Indie artist and certified pianist with over 18 years of teaching experience. Provides highly curated and personalised lessons for piano, keys and music theory.

Find out more about Nadia

• When did you first develop a passion for music and your favourite instrument?

  I like to think that music has been in my blood since I can't really remember a day, even from back when I was a toddler, where I was without music. I've always felt very glad that my parents had amazing taste I music. I grew up listening to classic rock for the most part and that has stayed with me to this day.
  I don't think I have a favourite instrument, but as a pianist who has played for years now, I definitely favor the piano. It just comes most naturally to me.

• Is there a particular type of music or artist that you listen to on a loop without it driving you crazy?

  This one still stumps me. Even though I'm trained as a classical pianist, meaning I've known classical music very intimately for several years, I don't enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoy playing it. The genre I always go to is rock. Progressive, experimental stuff mostly. While I don't have one particular favourite artist, I do think very highly of bands like Tool and Radiohead.

• Explain to us the most difficult or riveting course you could personally give to a student of music.

  I've always found that creating an all-around musician (one who is just as good with his/her ears as he/she is with music theory and sheet music) is an incredible challenge. My opinion is that people are wired to go one way or the other (stronger aural sense or stronger theoretic sense) and that the ideal musician is one who sits right at the centre of both. I try my best to make my course the best of both worlds.

• What do you think is the most complicated instrument to master and why?

  This one is tough. As a pianist, I find any other instrument more challenging to pick up. Meanwhile, I've known guitarists and violinists who think the piano is extremely complicated. I've also known a drummer who said he struggled quite a bit longer picking up the keys than with the drums.
  To each, his/her own I think.

• What are your keys to success?

  Musically speaking?
  I know virtuosos exist, but I don't believe it's all just talent. Practice has to be one of the most important keys to success in my opinion. And this probably applies to every other sphere of life as much as it applies to being a musician. Discipline has to be the second. Personally, I've found that having more structure in my life has helped me get further.

• Name three musicians you dream of meeting in your favourite bar in the early hours of the morning. Explain why.

  1. Franz Liszt- I'd love to know what his muses were while he wrote his more emotionally turbulent pieces
  2. Jack Johnson- I'd love to jam with him! He seems like a nice, fun-loving guy.
  3. Thom Yorke- I think he's an amazing songwriter and composer! I'd love to know his process.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to music or your days at music school.

  My piano tutor was a nun and an absolute hardass (think Terrence Fletcher from Whiplash). It's no secret I strongly disliked her and would anxiously wait for rainy days so I could cancel a class. If it were entirely up to me, I'd have quit piano lessons within weeks with her. But I was a child and I'm glad for my parents who ensured I stuck to it. Over the years as I grew and advanced in my learning, I began hating it less, and I even grew tolerant of her. I think she and I figured each other out well enough to make it work. I began to see that she was actually proud of me and saw potential. She was still tough, but I was responding to tough love and it wasn't so bad anymore.
  Oddly enough, while I may not have turned out to be as difficult as her, I am proud of how disciplined I am in my approach to tutoring.
  She made me who I am today and I can never be grateful enough.

• What are the little touches that make you a Superprof in music?

  I've found that I am passionate about music. And I can't imagine life without it. So when I meet people who haven't discovered the joy of music yet, I feel like I can help make a difference. So many times people say "I'm too old now" or "I just don't have it in me", but I'm not really buying that. I've tutored much older people and while they might not be as astute to learning as young kids are, it's still amazing to see what discovering music can do to help them feel so much younger and full of life!
  As for people who say music isn't in them, I think it's in every one of us. Some just haven't brought it to the fore yet.