Lynn's Piano Lessons

Lesson Policy 2023-2024

Lesson Schedule:
* Lessons begin: Friday, September 1st, 2023
* Last day of lessons: Saturday, August 31st, 2024
* Winter Recital: End of December 2023
* Summer Recital: End of July 2024

Lesson Hours:
* Monday to Saturday: 7:30 am – 9:00 pm

Weekly Lesson Rates:
* 15 minutes: $60 per month ($14 per lesson)
* 30 minutes: $100 per month ($23 per lesson)
* 40 minutes: $125 per month ($29 per lesson)
* 50 minutes: $150 per month ($34 per lesson)

* The monthly rate is fixed, so there is no need to count how many lessons are scheduled in that month.
* Rates shown above are for weekly lessons. Please contact Lynn for more or less frequent lessons.
* Same rates for online and in-person lessons. But an additional fee is incurred for in-home lessons, depending on the area and the transportation fees.
* The payment is due at the first lesson of the month and the options are e-transfer, check, or cash.

< Special Rates for Adult Lessons >
* Female only, weekly, Mon - Fri, 8:30am - 4 pm
15 minutes: $50 per month ($11.5 per lesson)
30 minutes: $90 per month ($20.7 per lesson)

Cancellations:
* 24 hours’ notice is required when cancelling a lesson, but emergencies or prolonged illness are exempted. When 24 hours’ notice is given, make-up lessons will be scheduled within the same month it was cancelled.
* Lessons cancelled by the instructor will be rescheduled with as much advance notice as possible.
* When suitable make-up lesson schedules cannot be found, lesson fees will be credited or refunded.

Public Holidays:
* Lessons will be held as usual on public holidays. Please follow the cancellation policy when cancelling lessons during the public holidays.

Withdrawals:
* If a student needs to discontinue his/her lessons, two weeks written notice via e-mail is required.

Expectations from the student:
* Learning piano requires consistency and steady practice. To help students attain rapid improvement of musicianship and skills, daily practice is strongly encouraged.

Lesson Materials:
* Books will be selected according to the student's individual interest, goals, and abilities.
* Mainly following RCM curriculum: Celebration series, FourStar Sight Reading and Ear Tests, Technical Requirements (+ Hanon)
* Method Books for beginners: Piano Adventure Series. (Including My First Piano Adventure, Accelerated Piano Adventure for older beginners, etc.)
* Upon request, books can be purchased by Lynn with a 10-15 % discount and should be picked up by parents.

About Lynn
Born in Korea, Lynn fell in love with music at the age of five, when she started learning piano from her mother. She began taking lessons from a piano instructor at age seven, and by the time she was twelve, she had mastered pieces in RCM level 9--her passion for the piano was still as strong as ever. Despite having been encouraged by her piano teacher to study music, she chose to major in pharmaceutical science in college. She never lost touch with her love for music, however: She played the piano at church, for an amateur choir, and took a jazz composition course for three semesters at Seoul Conservatory. She continued to write praise songs and practice the piano whenever she could. This passion kept its place in her life as she spent years in various countries working in turn as a pharmacist, a missionary, and a linguistics technician. She had also constantly been providing piano lessons to those around her since 2009, including her children, driven by her desire to share the joy of music with her loved ones.
After settling in Canada, she officially began teaching as a private piano instructor in 2017. She persevered in teaching even through the 2020 pandemic, switching to online lessons; seven of her students became successful RCM exam candidates that year, and one of them received 3rd place in her group at OMFA Virtual Provincial Final in 2021. That year, Lynn obtained professional certification by completing the RCM Piano Teacher Course (Teaching Elementary Piano) and passing the required exam with First Class Honors.
Lynn is, as her students often describe her, a smiling and extraordinarily patient teacher, who always works with her students to help them understand and overcome challenges. Since she knows firsthand the struggle that often comes with consistent piano practice, she never hesitates to praise her students for any progress made, which is often what encourages them to continue moving forward.
Every morning, Lynn says, it is with great happiness that she prays for her students. To guide her students in their musical journey is a constant driving force and a source of energy. She is "ever grateful" to God for every day as a piano teacher.

Summer Recital 2023:

Parents and students, thank you so much for all your hard work for this summer's recital! There were 26 wonderful performances that we watched together on Zoom, on Jun 24. We also enjoyed a fun 'Recital Quiz' afterwards, and Emily & Alexander Sun's family was our winner. Families voted for the most impressive performance, and Morand Yu won the Audience Choice Award! I believe that we all appreciated and celebrated each other's improvement through the recital.

If you are considering signing up for piano lessons with me and would like to watch the previous recitals, please contact me via email.

Winter Recital 2022

I would love to hold an in-person recital, but many students are already used to filming their performance video instead of performing live in front of people. So this winter recital will be virtual again, but I'd like to watch it along with as many families as possible, for it to feel more like a real recital. We will be watching it on Dec 26, at 8 am. The video will be available afterwards

To participate: Submit one video of the student performing their favorite piece. The video length should be under three minutes. Feel free to encourage them to wear a red, green, or white top, Santa hat, reindeer headband... etc and include any ornaments for Christmas spirit, when you film their performance. (No worries if you don't have any!) Please remember that the video should be filmed horizontally, and they are due on Dec 23.

Looking forward to celebrating with you on Dec 26!

Practice Championship

Thank you very much for your help with recording your children's practice time! I found that many students were motivated and dedicated to piano practice for the past three weeks! It was very exciting and encouraging to see how they practiced everyday. And it was very hard to choose one student for the first category, 'Best Quality Practice', because several students showed similar achievement. So I chose three students under the 'Greatest Improvement' category, instead. The winners are as follows:

1. Greatest Improvement(compared to October): Morand Yu, Charlotte Li, Sophia Zhao
2. Highest Total 1: most practice in group I (JK - G1, 3 students): Eugene Yan(470 minutes)
3. Highest Total 2: most practice in group II (G2 - G3, 8 students): Tina Yan(642 minutes)
4. Highest Total 3: most practice in group III (G4 +, 14 students): Ethan Lei(815 minutes)
5. Highest Minimum Practice: Tristan Su(30 minutes)
6. Highest Single Practice: Yuhan Chen(60 minutes, without missing daily practices)

Congratulations! I will contact the winners individually to award them prizes.

Summer Virtual Recital 2022 :

Summer Virtual Recital 2022 will be held on July 30, at 8 pm. The deadline for video submission is Wednesday, July 27.

It will be virtual again since many students prefer filming their performances, rather than performing in front of a live audience. Just like last year's Summer Recital, there will be two sections in it to enhance all students' musical imaginations. Participation in the second section is not mandatory, but please encourage your children to prepare one additional video of one of the following.

1) A video of the student playing a piece they composed themselves (The video length should be under one minute.)
2) A poem, lyric, story, or a work of art created by the student to express their feeling about a preferred piece of music they have been playing.
3) A video of the student actively listening to a classical piece of music, such as conducting, dancing, or drawing a picture.

Please encourage your children to prepare for their performances to the best of their ability. Thank you very much for your support!

I recently asked my students, “What would your life be like without piano?” I was surprised by their answers because they knew the benefits of learning piano so well. For example, they said they feel various emotions as they practice, and they feel proud as they master the pieces. They understood that music improves their mental health by catharsis, even though they did not know how to explain it. Not only are there emotional benefits, but there are also physical benefits such as development of certain parts of the brain resulting in improvement of reading and math skills, as well as the benefits related to attitude such as learning the power of persistence, developing time management skills and creativity, and learning how to perceive various concepts in this world. Music has made my life more beautiful and meaningful, just like painting adds vitality to a picture drawn with a pen. That is why I enjoy teaching piano with the belief that music can enrich my students’ lives as well.
My goal of teaching piano is to enable my students to enjoy music throughout their life. I hope they will find the joy of playing the piano, experience the excitement of making music, and appreciate the beauty of different styles of music. To this end, I carefully select pieces or books that suit my students, keeping their tastes and abilities in mind. For example, I make sheet music for several children's songs for younger beginners, so that they could enjoy it. I also use a variety of activities or games to teach different concepts, especially for younger students: M&Ms Challenge, Treasure Hunt, Memory Game, etc. I sometimes let them choose the next piece they want to learn so that they will be eager to practice. I also teach my students how to appreciate music and encourage them to regularly create their own music. I hold recitals twice a year to celebrate their improvement together and hold several sight-reading contests to encourage them to practice consistently.
I also believe that students can learn best in an atmosphere where they feel safe and are encouraged. That is why I use positive words only, to assure my students that I am here to support them and not to criticize them. For example, I use the word 'different' instead of 'wrong' and try to find something positive even in the students' mistakes. I often compliment their ability to notice and correct their own mistakes. In addition, I am always a smiling piano teacher who genuinely loves her students. I pray not only for them to improve in piano, but also to lead better lives, because I love them.
I was lacking in knowledge and experience when I started teaching my own children ten years ago. However, I learned so much over the past three years since I started using Faber Piano Adventure as a method book series for beginners. Soon I also started having my students use the Four Star Sight-Reading & Ear Tests and Celebration series. I have been encouraging my students to take the RCM exams because it is well designed to comprehensively enhance students’ musical development. I could witness the huge benefits in my students who finished their RCM exams successfully. I took the Elementary Piano Teacher Course in 2021, in which I learned so much.
Although I am usually sensitive to attitude changes in my students, I also need parents’ support such as observing the students’ learning attitude and communicating with me to decide on the teaching methods and suitable types of homework.
I guide my students to set short-term and long-term goals, and encourage daily practice individually considering their learning style and abilities. Every student is different in their innate ability and learning style. I believe that teachers are responsible for helping them enhance their strengths and overcome their weaknesses, with patience and wisdom. I want to become such a teacher, helping her students celebrate the joy of music throughout their lives. To this end, I am constantly learning. (Written in 2021)

(In Korean)
안녕하세요, 저는 피아노 교사 겸 아마추어 작곡가 김영인 입니다. 음악은 늘 제 인생을 더욱 아름답고 의미있게 가꾸어 주었기 때문에, 저는 저의 학생들의 삶도 음악으로 인해 풍성해 질 것이라는 확신으로 인해 늘 기쁘고 즐겁게 피아노를 가르치고 있습니다.
RCM Certified 피아노 교사로서 Elementary (초보 - RCM 레벨 4) 전문이지만 Intermediate 레벨도 지도 가능합니다. 학생들이 균형잡힌 음악인으로 자라게 하기 위해서 레슨 중에는 음악 이론, 테크닉, 독보, 청음, 음악 역사, 작곡 등 다양한 내용을 다루고 있습니다. 학생이 원할 경우, 악보를 읽는 대신 코드만으로 반주하는 법을 가르칠 수도 있습니다.
1년에 2회 온라인 리사이틀을 열어 학생들의 성과를 다함께 축하하는 시간을 가지고 있고, 1년에 3-4회 Sight Reading Challenge 를 통해 학생들이 독보력을 키울 수 있도록 지도하고 있습니다. 학생들이 RCM 시험을 통하여 다방면의 기술을 균형있게 습득할 수 있도록 격려 하고 있고, 여러 학생들이 이미 RCM 시험을 성공적으로 통과하는 경험을 통해 많은 유익을 누리고 있습니다.
학생들이 안전하게 느끼며 격려를 받을 때에 가장 잘 배울 수 있다고 믿기에, 저는 레슨 중에 늘 긍정적인 표현을 쓰려고 노력합니다. 실수를 꼬집고 비판하는 것이 목표가 아니라, 학생을 지지하고 바른 방향으로 갈 수 있도록 돕는 것이 목표이기 때문입니다. 모든 학생은 타고난 재능이 다르고 학습스타일이 다르기 때문에, 지혜와 인내로, 학생들이 약점을 극복하고 강점을 키우도록 돕는 것이 교사의 책임이라고 생각하고, 그런 교사가 되기 위해서 끊임없이 배우고 노력하고 있습니다. 읽어 주셔서 감사합니다!

(In Korean)
Lynn(김영인)은 한국에서 태어나서 5세에 엄마로부터 피아노를 배우기 시작했고, 그 이후로 피아노를 치기 싫었던 기억은 한 번도 없을 정도로 피아노와 음악을 사랑했다. 초등학교 2학년 때 피아노 전공자에게 레슨 받기 시작하여 5년 후에는 RCM level 9 에 해당하는 곡들을 연주할 수 있었고, 피아노 선생으로부터 전공을 해 보라는 권유를 받았지만 포기하였고 대학에서는 약학을 전공했다. 그렇지만 교회 예배 반주와 음악 동아리 활동을 통해, 그리고 집에서 틈이 날 때 마다 늘 피아노를 가까이 하고 찬양곡 작곡 활동도 계속 했고, 서울 콘서바토리에서 재즈작곡 코스를 3학기 수강했다. 그 이후로 약사로서, 선교사로서, 언어학 테크니션으로서, 여러 나라에서 살며 여러가지 일을 하면서도 음악에 대한 열정을 잃지 않았고, 2009년 이후로 자녀들과 주변 사람들에게 필요에 따라 피아노 레슨을 하며, 피아노를 통한 음악의 즐거움을 나눠왔다. 2017년 이후로 캐나다에서 피아노 교사로서 학생들을 가르치기 시작했고, 2020년의 판데믹 상황 중에도 온라인으로 레슨을 계속했다. 그 한 해 동안만 해도 몇몇 학생들이 총 7회의 RCM 시험을 우수한 성적으로 통과했으며 2021년에는 한 학생이 OMFA Virtual Provincial Final에 참가하여 그룹 안에서 3위를 차지하였다. 같은 해 RCM Piano Teacher Course를 통해 전문성을 키웠고, RCM level 8 이론과 실기 시험을 First Class Honours로 통과하여 2022년 1월 부터는 RCM Certified Teacher의 자격을 얻었다.

그는 레슨할 때에 항상 웃음을 잃지 않고 학생의 상황을 깊이 이해하며 긍정적인 방법으로 문제를 해결하도록 애쓰는, '인내심 많은' 선생님이라는 말을 자주 듣는다. 꾸준한 연습이 때로는 고통스럽다는 것을 이해하기에, 그는 학생들의 진보에 박수와 환호를 아끼지 않고, 학생들은 더욱 성취감을 느끼며 노력하게 된다.

그는 매일 아침 그 날 만날 학생들을 떠올리며 때로는 가슴이 벅차고, 어떻게 그들을 효과적으로 도울 수 있을지 고민하며 기도하는 것이 그에게 에너지를 준다. 피아노를 통해 음악을 배워가는 기쁨을 학생들에게 나누어주는 것이 그에게는 너무나 큰 만족과 보람을 주는 일이기에, 학생들을 만날 수 있는 하루하루가 하나님께 감사할 뿐이다.

Hello! I'm Lynn (Young In), a piano instructor and an amateur composer. Music has made my life more beautiful and meaningful, just like paint can add vitality to a picture drawn with a pen. That is why I enjoy teaching piano with the belief that music can enrich my students’ lives as well.
As an RCM certified teacher, I specialize in elementary piano, from beginners to RCM level 4, but I am also able to teach the intermediate level. My lessons consist of music theory, technical requirements, sight reading, ear training, music history and composition, in order to help the students grow into well-rounded musicians. Upon request, I can also teach how to play chords to accompany songs by reading chord symbols only. As the pandemic draws to a close, I continue to offer both in-person and online lessons.
I hold recitals twice a year to celebrate students' improvement together. I also hold several sight-reading contests to encourage them to practice consistently. I'm familiar with the RCM exam, so several students of mine have been very successful with their exams at different levels.
I believe that students can learn best in an atmosphere where they feel safe and encouraged. That is why I use positive words only, to assure my students that I am here to support them and not to criticize them. Every student is different in their innate ability and learning style. I believe that teachers are responsible for helping them enhance their strengths and overcome their weaknesses with patience and wisdom. I'm constantly learning to become such a teacher, helping students celebrate the joy of music throughout their lives.