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Dorin Tabibian

Piano

Background

My family has always been musically inclined. Back in Iran, my parents played in an orchestra recreationally, and when I was six years old, they invited me to learn music with them: my dad signed me up for piano lessons. I’ve performed at several recitals and competitions over my early musical education. When I was 9, I performed at my first recital, playing Golden Dreams by Javad Maroufi and Ode of Joy by Beethoven. At 15, I was the youngest performer at the National Federation Music Festival Competition at LAVC, playing Haydn’s Pastoral. I continued taking lessons and performing until I was 18, when I began studying CSUN, where I graduated from in 2016 with a double bachelor’s degree in Communicative Disorders and Sciences and Music Education/Liberal Arts.

Since I graduated, I have taught piano for five years as a private music teacher. However, my musical education did not end at graduation. I continue to further my own skills through study, practice, and training. After all, a good teacher is also a good student. Currently, I'm a Doctoral student at Grand Canyon University in Arizona. I also keep my teaching skills up to date as well, by researching the best and latest teaching methods, and follow several resources to create well-structured and up-to-date lesson plans. My personal tastes in music include contemporary classical French pianist Richard Clayderman, Australian/British classical string quartet Bond, and Maksim Mrvica. I enjoy improvising songs, and entertaining friends and guests with my music.

Teaching Method

I specialize in teaching piano fundamentals, giving students the foundation they need to grow into advanced levels. I first emphasize development of my students’ technical skills through finger exercises. By developing physical mastery of playing the piano, they become second nature, and students can begin focusing on the more difficult theoretical aspects such as sight reading and ear training. As with all subjects, students respond best to differently to different methods of teaching, so I continually ask for feedback during the lesson, then adjusting the way I teach accordingly. I cater to specific student needs interests and keep lessons enjoyable by creating personalized lesson plans for my students and developing an appropriate curriculum, each utilizing a variety of books and teaching methods I find they respond best to.