From infants onward, Hampton piano teacher shares joy of music

Beyond the basics of time signatures, sharps and flats, and treble and bass clefs is a whole world of teaching piano.

Hampton resident Mary Lynne Bennett started giving lessons before she turned 20, and along with being a wife and mother of three, providing instruction continues as a primary focus.

“Music has always been my passion,” she said. “My mom used to sing to me constantly when I was little, and I think it’s always been the joy of my life. And I hope to share that joy with others as a teacher.”

She instills such emotions in youngsters practically from the beginning of their lives through Music Together, a program she conducts for infants, toddlers and preschoolers through age 5 with their family members at Hampton Township Community Center.

“That’s a great way for students to get a solid foundation with developing their music language skills,” Bennett said. “Some of those students then come into my studio when they’re older, and they’re ready for piano lessons. They have really good ears. They’ve already developed a good sense of rhythm and everything if they’ve started that at a young age.”

Bennett earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in piano pedagogy, which basically is studying the method of how teachers teach.

“I think one of the biggest things about a teacher being effective is continuing to learn,” she said. “I’m a lifelong student, because if I’m not continuing to explore more resources for my students and find more ways to reach them and motivate them, then I won’t be as effective of a teacher.”

As one motivator, she presents an annual studio challenge.

“Last year, we did a countries challenge, where we saw how many countries we could play pieces of music from,” Bennett explained. “I gave them incentives to play pieces from different continents, especially because we wanted to explore places you wouldn’t traditionally think of piano music as coming from, like South America and Africa and Asia.”

This year is a style challenge, with students focusing on a specific genre each month. Posters in Bennett’s home studio depict the likes of rock, jazz and hip-hop.

“Of course, students are also motivated by performances,” she said, with recitals scheduled for them to show their skills.

Speaking of which, some of her students take level exams through the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto as part of a sequenced program of study and assessment. A Western Pennsylvania site for exams is at PYCO School of Music in Pine.

Accomplishments by Bennett’s students include posting the highest Royal Conservatory of Music scores in Pennsylvania and the multistate Northeast region, consistently placing in performance competitions, and taking leadership roles in their schools’ music programs.

“I’m super, super happy to work with such talented students and amazing families,” Bennett said.

In her own leadership roles, she is treasurer and past president of the Pennsylvania Music Teachers Association. When she lived in West Virginia, she was president of that state’s affiliated association.

She has served as a Music Teachers National Association certification commissioner, reviewing and analyzing portfolios. And she is an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music, adjudicating level exams, but not those of her own students.

On top of all that, she’s a Duquesne University faculty member, teaching group piano and piano pedagogy.

As a performer, a longtime pursuit has been playing at churches, and she does so in a substitute capacity in Nativity Lutheran Church in Hampton.

“Because my grandmother was a church organist, my grandparents told me they would help me pay for school if I took some organ lessons,” she said. “And it was the best investment they ever made, because it helped pay my way through grad school, being a church musician.”

After earning her bachelor’s degree in music education and biopsychology — analyzing how the brain influences behaviors, thoughts and feeling — from Oberlin College and Conservatory of Music in Ohio, she studied at West Chester University for her master’s and the University of South Carolina for her doctor of musical arts degree.

“My doctoral research was focused on continuing education for piano teachers. I conducted a nationwide survey of piano teachers and asked them, what ways do you continue to learn?” Bennett said. “I found that a great deal of them attend concerts and workshops and conferences, things like that, to further their education, and networking with colleagues, asking what their colleagues do and how they run their studios.

“That was a really interesting study for me as a college student and helped me, I think, grow as a teacher and a professional.”

For more information about Music Together, visit www.marylynnebennettpianostudio.com/music-togetherreg.html.