Functional Piano Training

FAQ

What can one expect?

Functional Piano Training enables greater enjoyment as well as faster learning at the piano. 

Even non-musical activities benefit from this training as the student learns to act with more alertness, precision and joy, positively impacting the overall quality of life, as reported many times by our students. 

The Functional Piano Training draws also from compositional analysis, creating a deeper understanding of music, thus facilitating faster progress than conventional methods do.

What are the benefits from the Functional Piano Training?

The Functional Piano Training is far more in depth than conventional piano classes, offering benefits to all levels, from the beginner to the pro. 

Freedom of movement allows the student to not only play with a better tone but also more physical and sensory enjoyment. It covers the optimal use of the arm / finger technique, body alignment and more. 

Understanding of musical structures enables the student to "look behind the curtain" of the compositional process, understanding music at a deeper level, improving learning speed, retention, memorization and the overall performance. 

A strong foundation in ear training and sight reading allows faster and more correct learning of new pieces, a spontaneous relationship to music, and more overall enjoyment of the piano and music.

What is the requirements, investment and recommended
practice times?

While it's our work to make sure the practice approach is clear, well explained and working, there are the following four requirements for students to be able to participate: 

1) Regular access to pianos and / or weighted keyboards (if electronic, we recommend keyboards by Yamaha and Roland as they sound and play closest to the real thing). The pianist should have no trouble transitioning from an electric training instrument to a real acoustic piano. 

2) The commitment to practice 5 to 6 days a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes every day, the minimum time which allows the student to experience a very noticeable progress. More time is better - but only if one practices in an alert state. 

3) Regular alert and consistent attendance. Only consistent training builds a strong foundation for success. Classes are held weekly and, if preparing for auditions or concerts, up to three times per week. 

4) A clear desire to learn, master and enjoy the piano, and the will to continue going past obstacles that may arise along the way. 

The above four points are an essential prerequisite and requirement for participating in the FPT. 

Is Functional Piano Training for any level and how does one apply? 

Yes. All students are interviewed and meet with us for an informal audition. 

BEGINNING students benefit from learning the correct principles right away, avoiding having to unlearn at a later point poor practice habits and / or inefficient body posture. 

INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED students benefit from increasing their speed, progress and enjoyment of the instrument. Functional Piano also prepares students for successful auditions, college admission and contests.

Why are Functional Piano Trainers more “alive” and driven than most piano teachers?

Our coaches are dedicated to excellent in teaching - and love their work. All FPT trainers are driven to create the maximum progress for the student and recognize the need to create a strong foundation. 

Who and what you care for is more important than growing our school in size and business. We value quality over quantity. 

Functional Piano coaches teach with care, compassion, and passion for music. This transfers to our students. Students report that they practice with more confidence, alertness, drive and focus, possible through a higher degree of clarity of purpose, strategy and overall motivation.

Does Functional Piano Training also include learning strategies applicable to other areas of life?

Of course. What a student does at the piano is often a micro cosmos of what he or she does in life. Conversely, the musically trained mind has
a richer approach to life than the uninitiated one. 

To improve learning speed and overall motivation, Tim has been working with some of the world’s best peak performance coaches. Tim has also worked
as a sports and life coach with great success. Applying this knowledge in musical training has proven to empower the musical student to overcome potential obstacles that could otherwise significantly derail progress.

Can Functional Piano Training also help singers?

Yes, significantly so. We recommend the training also for the committed vocalist who wants to understand music better and improve rapidly their learning of new music. Being able to play the piano well and accompany the voice at the piano allows for better work in ensembles. A singer who understands the composition will be more expressive and in control of his / her career than one who doesn't.

Functional Voice Training

FAQ

What can one expect?

Functional Voice Training enables greater enjoyment as well as faster learning in singing. 

Even non-musical activities benefit from this training as the student learns to act with more alertness, precision and joy, positively impacting the overall quality of life, as reported many times by our students. 

The Functional Voice Training draws, like the Functional Piano Training, also from compositional analysis, creating a deeper understanding of music and facilitating faster progress than conventional methods do.

What are the benefits from the Functional Voice Training?

Actors, singers and even public speakers benefit greatly from the Functional Voice Training. This method is far more in depth than conventional voice classes, offering benefits to all levels. 

The beginning singer or actor benefits from starting with the FVT method by learning the correct principles right away, avoiding having to unlearn less than stellar practice and performing habits later on.  

The pro singer or actor learns to reach his or her musical goals faster and with greater ease, while also learning to perform with more depth, vocal and dramatic power and improved expression. 

FVT prepares students for vocal health and success in auditions, college admission and contests, including: 

Better tone and range, greater physical, sensory perception and enjoyment. FVT covers the optimal use of breathing techniques, resonance, body alignment and movement. 

Expressive power by understanding of musical structures. This enables the student to increase learning speed, retention, memorization and the overall level of the performance. 

Ear training and Sight Reading allow our students to have a strong foundation accessing new material faster and more successfully, with a greater ability to improvise and enjoy new pieces.

What is the requirements, investment and recommended
practice times?

There are the following four requirements for students to be able to participate: 

1) Regular access to a keyboard (if electronic, we recommend keyboards by Yamaha and Roland as they sound and play closest to the real thing). 

2) The commitment to practice 5 to 6 days a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes every day, the minimum time which allows the student to experience a very noticeable progress. More time is better - but only if one practices in an alert state. 

3) Regular alert and consistent attendance. Only consistent training builds a strong foundation for success. Classes are held weekly and, if preparing for auditions or concerts, up to three times per week. 

4) A clear desire to learn, master and enjoy the voice, and the will to continue going past obstacles that may arise along the way. 

How does one apply?

All students are interviewed and meet with us for an informal audition.

Why are Functional Voice Trainers different?

Our coaches love music and people. We are dedicated to excellent in teaching - and love our work. All FVT trainers work with the student to build a strong foundation, and are driven to create maximum progress. We care about our work and our students first, and always value quality over quantity. 

Functional Voice coaches teach with competence, precision and passion for music. This usually transfers to our students who practice and perform with increased confidence, alertness, drive and focus. Helping the student with a higher degree of clarity of purpose, strategy and overall motivation is a key element of our work.

Does Functional Voice Training also include learning strategies applicable to other areas of life?

Yes. How a student learns music and his or her instrument is often a micro cosmos of what he or she does in life. The musically trained mind has a richer approach to life than the uninitiated one, singers in particular experience more vitality through an improved use of air and vocal expression / power of themselves. 

Tim has been working with some of the world’s best peak performance coaches, allowing improved learning speed and overall motivation. He has also worked as a sports and life coach with great success, applying this knowledge in musical training and empowering students to overcome potential obstacles that could otherwise derail progress.