Flex Lessons offers classical piano courses and live online piano lessons via Zoom. The name Flex Lessons describes this flexibility across these modes of learning.
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 have taught thousands of piano lessons, most of which have been online.
I’ve worked as a church organist for over a decade.
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, which I hope some of you find encouraging.
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 in 2011. 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.
I eventually developed my methods into a curriculum and created a system of courses and a private community to support piano students. I am very appreciate to the first wave of students who became early adopters of my program. Through their feedback, my method has developed to the point where it can reliably train up piano students. The rest is history!
As for the name...my wife is the one who came up with Flex Lessons. (She demanded credit!)
If you are new here, there are plenty of things to explore to learn more about my program and my methods.
Check out my free resources for piano students.
Learn about my classical piano curriculum
Read some of my blog posts
Read testimonials from some of my students
Check out my resources for teachers.
Subscribe to my YouTube channel