TJ F. ✓

I’ve taught more than 5,000 private lessons over two and a half decades, and I hold a B.F.A. from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance in Jazz and Contemplative Studies, with a performance major in piano and bass guitar. I’m still performing, recording, and teaching, because it’s the life I love to live.

I teach piano across jazz, funk, soul, R&B, blues, gospel, pop, rock, Latin, classical, and country. I also teach guitar, bass, voice, songwriting, theory, improvisation, ear training, and music production, so if you want to take what you’re learning at the piano and write with it, sing over it, or record it yourself, we can go there. Piano is the foundation, and it opens into everything else.

I came to playing piano honestly, and by my own decision. My family started me on piano at eight years old. I trained classically, played for a few years, and stepped away to focus on guitar, bass, and singing. At twenty, a gig came up that needed a piano player, and I took it. I learned the instrument the way working musicians do: covers, charts, licks, and everything a room actually asks for. My mother, a professional pianist and organist, taught me how to hold those gigs and what to play. After a few successful performances, I decided to become a professional pianist, and I’ve never stopped or looked back.

That’s also why I teach the way I do. We work on the music you actually want to play, and you’ll understand why it works and more of why you love it, not just the correct fingerings or proper posture.

Adults, kids, complete beginners, and returning players are all welcome.