As Kimberly Taylor leaves a student’s home at the end of a piano lesson, it’s common that the student is still playing the instrument as she walks out.
It’s one of the reasons she enjoys coming to her students’ homes to help them learn to play piano, which she said offers a “totally different vibe” for her students.
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“Students don’t feel intimidated because they’re at home,” Taylor said.
Taylor, who lives in Forest Park with her husband and two young daughters, has been playing piano since she was 4. She began offering traveling piano lessons full time in the Oak Park area three years ago, after spending more than a decade teaching piano in Western Springs.
On June 4, her approximately 45 students in the Oak Park area will perform in group recitals at The Arts Center of Oak Park, to play one or two selections demonstrating what they’ve learned.
Some of her students have a piano in the home, while others use a keyboard purchased for the lessons. Taylor offers lessons for ages 4 to 18 and teaches everything from Haydn to the theme from “Zootopia.”
Oak Park resident Libby Scott, whose 6-year-old son, Archer, started taking lessons with Taylor last August, said Taylor piqued his interest by teaching him the “Star Wars” theme as well as “Frozen” song “Let It Go,” to his little sister’s delight.
“We weren’t quite sure what to expect … but she’s been a wonderful fit for him,” Scott said.
In the students’ homes, they’re practicing on the instrument that they’ll play, Taylor pointed out, rather than a piano they’re unfamiliar with. And parents enjoy having music in the home.
“The families are grateful they don’t have to drive to another activity,” Taylor said.
Scott echoed this sentiment.
“It really makes it possible for us,” to have Archer in lessons, she said of Taylor’s traveling lessons.
Taylor — who took to the piano for its variety and the ability to weave melodies — customizes lessons for children, whose interests and experience level may vary.
“I think every child actually has a musical aptitude,” Taylor said. “I like breaking things down into manageable goals for them. … I always tell them, it’s not about the time; it’s about what you get out of it.”
Taylor said she sees her students’ self-confidence bolstered as they progress with lessons, and often hears their reading skills improve, too. She enjoys starting with children at whatever age they approach piano.
“I’ll take them as far as they want to go,” Taylor said.
For more information, visit www.kimberlytaylormusic.com.
Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.