Hi all, my name is Katie. I teach jazz/pop piano and music theory to beginner and intermediate students of all ages. My biggest priority is to tailor my lessons to your individual goals, be these playing by ear, performing to an audience, creating your own compositions, improvising at the piano, working more effectively with other musicians or something else.

Depending on what you want to get out of our lessons, we might:
- sit straight down and explore different notes and patterns at the piano
- work from a ‘lead sheet’ (don’t worry if this is new to you - I’ll explain!)
- learn a song by ear
- re-harmonise a tune
- read or analyse a score (traditional written music)
- work on practice techniques
- make up music on the spot for an hour
- the list goes on…

I’m a big believer that being able to play freely and creatively and understanding music theory come hand in hand. I therefore take a very open, experimental and playful attitude to learning the piano and working out what sounds you like. Once you’ve found something that sounds good, I aim to help you understand WHY it sounds good. Think of this like building up a stash of lego bricks that you can use to build a house, a mansion, a whole city… Learning music is similar. You figure out what sounds good to you, work out why it sounds good, then learn how to put the sounds together until you get a song you love. Of course, some people like to understand all the theory first (they get all the bricks in a big pile ready to build a city, then go for it). If this is you - we can absolutely do that as well.

If all this sounds a bit abstract, don’t worry. I always aim to make lessons fun and accessible and would love to make music the part of your day you look forward to the most!

About me
I've been playing the piano since I was 6 and flute since age 11 and have endless enthusiasm for music as form of experimentation and creativity. Having not been particularly inspired by music at school, I went on to study Geography at Oxford University, assuming my instruments would probably stay in a box in the attic or gathering dust in a corner somewhere. Despite being pretty disciplined, I found playing the same tunes on repeat from an uninspired grade book far from inspiring.

Fast forward 3 years and I came across some players who were doing something INCREDIBLE. They sat at the piano and just played these luscious chords, intricate melodies and hypnotic grooves entirely from their heads - for hours on end. Totally mind boggled and determined to work out what was going on, I've spent years delving into the magic of this crazy art form that I first (naively) assumed was just rote-reading notes from a page. Since that time, I have also taken grade 8 exams in Jazz Piano (Distinction), Flute and Music Theory - but with the intention of learning to create the sounds I want to hear, rather than passing exams for exams' sake. I've also started arranging and teaching popular vocal arrangements to a London based contemporary acapella choir.

I've been lucky enough to have several amazing teachers who've been incredibly patient and knowledgable to help bring music alive for me. If you are starting out or progressing on your musical journey, I would love to help you explore music in a fun, creative way at the piano.

I will always try to be honest about whether I’m the right teacher for you. If I think you would benefit from a different teacher for any reason, I will point you in the right direction and not charge for the lesson.