information, You can contact me directly at 925-954-8808 or email beckermusic@comcast.net

  • Selection From: Scenes from the Theatre (Toccata)
  • Performed by: Barbara Becker