Meet Your Trusted Teachers
Bernadette: For the Love Of Piano Studio, FTLP Instructor,
Master Simply Music Teacher
Leeanne: Tinkling Ivories Piano, FTLP Instructor,
Licensed Simply Music Teacher
Dillon: FTLP Student Tutor – Power of Two
Listen to Bernadette As She Explains:
How To Find The Right Teacher For You or Your Child.
Audio is based on Bernadette’s book, A World Where Everyone Plays.
Meet Bernadette:
Bernadette understands the Simply Music method and the power it carries. This breakthrough piano method changed her life. She is the longest standing veteran Simply Music teacher in San Jose and the Bay Area with 20 years of experience. She is a qualified California credentialed teacher with a Masters of Arts in Education and a Master of Arts in Religion.
As a Master Simply Music Teacher, she has coached her colleagues and co-founded the International San Diego Symposium, a training conference for Simply Music teachers around the world. She is also the author of the best-selling book, A World Where Everyone Plays, available on Amazon.
As a young child, she always dreamed about playing the piano. Her parents graciously provided lessons but after a few tries with a few different teachers, she quit. She felt that it was just too hard. In her heart of hearts, she believed that she would never be able to play the piano. However, she knew she had music inside of her.
So when her children were of age, she promised them that she would give them piano lessons. And she did. At a home school conference, she stumbled upon an Australian piano method called Simply Music. This literally changed her life. What she thought was going to be for her children, turned out to be for her as well. She couldn’t get enough of playing and eventually decided to become a Simply Music piano instructor (at the time, no local teachers taught Simply Music). That began her amazing journey into the world of music and teaching.
As an adult trained musician, she understands the challenges that adult students experience. As a teacher, she is able to encourage students, young and old, to pursue their love of music and piano playing despite the peaks, plateaus, and valleys of playing. It is her greatest desire for her students to become self-expressed, generative musicians who ultimately acquire a love for the piano. That’s why she named her studio For The Love Of Piano Studio. She is thrilled to be a Simply Music piano teacher in San Jose and the South Bay area.
Meet Leanne:
Leeanne Innes is a Licensed Simply Music Teacher and began teaching piano lessons out of her home in Perth, Western Australia in 2014.
This is her story…
I grew up in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. I was always a musical child. I loved playing records and singing along. I would also make up my own songs. I think I was always meant to be a teacher. I would line all my dolls up and give them homework to do.
My piano journey is not your typical one. I had piano lessons through my school and started when I was 13. I did the traditional Australian Music Examinations Board curriculum and theory. I loved to play, but I hated doing exams. I was so scared I would make a mistake, because we were told mistakes were bad. Like most kids, I ended up quitting when I was 16.
When I was 29, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. During a counseling session I was asked “what do you do every day, just for yourself, for your own pleasure?” I realized it was nothing. I immediately decided I wanted to play the piano. I bought some teach yourself to play books and started at home by myself. The only thing I could remember from my earlier lessons was where middle C was! The reading of music came back to me fairly quickly, but my playing was limited. I wanted to improve.
I decided I would like to teach piano. When searching online for information, I stumbled across Simply Music. I had never heard of it before. It immediately resonated with me. Play Piano Immediately. That’s what I wanted to do, be able to play well!
I applied to Simply Music to train as a teacher and was accepted. I completed my teacher training in 2013 and opened my studio in 2014.
The things I love most about Simply Music are:
- Not having to play scales – boring!
- Playing great sounding music, no Mary Had A Little Lamb.
- Playing Blues and Jazz, so much fun!
- Improvising and composing my own music, something I was never taught before.
- The Accompaniment Program – giving you access to playing any song you can sing along with.
- Getting to teach this program!
I am passionate about teaching and achieving the best outcome for each and every student. To me, it’s so much more than piano lessons. I want to make a difference in people’s lives. I believe that the Simply Music method achieves this.
I love making students dreams of playing the piano come true.
If you are looking for online piano lessons, Leeanne would love to help you!
Meet Dillon:
Dillon has been taking Simply Music Piano Lessons at For the Love of Piano Studio for over 10 years. His mastery in Simply Music and the playing-based method is exceptional as he plays advanced pieces effortlessly like Claire de Lune, Maple Leaf Rag, In The Hall of the Mountain King, etc. He is teachable and a great communicator, which makes him an excellent tutor in the Power of Two Practice Pack Lab. He sets the standard for what it means to be a successful role model and tutor for up and coming students in the program. No doubt his years of commitment and playing will serve as an inspiration to others. Please enjoy the following video of Dillon playing Rhapsody in Blues.
Press Release, The Almaden Times,
BREAKTHROUGH PIANO METHOD LAUNCHING ITS 19TH YEAR
Finding a way to bring fun and excitement back into music lessons
SAN JOSE, CA, AUG. 2018 — The ultimate vocational change happened for Bernadette Ashby at the age of 37. She became a career piano instructor in San Jose, California. How is this possible when she didn’t even know how to play the piano? That is, until she discovered a remarkable piano method that would change her life. She’s been teaching ever since.
“I never thought in my lifetime that I would be able to play the piano, let alone teach it. I gave that dream up a long time ago. Then I found Simply Music, an breakthrough Australian piano method that has students playing pop, accompaniment, blues, and classical pieces immediately from their very first lessons. Everything changed for me,” she happily exclaims.
Recognized as the 2016 Best Small Business in San Jose by the Best Businesses in San Jose Award Program, her 19 years of teaching includes hundreds of satisfied and musically expressed students. They are elementary age children to high school, doctors, retirees, other piano educators, adults who’ve dreamt of playing all their lives and adults who’ve always wanted to play without having to read music at first.
She’s taught online, children with autism and special needs, but one of her most joyful experiences was teaching a young blind and deaf girl how to play. That is one of the pinnacle times in her career because she dared to do the impossible.
How does Simply Music work? “Simply Music temporarily delays music reading and immerses students in the actual experience of playing,” she says. “It begins by distilling entire pieces into shapes, patterns, and concepts that students can clearly see and easily play on the keyboard.
With no attention on music reading, students are free to relate directly to the piano and develop a natural connection to the instrument. My students are building a repertoire of 20-30 songs in their first year of lessons with me. Eventually, when I begin to teach them to read, they are thrilled and excited to learn.”
As a master Simply Music piano instructor who teaches this playing-based method, her desire is to help families and individuals experience the same joy that she received over the years. Cindy Vierhus remarks, “I appreciate the many years of experience Bernie brings to each student. We are delighted to be reaching our goals in musicianship, freedom, and joy. Bernie is an inspiring coach and mentor.”
She continues to propagate her message in her visionary book, A World Where Everyone Plays, a collection of inspiring stories from teachers and students around the world. This mission is her personal lifetime commitment. Boldly, her studio, For the Love of Piano, is proud to celebrate their 19th year of bringing about a more musical world. For more information, call (408) 641-9926.
