Nico Seal

Interested in learning music theory? Whether you need help for an exam or are looking to expand some jazz or pop theory knowledge then please read further to see how I can help! If you are interested in saxophone or piano, I can also help with that too.

Interested in learning English? I'm also an experienced English teacher, so please do read on to understand my experience and again, see how I can help you!

In the past 10 years I've been focussing on education. I've played music all my life - piano since I was 5 and saxophone since I was 14 - and for the past 9 years have been teaching English in Vietnam. And before that I was working in a Special Educational Needs school in the UK.

I studied music at City University London (now City St George's University of London), graduating with a Bachelor of Music in 2014, in which I focussed on composition, ethnomusicology and ensemble performance.

In 2017 I moved to Vietnam to teach English and also found myself playing more and more music again. I've had so many musical highlights whilst here in Vietnam. A few of these include: playing alto/soprano saxophone in the band 'Hanoing Jazz Band' and playing Quest festival 2017 and Coracle Festival 2018, starting my own band 'Soul Sistas' in which I played piano and worked with 4 female singers, playing at a special televised show celebrating 110 years of the Hanoi Opera House - including 1 song with famous Vietnamese singer My Linh. I have countless more musical experiences from here in Vietnam I could talk about! Please feel free to message more if you're curious.

I am currently teaching English in the Vietnamese public school system, but have 5 years experience working in FPT University with the 1st year students. I helped deliver the English programme, but it was more focussed on teaching critical thinking, presentation/public speaking and debate skills through English. We also taught a little of the science of learning, for example a growth mindset and neuroplasticity, and so I have applied this to all aspects of my teaching life!

There is no such thing as talent, our brains really can learn anything! Obviously, enjoying what you're learning really helps, so in my teaching I try to tap into that enjoyment to be the driving force. Curiosity is another huge factor in learning, and so I like to work with my students in a collaborative way where they can follow their interests and I can provide the appropriate guidance.

In music learning I like to use a combination of improvising, listening, and reading sheet music. Even if something like improvising sounds terrifying, I like to make it as simple as possible and still accessible to my students.

In learning English, I like to instil as much confidence in my students as possible. I also like reinforce that making mistakes is a good thing as that helps our brains grow stronger in the long-term! This of course applies to all areas of learning.