Marceline Merrill

A mentor once told me that a good teacher will help their students fix problems, but a great teacher will give their students the tools to fix their own problems. I have modeled my teaching after this phrase: While encouraging and uplifting my students, I give information, tools, and processes to prepare my students for success outside of the lesson.

​

To provide a space where all students can thrive, I practice polymodal teaching. By incorporating visual, aural, verbal, kinesthetic, logical, social, and solitary educational tools, each student can learn using their strengths, while also bolstering their weaker skills. In individual instruction, I tend to each student and their learning styles while creating a dialogue with them about meeting their needs.

 

For very young musicians, my process for teaching the language of music is modeled off of the Language Acquisition Theory which is how children learn to speak, read and write. Early lessons focus on rote learning and include musicality, tone, and technique from the very first notes. This model is a sound before symbol approach where reading is taught once a student understands what the sounds represent.

​

Following this sound before symbol methodology is a skill building approach. Students are not exclusively taught piece after piece after piece, but learn about theory, aural skills, history, listening, sight reading, technical exercises, improvisation, and technique. These skills build the tools that will empower the students to be able to be self-learners and foster an environment of success and fulfillment at the keyboard.

​

Another emphasis of my pedagogy is the biomechanics of the human body and its relationship to expression, tone, touch, and color. From the first notes through reading exercises and eventually to the most monumental repertoire, beautiful, rich and singing tone is married to efficient mechanics and movements that give students ease to focus on interpretation and in specific cases, overcome playing related injuries.

​

In addition to this mechanical aspect, it is impossible to note that as Glenn Gould said, “One does not play the piano with one's fingers: one plays the piano with one's mind.” The processes of learning, practicing, memorizing, and performing are all deeply amplified by an understanding of the brain and how it works. Students are taught through methods inspired from leading research in neuroscience and performance science to be able to work with their brain rather than against it.

​

As much as music is intellectual and physical and sometimes spiritual, it is also a powerful tool for expressing and exploring culture. In addition to the Western European traditions typically associated with classical music, students are strongly encouraged to learn music from their own cultures and cultures from around the world. In addition to helping build identity and connection to heritage, it can serve as a powerful tool for growing respect for music from other cultures. This respect can turn into culturally responsive artists and citizens who can view the world as a place of community and harmony.

​

While the study of piano is often deeply personal and private, students are very strongly encouraged to connect to the community of classical music. It is important to be music citizen and actively engage and build identity in music by attending concerts, performing, attending festivals, competitions, soirées, conferences, play in ensembles, and engage in other music communities.

​

I believe that in many ways, the piano is a mirror - it reflects what we put into it and turns it into sounds. It is of utmost importance to approach the instrument and therefore the self with wonder, joy, and possibility. Mental hygiene is encouraged and coached so that the student can have a prosperous relationship with themselves, and
therefore with the piano.

​

The final component of my teaching philosophy is one of stewardship. While I care about how a student plays next week or at the next recital or competition, my focus is on planting seeds that grow for many years. My ultimate care is that students love playing piano and how it fits in their lives and can play for the rest of their lives. Music has been one the greatest joys of my life, and the piano is one of my dearest companions, and it has made me a better person. It is my honor and privilege to help guide the next generation of music makers with the warmth and respect the piano has given me.

​

Mrs. Merrill currently teaches from her home in Brighton and is on faculty at the South Shore Piano School. She has previously served on the faculty of the ISU Preparatory Piano Program and the Dedham School of Music. She was a contributor for the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy’s course: Teaching through the Lens of DEI. She also was invited to present at the Music Teacher National Association’s 150th Anniversary Conference, and her concerts given to remove financial barriers of students were featured in the American Music Teacher Magazine. She formerly was an assistant editor to two El Sistema Journals, The Ensemble, and The World Ensemble.

​

Marcy Celebrates a rich tapestry of mentor and teacher artists that trace back to Beethoven, Liszt, and Chopin. She notes a particular affinity towards the legendary ancestral teachers like Adele Marcus, Joseph and Rosina Lhévinne, and Heinrich Neuhaus. She teaches rich and powerful tone, lyrical phrasing, and expressive interpretation adapted through the lens of leading modern educational practices.

​

Marceline holds degrees from Idaho State University and Longy School of Music of Bard College with many distinctions. In her master’s program, she was a proud scholar of Janet and Irv Plotkin, a teaching assistant, and a graduate fellow. Her primary mentors were Kori Bond and Spencer Myer and studied with Brandon Bascom, Mark Neiwirth, and Wayman Chin. She has continued her pedagogical education with Roza Yoder at the Chopin Academy, and she has also studied with luminaries like Steven Spooner, HeiYon Choi, Jefrey Biegal, Boris Slutsky, Arthur Green, Andrius Zlabys, Edward Auer, Kevin Kenner, and Mikhail Voskressensky to name a few.