Take Piano Lessons with Mike

I offer piano lessons for students of all ages and levels, and teach a variety of styles: beginners, traditional classical music, jazz, rock and popular music.

Piano Lessons: My Background and Training

Greensboro Grimsley High School Jazz Band, piano and trumpet

Playing and singing the music of Elton John, self-taught beginning at age 14

Classical Piano studies, Dr. George Kiorpes, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Jazz Band, piano

Classical Piano studies, Dr. Michael Zenge, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Jazz Piano studies, Professor Ed Paolantonio, jazz protégé of Lennie Tristano (Smithsonian Jazz Collection)

Jazz Piano Studies, Professors David Baker and Jerry Coker (two of the three most highly regarded jazz professors in the nation)

Indiana University Master’s Degree in Jazz Piano Studies

Piano Lessons: Teaching Experience

I began teaching piano at the Music Academy in Greensboro in 1998. In 2005, I left the Academy to form my own private studio at my home in Greensboro in Green Valley on Northampton Drive. My home studio is easily accessible from Bryan Blvd, Benjamin Pkwy and Holden Rd, just north of Friendly Ave.

In 2005, I started with 22 private students. Today I teach consistently more than 50, yet remain committed to the individual needs of each student. Regardless of what kind or kinds of music a student shows an interest in learning, I believe I owe every student a strong foundation in the fundamentals of music and playing piano with proper technique. Every student of piano must be develop good habits whether playing Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Bartok Ragtime, Jazz, the Beatles or Elton John.

Piano Lessons: Learn the Kinds of Music You Want to Play

As a private piano teacher I teach all the musical styles I play. So beginners and more advanced piano students have the opportunity to learn classical, jazz, rock, pop and R&B (Rhythm & Blues). Because I must explain and break down the musical elements of a piece for a student, in the process I too obtain deeper understandings of relationships among melody, harmony and rhythm; new understandings that continue to enhance both my teaching and performance skills.

Piano Lessons: Sharing the Fun

There is also the fulfillment of teaching piano while witnessing the enthusiasm and growth of a student, especially children who discover their capabilities for the first time. As a teacher I am aware of my responsibility of being a role model to keep young students inspired to continue learning. This great value in learning music is reflected in the sentiment of one of my YouTube subscribers who left the comment:

“I wish I learned how to play piano. Piano players always seem to be in another world when playing… looks fun.”

Sharing the fun of music makes me an excellent source of quality entertainment for your occasion.

Piano Lessons Information

Piano Teacher Reviews

• Will T.    Mike has taught my daughter piano for a year. She started with virtually NO piano experience. She has learned so quickly, our family is amazed. Mike has a great way with children and really fosters and promotes growth in many areas. He’s easy to work with and so nice. Mike has a love for many styles of music, which is perfect, as we have an eclectic taste in music – he’s knowledgeable and helps customize individual pieces and genres of music to fit my daughter’s learning curve on the piano – he’s fantastic. Thank you Mike, for teaching my daughter lessons and skills that will last a lifetime. You rock! A+++

• Christie P.    We’ve had a wonderful experience with Mike. My daughter loves taking piano and is excited on lesson day. His teaching style is organic, friendly and concise. I recommend him routinely to friends! We look forward to many years to come!

• Shannon    Our son looks forward to piano lessons weekly with Mike & would love to take piano lessons daily if he could. Mike has been a positive role model & is an outstanding piano teacher. I highly recommend him!

• Teresa Sowinski    Mike was a great piano teacher for my sons. They enjoyed their lessons and learned a lot. He was also a good role model.

• Deb    My son, now 18, started taking piano from Mike when he was 10 years old. From the very beginning, Mike’s patience, encouragement and musical knowledge made for a perfect fit. My son LOVES popular music and Mike never lost sight of that. He introduced him to traditional and classical music which helped him to develop his reading. But, Mike’s transcription of pieces by Billy Joel, Elton John and the Beatles kept him from losing interest. He was always anticipating learning to play his next favorite song. In all the years that he has studied with Mike, he has never wanted to miss a lesson! Finding Mike to teach and mentor our son has truly been a “gift.”

• Philip Hatton    A wonderful patient man.

• Laura    I am an adult piano student who had played piano for years, but not in a long while, and was interested in learning jazz and rock music. Mike is an excellent teacher; he is a great communicator, enthusiastic and fun in his manner of teaching. I had a great experience as his student, and would highly recommend him as a teacher.

• Michael DeHaan    Have been taking lessons for a few months now, would highly recommend.

• Cheryl T.    Mike taught piano to our son and daughter for several years. Their desire to continue lessons through high school, with other interests competing for their time, was very much a product of Mike’s customized and positive approach. He provided them the opportunity to focus on different genres of music while developing their technical skills, and worked with our daughter on composition when that peaked her interest. His patience and encouragement were constant and they were fortunate have Mike as a teacher.

• S&M    Mr. Evans (Mike) is a unique piano teacher. He has a wealth of knowledge in music and music theory and conveys it well for students of all ages and every level. Specifically for our son, who has been with Mike for ~6 years until he left for college, Mike was able to figure out very quickly the type of music our son liked and he adopted the curriculum accordingly. Besides piano, we turned to Mike to give our son a “boost” on his advanced math lessons and Mike had spent much more time in these lessons that he had charged us for. However, what impressed us most was the way Mike taught our son how to love and music and gave him the tools to continue learn how to play new pieces on his own. We wholeheartedly recommend Mr. Evans as a teacher, be it piano or math, to everyone, young and old(er).

Piano Teacher Reviews

• Samantha Stichter    My boys took lessons from Mr Evans from the ages of 6-14. They are two years apart in age and he knew the best way to teach and keep them engaged. Other interests pulled them from the piano, but they have a strong foundation on which they can always rely.

• Shelley Jones    Mike taught music theory and answered any questions. He does not limit his teachings to just learning to read music and playing piano. He will also works with students to explore what type of music they enjoy. My son took lessons with him for over twelve years, and he was always comfortable with Mike. He was an awesome mentor. One of the things my son enjoyed was Mike did not insist he hold his hands a particular way. Lastly, Mike cultivated a life-long love for playing piano.

Photos of piano students enjoying learning to play

If you would like to be a part of my piano studio: contact me

It is a privilege to meet and work with so many great children, parents and adult students. For piano lessons: contact Mike