Derek Williams

I currently serve part-time on the staff of Edinburgh University as lecturer and examiner in Screen Composition. In the pro music world, I have 27 IMDb credits and 33 Discogs recording credits.

I also teach Piano, Theory of Music, Composition, Orchestration, Conducting and Music Technology to private students. I have experience in all of these fields at a professional level. Those who opt to enter for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music Performance and Theory of Music external examinations, invariably achieve Merit and Distinction results.

I am also qualified and trained to teach English, and served as a high school teacher for 7 years in New Zealand, and 22 years in Australia before immigrating to Scotland for PhD studies in 2006.

I enjoy welcoming new students aged 16 and over to help them achieve their goals in music. I have a well equipped teaching facility with a new grand piano linked to a digital recording studio, where I teach classical, jazz and pop repertoire, sometimes in combination. Once a year, I hold a student recital at the Edinburgh Society of Musicians, where performance students can share their experience in public performance. I also encourage ensemble playing via piano duets and chamber music.

I am competent teaching both in person, and online, usually via Zoom (using Original Sound for live performance), but I am also conversant with Teams, Google Meeting and Skype.

I offer a free trial lesson to new students, on the understanding that if you decide to go ahead, that lesson becomes the first of a pre-paid block. The advertised fee of £36 is the rate per one hour lesson in a block of ten one hour lessons, i.e. £36 x 10 = £360 paid in advance . One-off lessons are £45 per hour. 5 lesson blocks with durations of 40 minutes, 90 minutes or two hours are also available. All credit/debit cards and PayPal are accepted.