Mentorship

Mentorship philosophy

Musicianship is more than a skillset; it's a lifelong journey of learning to understand the language of sounds. It transforms your relationships with math and logic. It's stepping into the minds and hearts of history's greatest composers and, for brief moments, living centuries in the past. It expands your worldview and shines meaning, context, and beauty onto civilization's not too distant history. It's mastering the creation of emotions out of noise.

It's more than turning notes on a page into a sequence of fine motor skills; to teach it as such is a disservice to students.

I believe teaching music requires employing a mentorship philosophy. Students should be guided to a natural and holistic understanding of what music is. They should be shown different theories on how it works, and they should grasp with confidence the basic building blocks that allow for mastery – much like how we learn language. There are no answers, only interpretations. Mentorship requires an open dialogue at all times, the ability to ask any question and have it answered, and the freedom to delve into exactly the area that one's mind finds most fascinating at any given moment. This is the teaching style that cultivates a passion for music and nourishes curiosity.

I specialize in teaching adults, retirees, and teenagers. Some students come with no piano experience or musical background. Some students are university-trained musicians looking to develop their composition skills. Every person's relationship with music grows along a different path, so every student's lessons are custom tailored to their specific strengths, needs, and interests.

I graduated from Western University where I majored in music, focusing on composition and music theory. To my piano lessons I bring over two decades of piano playing and composing experience, and years of independent study on music theory and piano pedagogy. My life's passions are composing and introducing others to the world of music.

Lessons are given at my centrally located home studio in London, Ontario, on my grand piano. Arrangements can be made for in-home lessons, especially for multi-student families. Lessons are available any time on weekdays and weekends. All sheet music and learning materials are provided with lessons. Keyboard rentals are also available.

Mentorship topics include;

  • the rudiments of music and piano – reading, writing, playing

  • genres ranging classical, pop, rock, musical theatre, jazz, and video game music

  • improvisation

  • music theory

  • composition

  • ear training

  • musical history & context

  • studio recital / performance opportunities

References

"Travis is an absolute gem of a piano instructor! [My son] is always looking forward to lessons with him, and I can see solid progress reading music and learning songs that [my son] chose.

Travis is patient, encouraging and keeps learning engaging -- He has this wonderful knack for matching lessons with [my son's] ability, keeping him motivated and growing, with subtle music theory and improv.

Travis is your guy! Highly recommended!"

- Matt B.

"Travis gave piano lessons to both myself and my son for two years before we moved. Watching him adapt his teaching style between us really made me appreciate how he works to connect with each student and meet them at the level they learn best at. We found his passion for music to be infectious and we enjoyed how he helped us explore deeper into the genres of music that we love.

His professionalism and customized lesson plans for each of us every week were greatly appreciated. Can't recommend him enough!"

- Rita K.

Connect with me

Looking to start lessons? Have a question that I haven't answered above? Reach out via email at travis@reichstein.ca, or by using the adjacent contact form.