Cate Munro

Hi there

My name is Cate Munro and my piano lessons are the culmination of over 20 years piano teaching and continued professional development which I undertake regularly.

Unlike other piano teachers, who claim to be "ABRSM qualified"  I am a fully qualified registered UK teacher with 16 years experience of teaching in primary schools, secondary schools, special education and overseas education - having also taught in Thailand and Costa Rica.

By teaching in a broad range of settings throughout my career, with students of different ages, abilities, language and social needs, I have developed a range of techniques which I use to teach students the basics of learning the piano - these include more traditional methods and the dynamic 21st century use of technology.

Together with my student we set goals to help you achieve everything you want during piano lessons while learning new skills like sight reading and improvisation along the way.

I'm a great believer in harnessing the creativity of each individual - something which is largely overlooked by piano teachers who solely employ more traditional methods.

Most importantly - I’m fun - and yes - I have a personality! I’m incredibly passionate about the job I do and I know you’ll have fun working with me!

So if you want an enjoyable, in-depth understanding from an experienced, professional, fun and passionate teacher then please get in touch!

I get really frustrated by the horror stories I hear of children and adults quitting the piano because of experiences with a bad teacher.  Everything from children being asked to learn pieces on their own at home before a lesson, to autistic students being asked to learn in ways that that are totally unsuitable.  It smacks of complete laziness and a lack of understanding - and that's where I'm different!

There is a great temptation for piano and keyboard teachers to teach very much in the style they were taught.  That's where I'm different.  The foundation on which I build all of my piano lessons is fun, first and foremost!  Over the years there has been so much focus on teaching beginners solely to pass classical exams that young minds have been starved of creativity.

I love to teach students using technology as well as necessary traditional techniques. I enjoy enabling them to create, improvise and explore all the magic music has to offer.  Let’s face it, reading and performing music is important - no-one’s suggesting otherwise.  But in a world where instant gratification is king students want to be able to sit down and play as soon as possible.  They want to walk past a piano in say, St Pancreas station, and tinkle the ivories or impress their friends at parties with a tune on the keyboard!  It’s these skills which are going to keep them hooked and used in conjunction with necessary methods provide a well-rounded musical and piano education.

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