Mefford Music Studio

Lessons Offered

Where are Lessons Offered

About Me

I have been teaching piano almost as long as I have been performing, coming up on 10 years. I started teaching beginners when I was just a teenager, and as I learned more about pedagogy and about piano myself, I branched into teaching more advanced students. To date, I have taught lessons to over 100 different students ranging in age from 5 to 70, and ranging in skill from complete beginner to college piano performance major. 

I studied pedagogy in my undergraduate degree from master teachers Dr. Irene Peery-Fox and Dr. Jared Pierce, who taught me both how to run a studio and how to manage individual lessons at different levels. Right out of college, I got my first teaching job at the Utah Piano Conservatory, where the fast-paced nature of lessons taught me how to adapt quickly to students’ needs and be efficient with limited time. My second job, I had the opportunity to be the first ever teaching assistant for the now famous Key Lime Piano Studio in Lehi, UT, just as it started expanding. Here I got the opportunity to teach on a more individual level and learn how to build a quality teacher-student relationship, as well as learn to develop my own teaching style with the freedom afforded to me. These opportunities prepared me greatly to be a self-sufficient private teacher now. 

Not every student is going to think I’m the best fit for them. I expect consistent practice, completion of assignments, and attention to detail in music. I have had many trial lessons that don’t pan out because the student or parent thinks my expectations are too high for them. Make no mistake; I expect a lot, but I also care deeply about music and have great understanding and sympathy for those who genuinely try. Whether your goal is to learn to read music, improve rhythm, learn to play the great classical repertoire, or simply have a good time learning the piano, I can and will help you achieve it. I love helping students make musical breakthroughs, especially if it is something they have been struggling with for a while. The excitement of realizing a new way to approach music is something that never gets old, and it helps me to remember when I first made that breakthrough myself. 

If you want to learn and read more about me as a pianist, check out my website at (contact me). Lessons are either online over Zoom or in person at my studio in downtown Peekskill, NY. Contact me with any questions and set up a trial lesson today!

My Musical Education Background

I received my BM in piano performance from Brigham Young University and my MM in piano performance from the Mannes School of Music. I studied with master pianists Richard Anderson, Irene Peery-Fox, and Simone Dinnerstein. 

Genres and Subjects Taught

Classical piano, music theory, chamber music 

Lesson Rates

My base rate is $20 per 15 minutes of lesson time. It is expected that students will have at least weekly lessons, whether that weekly amount is 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or 60 minutes, depending on the student's age, piano experience, and the family's financial ability. Some families may choose to have multiple lessons a week. This is most common with young kids with short attention spans or advanced students who want extra lessons. 

In a 4-month period, we will typically plan to have 16 lessons and take a holiday one or two of the extra lesson days, but keep the monthly amount the same. This way the family is always paying for four lessons a month and has a consistent bill to rely on, instead of fluctuating if some months have five lessons and others have three. If the student would rather have the extra lesson(s), however, then those will be worked into the monthly bill. 

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