My name is Joseph and I am the creator of Flex Lessons.
Here are some highlights from my background:
I studied piano with Margaret Turner, Dr. Keith DeFoor, David Watkins, Dr. Robert Henry, and Huu Mai.
I studied organ under Dr. Timothy Wissler.
I have a Bachelors of Music in Piano Peformance. I decided not to pursue a Masters because I found it more practical to study with teachers directly.
I’ve been teaching professionally since 2011.
I have taught thousands of piano lessons, most of which have been online.
I’ve worked as a church organist consistently since 2013.
I'm also happily married with kids, and I enjoy spending time with my family. I manage to play an occasional video game here and there, and I've explored my share of random hobbies such as coffee roasting and astronomy.
I took a rather non-traditional route to a career in music.
I originally was self-taught and learned everything by ear. I didn't know that I was missing out on anything until I heard a few fellow students play some impressive classical repertoire early on when I was in high school. Although I initially found this discouraging, my interest grew substantially after I was gifted a month of free piano lessons during the summer after my sophomore year of high school.
Since I had already been playing and knew my way around a piano, I jumped straight into intermediate and advanced music. Looking back, I really should have started from the beginning. However, the path that I chose played a significant role in leading me to where I am today. I eventually found my way with stubborn determination and patience on my piano teacher's part.
I went on to earn a performance degree in piano and started teaching professionally shortly before obtaining my degree. When I first began teaching, I traveled to my students and eventually expanded to include some lessons at my home as well. I did not necessarily have teaching at the forefront of my mind when I began the coursework for my music degree, but it quickly became obvious that I was meant to be a teacher.
Sharing the gift of music with piano students has been an incredibly satisfying experience.
I am particularly interested in piano pedagogy and how various concepts can be best taught to the most people. I eventually began experimenting with online lessons and worked to expand my sense of pedagogy to include online learning as a specialty.
Even before the pandemic, I had noticed a trend towards the use of technology during lessons and decided to embrace it. I began pursuing online lessons first as a make-up option for students, and then went exclusively online in early 2018. I have expanded my online studio to include international students and have even worked with other teachers to bring their studios online.
Over time, I refined my teaching methods into a structured curriculum, complete with a series of courses and a private community designed to support piano students throughout their learning journey. This unique educational experience eventually became known as the Flex Lessons Piano Academy.
I'm incredibly grateful to the first group of students who took a chance on the program. Their feedback helped shape and improve the curriculum until it became a reliable system for helping students make real progress at the piano. From there, the rest is history!
For the record, my wife came up with the name Flex Lessons. She has also played a significant role in this project and has been a source of inspiration since the beginning.
If you're new here, there's plenty to explore! Take a look around to learn more about my program, my teaching approach, and the methods that have helped so many students grow as pianists.
Explore the Flex Lessons Piano Academy.
Check out my free resources for piano students.
Read some of my blog posts
Read testimonials from former students and Academy members.
Check out my resources for teachers.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel