I am so inspired and thankful for music; it has the power to uplift spirits. I am equally inspired by the opportunity to help students of any level, from children to senior aged, develop musically. My strength lies in meeting students where they are and helping to lay a path that draws out their brand of music making. I work hard to create a safe learning environment that is fun and playful. We ‘play’ our instruments after all! Developing musical tastes, personal style, sense of achievement, and ability to self-learn are foundational outcomes I look to advance over the course of lessons. As appropriate, instruction includes technical facility, ear training, reading music, rhythm skills, practice and performance habits, repertoire, music theory, transcription, singing, accompaniment, and improvisation. Musical genres include classical, jazz, blues, gospel, pop, and Latin styles. I also teach students playing in big band or small ensembles.
I graduated William Paterson University with a BA in Music Studies and focus in classical performance. In subsequent years I trained primarily as a jazz musician with private teachers on both the east and west coast. I perform in various combos in the Seattle area. I have given lessons since the late 90s.
You can contact Ryan by:
Phone: (425) 877-9361
Email: ryanlewismusic@outlook.com
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Testimonials
Ryan is a gifted yet humble music teacher. He has a deep knowledge of music and uses his empathy to tune into where you are as a student. He knows when and how much to challenge, when to scale back, and when to add more variety into the lessons. His thoughtful and personalized approach has made lessons continually interesting and satisfying.
His patience and calm presence has created a safe and encouraging space for my learning.
I often ask a lot of questions and he always takes the time to answer patiently and thoroughly. I often times get frazzled by making mistakes and in the past have frequently become triggered by performance anxiety when playing. Ryan would always offer calm encouraging ways to work not around it, but through it, in a compassionate and nonjudgmental manner.
When I first started out with lessons, I could barely read any sheet music at all and I was strongly reluctant to pursuing that route as I could pick out and play melodies and chords by ear. However, with his encouragement and guidance I can now read and play music that I didn't think would have been possible. I find it very satisfying now to read when I can! He has gently nudged me when he can sense, even when I'm not able to, that I'm capable of progressing.
His passion and love for teaching music is evident in his responses to progress - in both the small and large successes. For the past year piano lessons with him have been one of the bright lights for me, especially in the midst of the pandemic. I would highly recommend him.
Olivia Davis
Ryan Lewis was a great teacher for me. He is always able to match my energy towards music while sharing several interests with me as well. Never too serious but able to keep a professional atmosphere in order to learn. He is very down to earth and able to relate things to you in a personal way. He helped me through my entire music college search process while still managing to give me more material to work on and listen to. There was never a moment that I felt he wasn't pushing me to do my best, but he always knows when to pull it back or crack a joke if needed. Great musician, even better mentor
Ian McCune
I am an amateur jazz musician with no classical background with the goal of solidifying a much needed musical background. My learning has mostly be unstructured, and it was not clear to me how I can someday be able to play like other folks I met on the jam session.
Given this vague goal, and shaky foundation, I was very fortunate to have Ryan as my piano teacher. It is common to have piano teachers with the prerequisite technical skills, but Ryan is special in that...
1. Ryan cares about his student's goals (which in my case is solidifying piano skills to be more jazz-skilled)
2 Ryan is very methodical in drafting a curriculum towards those goals (E.g. scale work, ear-training, repertoire-building, transcription).
I am now able to play in jam sessions with more confidence and skill (even in different keys!) through these thoughtfully-curated sessions.
Ryan is my jazz piano personal trainer.
Stephen Jonany
I have worked with Ryan Lewis individually (private one-on-one lessons) and in a class setting (Jazz Night School). In both settings I have been very pleased with his approach, technique, and personality.
More specifically, Ryan goes about his teaching in a very organized, methodical manner. Nothing is haphazard or without a purpose. He works toward helping the student become a total musician, working on both technique and theory. He utilizes several different tools to help the student reach their goals. Ryan has broad experience with different styles of music. And he has a very warm personality with which students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds would be comfortable.
