Heather Campbell

Heather Campbell has taught piano for over 30 years and incorporates her extensive knowledge of the Alexander Technique in her piano instruction. Everything that a student does physically at the piano will affect the quality of playing and therefore she pays close attention to the student’s physical presence at the keyboard. She is currently writing a comprehensive book on Alexander Technique at the piano, entitled, "Freedom and Flow: The Pianist's Guide to Alexander Technique". Understanding the music score and the many subtle clues found within it are key to a student’s interpretation. So when students are having difficulty interpreting the music, Heather will bring them back to the score and discuss it in detail. She cares about the clarity of intention behind the student’s interpretation of the score. She works with students to help them discover and express their own musical ideas and interpretation. Heather will challenge students when they are playing on “auto pilot” - when they have allowed their muscular memory of the music to take over without their minds being fully engaged. She encourages students to carefully listen to what they are producing because too frequently, students will be so focused on getting through the technical difficulties of the music, that they forget to listen and adjust their playing based on what they hear. Heather likes to draw out the best in her students by encouraging them to try things that are outside their comfort zone – to explore and experiment and to even go wrong in order to discover new ideas. She believes the discoveries made during piano lessons should be exhilarating and empowering. Heather has the following qualifications: Master of Music (Piano Performance and Literature) Master of Arts (Philosophy) Bachelor of Music (Performance) Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) ARCT (Performance) ATC-Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique