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kids piano keyboard lessons

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Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
Portland, Oregon

503-771-4611


Having fun is the best way to get students relaxed and ready to learn new things at the studio. There are so many wonderful pieces of music to learn, from Bach to Beatles to Ben Fold. Reading music, playing by ear, blues improvisation, learning about melodies and chords, recording a video animation with music; there’s always something exciting to work on. Playing piano is a great way to take time off from the busy world and do something for yourself. Kids have lots of fun; so do adults.

children piano keyboard lessons

Reviews

"Fabulous teacher, fun Lessons. My son just loves playing the piano. He has learned very quickly. In addition to reading music, he learns to play by ear, does theory, and compose his own music (he is thrilled with this). He also likes playing songs and singing. He looks forward to lessons each week. He leaves the lessons excited and proud of his accomplishments. 

His teacher is really patient, and makes sure the lessons are lots of fun. My son gets to play a wide variety of music. A great teacher makes all the difference in the world. Music lessons are important to a child's development. I totally recommend these lessons." - Angie Rhodes
"A great teacher in Portland for both my kids. They love the lessons‎. We spent some time looking for the right teacher, and we found this one. We wanted to make sure that our kids would have a positive and fun experience learning to play piano. We talked to friends whose kids were taking lessons, looked at reviews, and interviewed a couple of teachers in person. We are really happy with our decision. My children love taking lessons, are progressing quickly. Their teacher is so skilled at working with kids and they think he is really cool." - T. Tullis‎
"Perfect match for my son. He loves playing the piano. We interviewed and met with several teachers here in Portland. Finding the perfect match for my son was important. We picked this teacher and got started. Right away, my son took to the lessons. He began reading music the first day, and progressed to classical, pop and blues. He's working on playing by ear, and gets to record multi track versions of songs and make his own CD's. How cool is that! Our teacher really does a great job teaching and understanding my kid.

He's patient, takes the time to explain things, and encourages my son, praising his efforts. You get once chance to get your kids interested in music. You want it to be a good experience. I am thrilled that we have piano music in our house. I also decided to start piano lessons next month, really excited." - G. P. Taylor‎
"What a wonderful teacher. I am loving my lessons.‎ What I really like is the variety of things I am learning. I get to read music, play by ear, do blues improv. It's great sitting at home, playing piano and enjoying my new skills. I had thought about taking lessons for over 20 years, and I am finally doing it. The lessons are fun and relaxed, and my teacher makes it a really nice experience. I look forward to coming away each week from my lessons with some new skills. I'm surprised at how quickly I am learning." 
- Melissa Brown‎

"My kids are excited about piano. Wonderful teacher, lots of fun. Our teacher is great and lots of fun. He works so well with kids. His approach to teaching is refreshing, and makes for very attentive kids. The lessons are challenging and fun. My kids are enthusiastic and engaged. They get praised and acknowledged for their efforts. They learn lots of fun and new pieces. Lord of the RIngs, Mission Impossible, Ode To Joy, and Beatles. 

They learn to read music, and write their own music. They have also made their own CD recordings of their music and videos of them playing. Glad I started my kids when I did. I am so happy with the lessons." 
- B. T. Reynolds‎
"Great teacher and lessons. He makes learning easy, just like it should be. A great teacher and lots of fun to work with. He makes learning to play the piano easy. I enjoy playing and learning new pieces. His approach to teaching piano is refreshing. I am reading music, playing by ear, and even learning blues improvisation. Even those weeks where I haven't practiced too much is no problem; We'll do something like theory, chords etc. Wish I had began lessons when I was a kid, but now that I have, I am really glad I did." - ‎M. Moting‎
"Really happy with our piano teacher. Playing has been my dream. I am really happy with our piano teacher. It's always been my dream to play piano. Our teacher was recommended by a friend who takes lessons there. So glad to find a good teacher who is super patient. My son & I both take lessons. We do 1/2 hour lesson each, once a week. 

My son loves doing cool things like Star Wars and Lion King. He also record his songs and is working on making his first CD. I enjoy playing classical music and also modern things like Enya, James Taylor. I also do Blues piano, which is lots of fun. Our teacher is also a composer, with two platinum records awards. We now are learning some duets together. We look forward to our lessons each week."  - sharonsimms‎
"Great teacher - Our daughter is doing so well.‎ My 9 year old daughter started piano lessons here. She learns reading music, playing by ear, improvisation, recording music, and lots of fun things that keep her interested. Her teacher is just great. He does a super job encouraging her, praising her accomplishments. 

The lessons are an important part of her week She is proud about playing piano. This is a good thing for her personally. She practices more than I ever expected. It's a pleasure to hear her play. I play a bit, and we have been doing some duets. What a nice feeling to play music together. We are so pleased with the piano lessons." - T. Edwins‎
"Really good teacher. Great progress as an adult beginner. I’ve been taking keyboard lessons for about 14 months. My teacher is so much fun to work with and that helps me be relaxed at the lessons. He has a great sense of humor. The lessons are a wonderful experience. It's a joy to learn to read all styles of music, and I am now learning to do blues improvisation.‎

My progress has been much faster than I thought. As an adult beginner, I came to the lessons with a bit of apprehension, but the lessons have turned out to be one of the high points of my week. I leave the studio feeling like I have really accomplished something. It just plain feels good. My teacher is so patient, that no matter, he’s right there moving me forward. I had been considering doing lessons for a long time, so I’m happy that I finally got started."  ‎- Maxwell Jones

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Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
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Si Bheag Si Mhor – Irish

Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
Portland, Oregon

503-771-4611

The Teacher


Norm Zarr studied music in New York City. He started a software company that designed tools for professional musicians used in the recording studio. For years he was a sound designer, inventing sounds for synthesizers that musicians could use in television, film, and CD recordings.

For several decades, he has worked as a composer. He has composed and recorded in numerous music genres, including Jazz, Blues, Rock, New Age, World and Ethnic. His original music has been included in many television productions.

As a piano teacher, he has taught piano to people of all ages. Mr. Zarr has also performed piano professionally. He lives in Portland, Oregon continuing to teach piano and compose music.

Norm Zarr has Two Platinum Records Awards
His soundtracks have been featured in these shows

 


In preparing for a role in the movie Management, filmed in Portland,
Steve Zahn’s producer contacted Norm Zarr to help Steve study piano. They worked on his skills for a scene where he needed to play keyboard. Jennifer Aniston was featured in the film.

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 Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
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Original T.V. Music Excerpts


Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
Portland, Oregon

503-771-4611

 

 

garage band recording keyboard piano lessons

Projects

kids love projects shadow

 

playing recording keyboard piano lessons

Keeping students inspired and excited about piano lessons is particularly important for children. Learning to read music is fundamental to playing piano, but the best way to get kids jazzed about piano and accelerate their learning, is to give them a way to connect to music on their level. Kids love PROJECTS! Projects give students something to look forward to each week and it motivates them to play more. Students involved in projects that span a number of weeks or months stay involved and take on a more active role in their learning. Working on projects gives kids immediate rewards for their efforts and a sense of satisfaction that they have achieved a goal. They take pride in creating something unique, and they enjoy a sense of adventure, challenge, and accomplishment. 

Here are some of the projects we do.

  • Make a video of students playing and send it to family members or post it on YouTube
  • Record original songs to play on a phone or computer
  • Create a stop motion animation video and add an original soundtrack
  • Compose some Blues Piano improvisations
  • Learn a song by ear without any sheet music



  Recording Music  

kids recording keyboard piano lessons

In addition to teaching, I enjoy composing music for TV and film. Its great fun. Children love to record music. They find it fascinating and great fun (so do I). Working just like musicians do in a recording studio, students learn how to complete all the stages in recording a song; composing, recording, editing, and mixing.

My students get to use the same tools I do, to record their music. Giving a students a chance to see what its like to be in a recording studio and take a project from start to finish is a powerful experience for kids. I’m always amazed how much more disciplined and focused children become when they are working on a project whose result is completely dependent on their effort. Once students have a piece of music learned or an original idea, we get started. Sometimes we collaborate on music with both of us doing the composing. Using a keyboard and computer, we can create amazing sounding music. As students play, notes instantly appear as sheet music on the computer screen.

garage band recording keyboard piano lessons

A song is created recording one track at a time. We build an arrangement with each track playing a different sounding instrument. We might use piano, bass, guitar, horns, synthesizer, flute, drums, and more. Once the piece is recorded, we go over each track, making sure it sounds right. Then we begin mixing, spacing of the instruments and volume settings. We then can add reverb and other effects before completing the project and emailing it off to friends and family. This is a wonderful way to let kids focus on the creative process, and a fabulous tool to get them fully absorbed in learning to play piano and keyboards.

 Time Lapse & Stop Motion Animation 

children recording keyboard piano lessonsAs an avid photographer, I love making time lapse videos and stop motion animation. Time lapse involves automatically taking photos over a period of time and assembling them into movie. Stop motion animations usually involves manipulating object and manually shooting individual photos. When assembled into a video, the characters in the animation come to life. Claymation is an example of this. Videos can have a soundtrack added from original music

mixer recording keyboard piano lessonsAdding a music soundtrack to a video is a great way to encourage students to expand their creativity. Kids today grow up immersed in a world of video, so it’s no surprise that they are very clever when it comes to putting video and music together.  

 Music Around The World  

keys recording keyboard piano lessons

A key element to broadening a students music development is having them listen and play music from places around the world. We listen to music from all over the world, Mexico, Africa, Russia, Japan, Italy, India. Kids gain an expanded sense of the importance of music as they see how it influences different cultures. Some of our recording projects take on ethnic themes as we choose instruments from places around the globe.

Piano Lessons & Keyboard Lessons
Portland, Oregon

503-771-4611