PRIVATE Piano / Songwriting / VOICE LESSONS

ONE-ON-ONE CREATIVE LESSONS with Innovative Artist / Teacher HAYDEN GREYSON

Virtually via Google Meet / Skype / Zoom

In-Person: Select Areas in New Jersey & South Florida


Please Fill Out Before Booking Your First Lesson

So, you wanna play piano from pop to rock to classical but not sure how to start?  Or creatively breakthrough to the next level?  

 

Wish you could accompany your singing

on piano or keyboard?

 

How do you write a song on piano or compose a catchy tune?

Interested in singing and playing piano but not sure where to start?   

 

Have you given up trying to learn piano before out of frustration or confusion?

Looking to overcome stage fright or want to

WOW a crowd with your piano skills?

 

Do you wish you could get unstuck on the keyboard?


Teaching Philosophy

One of my greatest passions is to coach, mentor and teach piano students as well as musical artists.  I have a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from New York University, years of experience as a music educator and continue to study with luminaries in the music world.  You can read about some more of my credits here.  

I have trained in pop, rock as well as classical techniques with a traditional and modern foundation.    

My teaching approach is very creative while also inspired by a modern & classical approach to self-discipline inspired by my own continued studies, successes and footfalls as well as philosophy from my kung fu training, and catered to your unique learning style.  

  • Want to learn notes? Great, I'm happy to help.
  • Don't want to learn notes?  Yup, you can still play piano.  Did you know that the Irving Berlin, the legendary composer of famous songs like White Christmas, God Bless America and Blue Skies, wrote songs without reading or writing music?
  • Want to improvise, compose or write songs?  Or not sure how to improve upon where you are now? Joy, creativity, fun and humor are part of the enlightening learning process, as well as overcoming hurdles and challenges along the journey.

Lesson Details

TOPICS:  

Piano  (pop from mid to late 20th century to today's modern styles, Broadway, classic rock, intro to country, blues, jazz or beginning to intermediate level classical)

 

Music Theory including Reading Sheet Music or Playing by Ear

Stage Performance / Artist Career Coaching

Intro to Studio Recording 

 

Songwriting (including Improvisation & Composition such as How to Compose Soundtrack Themes for Video Games, Films, TV, etc.)

(Melody, Lyrics, Rhythm, Structure, Chords, Emotion / Expression & much more!)

Playing Piano While Singing  (all ranges)

STYLES:  From Pop to Rock to Broadway & beyond (including techniques from Alternative, Blues, Classical, Country, Folk, Singer/Songwriter & Modern)

LEVELS:  Beginner / Intermediate / Advanced

AGESAdults, Teens, Children 

LOCATIONVirtually through FaceTime / Google Duo / Skype / Snapchat / Zoom or I can travel to select areas in New Jersey for In-Person Lessons

TIME:  30m/45m/60m+   

FEE:  Please contact me for current rates. 


Results

Skill accomplishments of my students include:

  • learning how to play piano from scratch, brushing up or polishing skills as well as being inspired from constructive feedback to breakthrough creatively and performance wise 
  • accompanying singing with piano 
  • composing memorable melodies 

  • improved vocal performance
  • overcoming creative hurdles, writer's block & stage fright 
  • getting "unstuck" whether it be as a piano player or singer / songwriter

Career accomplishments of my students include:

  • being selected to attend the Grammy Awards rehearsals
  • winning a marketing and recording package with a music entertainment group
  • performing off-Broadway 
  • winning a $5,000 college scholarship
  • singing at the historic Count Basie Theatre for a sold-out crowd
  • courageously releasing their beautiful music online to stellar reviews  

I'm most proud of my students for learning to learn music with enthusiasm, expression, humility, ingenuity, creativity and self-reliance.  I believe some of the greatest awards are a result of inner success and harmony. 


Availability

(As of Fall 2022)

Please contact me to schedule your lesson or if you have any questions. Thanks and best wishes for your musical training! Hayden

FAQ

Can I learn more than one thing - like songwriting and piano?  Can we just focus on something very specific like performance anxiety or writing better lyrics?  Absolutely.  Your lesson is your time to choose what you would most like to focus on.  I teach in a harmonious way to help each student along their own path.

Hayden, my style is way different from yours, but I like that you seem to be a creative teacher.  Why should I study with you?  I'm passionately committed to helping artists creatively find their unique voice, regardless of style.

I'm a complete beginner.  Can you teach me from scratch?  If you are motivated and inspired to learn with great determination, probably yes.  If not, then no.  (You asked!)

I'm NOT a complete beginner.  In fact, I know more about ______ than you.  But I am blocked in a specific musical area.  I do not know everything.  However, I am greatly experienced at helping artists to feel more creatively free, validated, inspired and educated on specific musical topics.      

So and so charges less / more than you.  They have more / less accomplishments than you.  Indeed.  I have studied with teachers who have charged more, the same and less than I do.  In my experience, a teacher who promised the moon and stars and charged a whole lot more than I do, turned out to give me way less than stellar results. 

Another teacher who didn't charge very much, also did not seem to give me fantastic results.  Although truth be told, I am grateful for what I did learn from these teachers.  I have studied with many teachers - and the one who has taught and inspired me the most happens to charge around the same amount that I do. 

At the end of the day, I believe the teacher that you feel most artistically connected with and most inspired by on a teacher-student level, just might be the best coach for you.  Maybe that is me, maybe it is not.

Studio Policy

  1. Please note each lesson must be paid for in advance
  2. The preferred payment method is through Zelle.
  3. Missed lessons for any reason are non-refundable, but a make-up lesson must be scheduled within 30 days.
  4. Lost time due to illness, emergencies, special events (how often is Aunt Lulu going to win an award for her prize-winning pasta?), zombie apocalypses or technical issues are understandable from time to time - this can be made-up, no worries.

You are expected to show up at your lesson time with focus, commitment, courage & determination to grow as an artist which includes facing challenges & having practiced wholeheartedlyPlease do not book a lesson if you are not ready to focus.  That said, I am happy to help you learn how to practice.  In my experience, this does NOT arrive naturally to most students.  I can help motivate you to be more self-disciplined as well as encourage you when the road gets tough, but you only get as much out of this as you put into it, as they say. 

While you will definitely learn at your lessons, I can't practice for you and your own artistic exploration will ultimately teach you the most.  That said, I can save you a lot of time and from having to reinvent the wheel! 

Inspirational Quotations

"I don't write songs about a specific, elusive thing. I write about love, and everyone knows what it is like to have your heart broken. Heartbreak can definitely give you a deeper sensibility for writing songs. I drew on a lot of heartbreak when I was writing my first album, I didn’t mean to but I just did."        -Adele“Nothing pleases me more than to go into a room and come out with a piece of music.”-Paul McCartney"Writing music, for me, is never one single process. It's never one system. But there is a system."-Lady Gaga"Songwriting is a very mysterious process. It feels like creating something from nothing. It's something I don't feel like I really control."-Tracy Chapman

“I write all the time, if it's just riffs, titles or a verse here or a chorus there. I try to write on a daily basis. Writing is just like anything else you get good at it by practice.” -Jon Bon Jovi

“Forget what life used to be, you are what you choose to be. It's whatever it is you see that life will become.”-Jackson Browne

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everyone will respect you.”-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching


Artists & Music Students

Here's the debut official music video from my longtime student Renee Audrey, who is a wonderful, compassionate & gifted artist.  You can read about her experience studying songwriting with me below under Testimonials.  Renee was also the 1st Place Winner in WMUH's Radio Riff Off.

NJSDD Winner 1st Place Nicole Levine

Nicole wrote an incredible song for a great cause, and you can watch her inspiring interview which was broadcast on PBS.

 

2021 Song Release by Olivia McKeon whose music is wondrously introspective, poetic and heartfelt.

From a concert at New Jersey's historic Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey.  Listen to Daniel Silver's stellar harmonies as well as his awesome vocal solo at 10:29.  We sang a tribute to the music of Jackson Browne.


Testimonials



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