About Ms. Ava T. Richardson
I am an independent piano instructor with over 17 years of experience as a solo, ensemble, and accompanying pianist.
I've received classical piano instruction from the Dean of Music (formerly the Piano Performance Chair) at Duquesne University, Mr. David Allan Wehr. I have been an instructor of piano for the past 5 years at the Givi School of Music in McKees Rocks, PA, and am now providing lessons privately. I welcome all ages for lessons, and my curriculum places an early focus on theory, or 'understanding what you play.'
Although I have classical training, I also have comprehensive experience with synthesizer-performing, vocal accompanying, and ensemble playing and instructing. All student goals are encouraged and supported with the best of my ability and experience!
Teaching Style
As mentioned above, I place a strong emphasis on understanding musical material, regardless of what genre it falls under. One of the most common pitfalls for musicians is the tendency to read without comprehending the information available to them in the music. It is the same as learning to sound out words without ever learning what they mean. As a pianist who was self-taught throughout my first several years of playing, I am not only empathetic to this frustrating plateau, but very experienced coaching students through the pitfalls contained therein.
Another important vein of my instruction relates to musical health, both physical and mental, through the appropriate ergonomics of playing and the right attitude when it comes to building a practice schedule, especially for those students of all ages who have difficulty developing consistent routines. An unfortunate commonality of all instruments is that good technique is rarely an option if musicians wish to avoid long-term or even permanent injury and strain, so I help students to build that technique in all aspects of their playing right from the start. The best part of this, however, is that bad technique can always be corrected, and if injuries are sustained, then healthy work-arounds can always be invented if you are willing to explore healthier playing methods!
Credentials & Affiliations
Baccalaureate of Popular and Contemporary Music with a concentration in Piano Performance and Music Education from the University of Maine, 2023 - current
Principal Piano Instructor at the Givi School of Music from 2020 - 2023
Piano Instructor at the Givi School of Music from 2019 - 2020
Private student of Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music Adjunct Professor of Piano Performance, Anoush Tchakarian from 2019 - 2021
Private student of Duquesne University's Mary Pappert School of Music Dean (and Piano Performance Chair), Mr. David Allan Wehr from 2017 - 2019
A.S. of Music Technology (Graduation Portfolio adjudicated by Prof. Mark Domencic) from CCAC in 2022
A.A. of Psychology from CCAC in 2022
Curriculum
For beginner students below the age of 9, I use the Piano Safari method, including their repertoire and theory level 1 books. In my experience, the Piano Safari method offers more interesting and engaging music than other popular methods like Faber, and more importantly, it exposes young students to a wider variety of musical terminology from an earlier point. There are a handful of techniques that can and will be found in every method such as legato vs. staccato, as well as the four common dynamics (p, mp, mf, f), but Piano Safari also confronts students with a wide variety of terms and challenges that are otherwise commonly encountered in early classical training, such as poco a poco and x/8 time signatures.
In similar fashion, I use the Piano Safari Older Student method books for students 9 and up. If you would like to inquire about lessons for a young student who already has some experience, please wait until after our first lesson, as I may recommend a higher level than level 1.
For adults, student texts are directly correlated to level, goals, and interest. However, for complete beginners to the instrument, I typically begin with Faber's Adult All-In-One lesson book. In the past, I have also taught adult students using:
Czerny's Eight-Measure Exercises
In addition to the above (for all ages), I often have students work on a piece of our mutual choice that comes from outside of their lesson books. Purchasing music is not necessary if a free version can be found, but the student must be able to provide me with a virtual copy of their selection so that I can assist them.
