Key of Blue Music Studio strives to discover and refine students’ innate talents, teach students to teach themselves, and access the power of energy and intention through music. Our studio principles are:
• To discover students’ strengths, and teach students to use them easily and effectively.
• To promote music appreciation through participation, listening, and history.
• To enrich our local music and arts community.
• To prepare musicians to meet their personal performance goals – whether that be college study, recreation, artistic enrichment, or basic training.
• To provide opportunities for music education that are currently lacking in local schools.
• To allow music to add to students’ quality of life.
• To create evocative and meaningful musical experiences in an atmosphere where both students and audiences are encouraged to explore their own musical definitions and boundaries.
Teaching Philosophy
Everyone has musical potential inside them. Music is a language that is natural to human beings. A teacher can’t give a student anything that they don’t already have. Our purpose is to strengthen and refine those qualities already within the student, and teach them to teach themselves. You already have what it takes to succeed.
Music is meant to be fun! All teaching principles boil down to this one fact. At Key of Blue, we strive to introduce students to music in a fashion that is enjoyable and tailored to their unique personality and learning style.
Music is an outlet for practicing the power of intention, so much of our study is simply putting awareness in that place (in the body, in the voice, in the instrument) and BELIEVING it into realness. Making improvements becomes a reality by just believing and focusing on them.
Music is also an outlet for connecting with ourselves and our source, and recognizing abstract concepts. We can practice living in the present moment and activating our powers that exist beyond the thinking mind. Musicians, while performing, typically operate from a place that is not bonded by the constructs of time or linear thought, but instead flows naturally from the intuitive and creative centers. “During musical performance, there is almost no activity in the frontal lobe, where conscious thought takes place.” –Donald A. Hodges, Covington Distinguished Professor of Music Education and director of the Music Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
Music is one of the many disciplines proving that the way of least effort is always the correct way (Ockham’s Razor Principle – path of least resistance is most aligned in truth). In vocal study, we see that the voice operates most smoothly and powerfully when we’re not forcing it. In piano study, our hands always flow with the most ease when fingering patterns are simplified to the most logical and simple choices.
In dealing with musical faults and poor habits, I utilize the OUT method: first observe, then understand, then transcend. I work with musicians by an inside-out approach, curing the cause of things and not just the symptoms.
Erin Roberts’ history of learning and loving music has spanned the majority of her life. Growing up in Minnesota, Erin’s musical education began at the age of 5, studying classical piano with various teachers and gaining the basics of musical knowledge in technique and theory. After a short phase playing the flute during her teen years, Erin’s interests led her to vocal music during high school. She has had a wide range of choral education, including concert choirs, gospel choirs, a cappella jazz ensembles, the All-Conference Choir of Minneapolis, the nationally recognized All-State Women’s Choir of Minnesota (under the direction of MMEA), and the internationally touring Women’s Choir of the College of St. Benedict. Erin completed a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Minnesota, with concentrations in theory and vocal performance. Studying both piano and voice at the university level, Erin was able to study with masters including Carolyn Finley at the College of St. Benedict, Axel Theimer at Saint John’s University, Kevin Rotty at the MacPhail Center for Music, and international opera star John DeHaan at the University of Minnesota. Toward the end of her college years, Erin’s focus shifted toward jazz music, leading her to study jazz vocals and theory at the MacPhail Center for Music, culminating those studies in a Senior Jazz Recital with a self-directed quintet. Erin’s teaching career began in 2002 at Coon Rapids High School and Saint John’s University, with her roles as Vice President of the Concert Choir, Director of the Freshman Choral Ensemble, Musical Assistant to the Saint John’s Boys Choir, class theory instructor, and private voice and recorder instructor. Erin’s performing career has been diverse, including classical piano and voice competitions, opera roles at Saint John’s University, musical theatre roles at the University of Minnesota, and jazz lounge performances at such venues as Rick’s Cabaret, Rarig Center, and the Kitty Kat Club. Erin is now living and teaching in San Diego, California, where she has started her own business, Key of Blue Music, and also teaches music classes at Avocado Elementary, where she has implemented her own program designed to combine all elements of musical exploration and theoretical understanding. In addition to these two teaching avenues, she gives music, acting and dance classes at Junior Theatre in Balboa Park. Erin is a member of the California Association of Professional Music Teachers and the Music Teachers National Association, a guitar novice, an aerobics and yoga instructor, and passionate student of life, love, and the present moment.
Instructor Anna Roberts:
Anna Roberts has been teaching at Key of Blue since May of 2008. Starting piano lessons at age 8, clarinet lessons at age 10, and singing duets with her sister Erin since they were toddlers, she has enjoyed a lifetime of musical education and performance experiences. Anna’s professional vocal training has included classical voice, musical theatre, and choral music, and she has performed as a soloist and ensemble member in various contests and recitals throughout Minnesota and California. In 2004, Anna received the honor of being named a member of the nationally recognized Minnesota All-State Women’s Choir (under the direction of MMEA). Later that year, she was elected president of the Coon Rapids Concert Choir in Minneapolis, comprised of over 70 members, and also took on the role of Co-director of a choral ensemble of high school students. Anna’s music theory studies were completed at Anoka Ramsey College, in Anoka, Minnesota. As a former member of the elite San Francisco State University Chamber Singers (under the direction of Joshua Habermann), Anna toured France, singing with the Orchestre des Jeunes de Provence and performed in venues such as the Joan of Arc Church in Rouen and the Madeleine Cathedral in Paris. A musical theatre enthusiast, Anna has performed in local productions of Footloose and The Music Man. She has sung for weddings all over the continent, and now sings with the Concert Choir at San Diego State University, where she is working toward her bachelor’s degree.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
Brigid Shaw, age 27, voice student:
“I love that Erin has helped me find confidence and trust in a singing voice that I never thought I had. Her knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching voice, combined with her patience and thoroughness, makes Erin one of the best music teachers I've ever had.”
Sue Moore, mother of piano students Ben, age 7, and Maeve, age 6:
"Erin is extremely skilled at working with them, understanding their level of development, and she finds ways to "get through" to children. She really works with their strengths. She's very patient. She also has a good sense of humor, which helps with little children. It's a much more child-friendly, very engaging approach."
“I also like her professionalism. Her paperwork, her contracts, the books she provides, it's all a remarkably easy experience for everybody. As a family, we're just really happy she has her own studio. It's great she's got to the point where she can set up her own business."
Lois Frahm, age 76, piano student:
“I was delighted to have Erin willing to teach a senior citizen like myself. She was patient in explaining the ways and means of new notes to me, and was always very encouraging in my studies and progress.”
Tim & Sandy Houck, parents of Maia (11), Sophie (8), and Nathaniel (5):
“We’re grateful that Erin and Anna’s styles are flexible and are willing to adapt to our kids and not to some system or curriculum. And, most of all, we're grateful that our kids have two teachers with whom they enjoy learning.”
BENEFITS OF LESSONS & CLASSES
Discipline:
• Musical study helps develop discipline and increased attention span during at-home practice sessions, developing a positive work ethic that will be transferred to all areas of life.
Performance:
• Music performance allows students the opportunity to get comfortable in front of crowds, improve their self-esteem, and gain poise in public situations.
• Preparing a piece for performance works wonders for a student’s memorization skills, an area of development that will aid them in all other scholastic endeavors.
Brain development:
• Playing piano uses 90% of the brain, while most people (who do not play instruments) will live their entire lives only accessing about 50% of their brain capacity. As of yet, no other activity has been found to use the brain to this extent. (–Dr. Frank Wilson, Neurologist).
• It’s been proven again and again by research: music lessons can enhance linguistic, mathematical, spatial, sensory, and reading skills. On both the SAT and the Ohio Proficiency Test, students who have musical backgrounds have scored higher than their peers who don’t.
• Music changes brain chemistry and structure and can even enlarge the brain, especially in children under the age of 7. This can also be excellent preventative maintenance for aging adults who want to keep their memory sharp, or prevent the development of Alzheimer’s.
Recreation:
• Music can be a fun family activity, where parents can be involved in the practice process and share in their children’s successes.
• Music provides children with an outlet for relaxation and enjoyment in creative ways, an alternative to watching TV or playing video games.
Mind-body connection:
• Music flows naturally from the intuitive and creative centers. It is also an outlet for connecting with ourselves and our source, and recognizing abstract concepts.
• During performance, musicians can activate powers that exist beyond the thinking mind. While playing a concert, musicians experience almost no activity in the frontal lobe, where conscious thought takes place. It becomes instinctual, much like athletes. (Donald Hodges)
Worldly understanding:
• Familiarity with composers and genres offers a broad view on historical world events and artistic appreciation.
