| Teaching Experience |
I have been teaching adults and children for over 20 years. I taught at the College of the
Mainland in the Continuing Education Program for 16 years.
In the third grade, I took piano lessons with Sister Vera at the Loreto Academy in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. When I would play the wrong notes, Sister Vera would slap my knuckles with a ruler.
I thought to myself at the time, if I ever teach piano lessons, I would only use positive
reinforcement. To this day I never reprimand but instead do my best to help the student feel
comfortable and to lift their spirit toward greater levels of achievement. After a year of piano
lessons, I learned enough to figure out the notes to different pieces of sheet music like Autumn
Leaves and I would practice on my own.
In 1985, I had an idea to teach the children in Countryside, in League City, Texas to play the
piano. So I gathered up all the children in the neighborhood and started teaching them how to
play the piano. None of the children had a piano so every afternoon they would come over to
my house to practice on my piano. After three months, I invited the parents in for a little recital.
The parents could not believe how well their children could play. After the recital, I decided to
go back to college and get my music degree. I studied under the guidance of Sophia Gilmson a
concert pianist from Russia who is currently teaching at the University of Texas.
The College of the Mainland needed a piano teacher for their Continuing Education Program so I
began teaching the students at the college. It was a challenge, as every six weeks eight new
students would be looking to me for guidance. I learned it was easier for the students if I work
with the inexperienced students at the beginning of the class and then worked with the
intermediate students at the end of class. I kept a full teaching load at the College of the
Mainland for sixteen years. Then my husband built me a nice piano studio in Hitchcock, Texas.
It has a beautiful waiting room complete with a waterfall, gold fish and classical music playing,
for all my parents to fall asleep while I am working with their children or grandchildren in the
next room.
Students who took piano lessons with me at College of the Mainland often continue their studies
with me at my new studio in Hitchcock.
I have enjoyed teaching adults and children for over twenty years now.
Mainland in the Continuing Education Program for 16 years.
In the third grade, I took piano lessons with Sister Vera at the Loreto Academy in Santa Fe, New
Mexico. When I would play the wrong notes, Sister Vera would slap my knuckles with a ruler.
I thought to myself at the time, if I ever teach piano lessons, I would only use positive
reinforcement. To this day I never reprimand but instead do my best to help the student feel
comfortable and to lift their spirit toward greater levels of achievement. After a year of piano
lessons, I learned enough to figure out the notes to different pieces of sheet music like Autumn
Leaves and I would practice on my own.
In 1985, I had an idea to teach the children in Countryside, in League City, Texas to play the
piano. So I gathered up all the children in the neighborhood and started teaching them how to
play the piano. None of the children had a piano so every afternoon they would come over to
my house to practice on my piano. After three months, I invited the parents in for a little recital.
The parents could not believe how well their children could play. After the recital, I decided to
go back to college and get my music degree. I studied under the guidance of Sophia Gilmson a
concert pianist from Russia who is currently teaching at the University of Texas.
The College of the Mainland needed a piano teacher for their Continuing Education Program so I
began teaching the students at the college. It was a challenge, as every six weeks eight new
students would be looking to me for guidance. I learned it was easier for the students if I work
with the inexperienced students at the beginning of the class and then worked with the
intermediate students at the end of class. I kept a full teaching load at the College of the
Mainland for sixteen years. Then my husband built me a nice piano studio in Hitchcock, Texas.
It has a beautiful waiting room complete with a waterfall, gold fish and classical music playing,
for all my parents to fall asleep while I am working with their children or grandchildren in the
next room.
Students who took piano lessons with me at College of the Mainland often continue their studies
with me at my new studio in Hitchcock.
I have enjoyed teaching adults and children for over twenty years now.
Gayle's Beginning Piano Lessons
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