Who is Eleanor V. McLaughlin?
Musician, piano teacher, music studio owner, cohouser, gardener, hiker, meditator, improv dancer, yoga practitioner, lover of music and the arts
Certified Piano Teacher with 30+ years of experience who has taught many students of all ages and at all levels.
My students have been awarded top prizes in competitions such as Elite International, Crescendo, MMTA Bay State Contest, Opus, MTNA, Young Artist, NEPTA, Rivers Conservatory, Talented Young Musicians Russian Competition, and Sempre Musicke.
It gives me great joy to be able to nurture a person's innate gift for music.
B.A. Music cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa. Wells College
Graduate studies in Musicology. Danforth Fellow. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Piano studies with Dwight Oarr, Elyena Belkin Foster, Eda Mazo Shlyam
Piano Pedagogy: New England Conservatory, Longy School of Music, Dorothy Taubman Institute, Ahmerst College
Certified Teacher of Suzuki Piano. Teacher Training with Mary Craig Powell, Doris Harrell, Clayton Scott
Susan B. Demb Enrichment Grant for Fostering Teaching Excellence, New England Piano Teachers Association
Member: National Music Teachers Association (MTNA), New England Piano Teachers Association (NEPTA), Massachusetts Suzuki Association, Suzuki Association of the Americas, Valley Piano Teachers Association
Current Piano Faculty. Northampton Community Music Center
A Note From Eleanor
Music has always been an important part of my life, and I enjoy sharing my passion for the piano with my students.
EVM Piano Studios is a learning community where we connect with each other through music, and support each others' growth and development as musicians. It’s a place where it is fun and interesting to dive deep into music, and challenge ourselves to reach for new levels in our playing.
There’s nothing better than being able to fully enter the world of a piece that we’re working on, to have the skills for mastering the piece at a high level, and to share our interpretation of the piece with an appreciative audience.
I strive to provide my students with a strong musical foundation:
Healthy technique based on good posture, alignment, hand position, and arm movement
Music reading facilitated by internalization of landmarks and intervallic reading.
Consistent sight-reading supported by duets and trios played with me and with other piano partners
Rhythmic skills involving the full body and strategies for decoding complex rhythms
Demystification of the art of piano pedaling
Early level Theory and Musicianship skills developed in a fun way via Group Classes based on the “Music Mind Games” approach developed by Michiko Yurko
Royal Conservatory Theory Classes Levels 1 through 10, preparing students for college level work in Harmony, Counterpoint and Music History
Listening and the development of the ear is at the heart of my teaching. We listen for musical tone in its many manifestations: beautiful, warm, angular, glistening, strident etc. We listen for the use of rhythmic pulse and inflection, for the balance between inner and outer lines of music, for pedaling. Perhaps most importantly, we learn to listen to ourselves as we play.
I suggest goals essential for successful ongoing progress, and provide many opportunities for performances, examinations and competitions. Overall, I tailor my instruction to meet your needs and interests.