Lina Kilano's Profile

Background:

Hey there! I'm Paulina. I hold Master of Arts Degree in Music Education and Qualified Teacher Status obtained in England. I studied piano and accordion performance, improvisation, composition and music theory. Since then I have been traveling the world playing music and teaching it to students from many different countries and cultures, including the UK, USA, Poland, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Caribbean Islands. Being a traveling educator taught me to be very sensitive to diverse needs of each individual and to provide student-centered education that supports unique student’s goals and aspirations. Currently I accept students from the age of 7 to learn with me the art of playing piano and/or accordion - both very unique and mesmerizing instruments! I will teach you how to play beautiful french and italian music that stands at the core of accordion and piano's glory, but also darker and more complex music of the Balkans or South America (like tango), that will turn heads of anyone witnessing you play. As an academically trained musician I always include classical repertoire in my course as I believe any well-rounded musician should be familiar with and able to perform classical pieces. Like all other instruments, piano and accordion have evolved greatly in recent years. I will show you how you can use these instruments to play modern music including jazz and contemporary, but also popular styles like rock or electronic music. After years of education and gained experience I use a mixture of different methods, creating and adjusting my accordion course to each student's specific goals and aspirations. With my educational background in classical piano I teach solid playing technique based on Frederick Chopin's teaching method. Chopin was a passionate teacher himself, who developed an array of tools for learners to play their instrument in a relaxed, healthy and brilliant manner. To support the development of the natural creative senses of my students I also use the method of E.J. Dalcroze who developed a beautiful approach to learning music through experience, improvisation and active creation and E.Gordon - whose teaching is based on audiation, “sound before sight” learning, natural understanding of the language of music. To ensure healthy habits and prevent any playing-related injuries you will learn about Alexander technique - gentle, natural movement and relaxation should be at the core of each musician’s technical skills. The course also includes strong theory and ear training to build high level musicianship skills in my students, that will enable them to communicate with other musicians clearly and effectively as well as play not only solo but with bands, duets and orchestras, where listening and accurately responding to other instruments and musicians is the basis of musical communication. I have successfully led many of my students in their professional journey preparing them for internationally recognised exams, like Trinity and ABRSM, so if one of your goals is to gain these official qualifications we will include that in the course. Being an experienced performer, having played not only classical repertoire and concerts, but also being part of jazz, progressive rock and folk bands I adjust the course to support achieving your goals in the quickest and most effective way, without wasting your time on things that are not in your area of focus at the moment. I strongly believe that learning musical language should be approached as learning any language - by practicing speaking it as soon and as much as possible. That's why, when you learn with me, we go straight to the instrument, playing from the first moment. By using small and consistent steps you will comfortably speak the language of music, in time being able to create longer and longer phrases and sentences, making your own music and to read existing music in a more efficient and fluent manner. Most of all my teaching style is about the relationship between me and each individual student, so really it's ever changing and flexible. Just like our goals, dreams and abilities.