Mitch Grussing

Whether just beginning or already experienced, six years old or sixty years old, everyone has something to gain from piano lessons. I teach students of all ages at a wide range of skill levels at K&S Conservatory of Music in Woodbury, Minnesota.

Who I teach:

Everyone! Where there's any interest in learning music, I want to help develop that interest into a skill, so I offer lessons to musicians of all ages and abilities. I specialize in neurodiverse learners, so I welcome autistic students, as well as those with ADHD, dyslexia, auditory processing disorders, emotional disorders, physical disabilities, and trauma. Having lived with both OCD and ADHD for as long as I can remember, I have some insight into what it's like when your brain is built different.

What I teach:

My lessons have a largely classical focus but have become pretty eclectic over the years. Most beginners will start out with a method book, and I curate other pieces that they can play on the side. As students progress, I expect them to make more decisions about what they work on and how to work on it. We choose from canonical repertoire with pieces by Bach, Telemann, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schumann, Kabalevsky, Bartok, and other big names, as well as music by contemporary pedagogical composers in classical, jazz, and pop styles. Students are welcome to introduce whatever music they'd like in addition to the music I provide for them. If they have something special in mind that they'd like to play, I'm always happy to try to find it—and if I can't find it, I'll write an arrangement myself, or co-arrange it with the student. Whatever a student is interested in, we can find a way to make it a meaningful learning experience.

How I teach:

Cheerful, collaborative, adaptable.

I'm an optimistic and inquisitive person, and my teaching style reflects that. Each student is greeted with a smile at every lesson. My lessons are not socially stratified—I don't exercise a great deal of authority, and I don't expect students to listen and obey. Instead, both the student and I are collaborators in their music study. This allows students to feel more comfortable taking risks, and it encourages them to explore many varied ways of understanding music. Students excel at music when they enjoy the process, so that's what we prioritize. We explore their interests and discover new ones, and I reflect and get feedback to see if there are ways I can adapt my approach to better serve the them.

Lesson times

Monday through Friday, 2:00-9:00 p.m.

Location

K&S Conservatory of Music, 1976 Wooddale Dr #1, Woodbury, MN 55125. Look for a sign saying "KLM Engineering," and then keep left as you enter the driveway. Once you reach the parking lot, go straight ahead. We're in the righthand section of the building.

When I was six years old, inspired by the overture to The Phantom of the Opera, I decided I wanted to play the pipe organ. Since we didn't have a pipe organ at home (and we weren't about to install one, no matter how nicely I asked), I decided I wanted to take piano lessons instead. I fell in love with the piano immediately, and that's where my obsession with music started. I don't attribute any of my musical ability to some special gift or innate "sense" of music. Instead, I attribute it to having been immersed in music for my entire life, with piano lessons, band, choir, jazz, recitals, concerts, college courses—I owe immense gratitude to all the wonderful music teachers I've had over the past 30-plus years, as well as to my parents for getting me started and supporting me wholeheartedly all the way.