Learn to play piano!
The piano is a many‐faced beast. It can be runny, rumbling, rustling, harp or bell‐like – really
whatever you want it to be – in a way that almost no other musical instrument can. It can bring you
to tears or scare the living daylights out of you (sometimes within the same piece; think Beethoven),
or it can lull you into a gentle sleep (think Schubert, or Chopin’s nocturnes). It can make you want to
take up ballroom dancing (think Mozart) – along with piano lessons, that would be a full life indeed…
Here are some reasons to learn
: ‐ You learned as a child and want to pick it up again.
‐ You want to master your favourite tunes.
‐ You’re self‐taught and want to develop your skills further.
‐ You want to write and perform your own songs.
‐ You want to gain a greater understanding of music and all its aspects.
Tonya's Approach
Tonya's guiding principle is that learning the piano should be fun! She loves teaching, and she employs a variety of techniques and methods when doing so.
Whilst she upholds the ‘old school’ principles of practicing
scales and covering music theory, Tonya also works in other activities – such as playing by ear, duets,
improvisation, and experimenting with arranging music. Whoever you are, and whatever your
musical interests, she looks forward to helping you develop and hone them further.
Why Learn With Tonya?
Tonya is a full Professional Member of the European Piano Teachers Association (EPTA), and holds a
Public Liability Insurance as well as the following certificates ‐ First Aid, Safeguarding and Protection
of Vulnerable Adults and Children, and a PVG scheme (formerly Disclosure Scotland) certificate. She
is very proud of her students' 100% ABRSM exams pass rate, and the following competitive results
so far:
Inverness Music Festival, March 2015, - Class KY07 (grade 6-7) - 3rd place
Highlands and Islands Music Festival, May 2015 Grade 1 - 2 class - 3rd place; Scottish music class - 2nd place.
Inverness Provincial MOD , June 2015 - 1st and 2nd place
Poolewe Provincial MOD, September 2015 - Primary Age class - 1st place
Poolewe Provincial MOD, September 2015 - Secondary Age class - 2nd place
Royal National MOD , Oban 2015 - 3rd place
Inverness Music Festival, February 2016 - Class KY04 (grade 3-4 class) - 2nd Place
Inverness Music Festival, 2017 - duet class, 2nd place
Inverness Music Festival, 2018 - Class KY04 (distinction) - 1st Place, KY01 (distinction) - 3rd Place
Inverness Music Festival, 2019 - Class K06 (distinction) - 1st Place
Inverness Music Festival 2020 - Class K00 (distinction) - 1st Place, Class K05 - 3rd Place
Inverness Music Festival 2021 - Class 050 K00 (distinction) - 1st Place, Class 056 K06 - 1st Place
Duration of lessons:
Beginner/lower intermediate level: 30 minutes
Advanced/upper intermediate level: 45 minutes or 1 hour
Payment:
During an initial 2 month period payments are taken monthly. After that, payment is made in twelve
month blocks, via a standing order, based on a 35-37 week school year (depends on the year). Lessons during school holidays are optional. Any other workshops she runs are paid for
separately.
A very productive #abrsm exam session indeed! Well done to all my students! .@ABRSM pic.twitter.com/JOK3ojOegI
— Pianist 4 Events (@Tonya_Clement) April 16, 2015
Yay! My first jazz student - passed his grade 3 Jazz !
Posted by Tonya Clement / Pianist 4 Events on Friday, June 19, 2015
“I recently began piano lessons with Tonya, having learnt as a child but having since slipped out of
practice. I’ve been playing by ear for some time, and writing and arranging my own songs, but I
wanted to expand and develop these further, especially in terms of learning new rhythms and
arrangements. I see music as merging and emerging colours, with major keys and chords being like
rainbows or the aurora, and minor chords being more like puddles, branches and leaves. Tonya’s
work with me on jazz improvisation has been scary at times, due to how far it’s stretched me. At
other times it’s hilarious. But it is always, always exciting and exhilarating. She’s teaching me how
to bring out a melody, and has expanded my confidence in sight‐reading hugely. I look forward to
exploring more!” – Laura, 29/05/2016
I've only just started with Tonya and I enjoy her lessons because she gives you a lot of choice in what sort of music you want to play and she listens to your opinions such as if you think you are not getting challenged enough or getting challenged too much and takes them into account. Kilda Lynch, 11/15/2013
Hi Tonya
We received our reports and we were delighted with the progress Megan and Dylan have both made. They both thoroughly enjoy coming to there lessons with you and your encouragement makes them want to develop and learn more.
Thanks, Rose 22/07/2015
Dedicated, professional, friendly and focused piano tutoring - thank you. Judith 24/07/2015'