Doris Chan

My name is Ms. Doris Chan and I’m from Vancouver B.C. Canada. My teaching philosophy centers on cultivating an interest on piano music through fun and easy to understand teaching methods for both children and adult beginners. I help the students set attainable goals to achieve, no matter if it’s preparing for examination, recital or playing pieces for pleasure and personal development. I help them learn practical playing by teaching music theory and playing fun games with the students. I like to encourage my students to improve and reward them through praise. I also foster a supportive environment where students feel safe to explore and make mistakes. I believe every student has unique talents and I tailor my approach to accommodate different interests, learning styles, and skill levels. I also give my students performance opportunities such as Halloween concerts, Christmas concerts and year-end concerts. I can teach in three different languages, English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Music, to me is a language to express myself and to communicate a message. “Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it.” - Tom Lehrer. I can’t agree more with this statement because as the piano performer, you get to decide what you want to play and how you want to express yourself through piano music. Similar to life, whether you want to be positive and happy or negative and sad you get to choose and live the life you want to be. Music also teaches qualities like patience, discipline and resilience that music practice cultivates. I have chosen to teach piano because I have been learning piano since I was five and have learned from Music Masters Sandra Tong from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and Samuel Louis from King’s College London. I have gained years of teaching experience to young beginners and adults in group and individual lessons. I have achieved RCM (Royal Conservatory of Music) Grade 10 with Honours in piano and theory. Also, I achieved ABRSM (Associate Board of the Royals School of Music) Grade 8 in Piano and Grade 5 in Theory. I have experience being a piano accompanist for students in exams and music competitions. I was the piano accompanist for a French horn player and he successfully achieved Second Honorable Prize at Parson's Music Festival 2015 in Hong Kong. I have also performed in Christmas concerts in senior care homes in Vancouver B.C. Canada. I feel a great sense of accomplishment when I see smiling faces of audiences giving applause to an excellent piano performance and I believe this motivates me to bring more joy to world through piano music. I have successfully completed the RCM Piano Elementary Pedagogy course and I’m confident that I can pass the knowledge I have gained to my future students. I will continue to further my studies in RCM Intermediate Pedagogy as I believe a commitment to learn is crucial to be a well-rounded piano teacher and it is a lifelong journey. I’m on a mission to teach my students how to appreciate and enjoy piano music and to express themselves through this beautiful music instrument.