References
I started taking piano lessons with Axel shortly after I turned 30. Part of me thought it was too late in life to be successful at piano, since I had never learned an instrument and never learned to read music when I was a kid. Over the last 8 months, Axel has been a wholly supportive teacher. He has been attentive and aware of little nuances in the ways I'm practicing piano and the ways I could be practicing more effectively.
He's great about pushing me to play better without overwhelming me in the slightest. We are now 8 months in, and I've made it through hundreds of pages of piano books, playing pieces that no longer sound like beginner-level plinking around - pieces my friends and family actually enjoy listening to. Thank you Axel!
Axel is an amazing teacher, highly skilled, super knowledgeable in music, extremely dedicated and very engaging! After only a few lessons with Axel, my son's ability improved tremendously - friends and family were all in awe. Most importantly, my son (8 yo at the time) couldn't wait for the next lesson from week to week. He also started practicing by himself every day - to be exact, every time he would walk by the piano, he couldn't resist playing! Axel also made the transition to online teaching very smoothly and thanks to him, my now 9 yo son happily continues making huge strides in his piano skills on a weekly basis.
My kids love Axel. They’ve been taking piano lessons with him for the past 4-5 years, and they continue to enjoy learning from him. Axel’s enthusiasm, his patience, and his deep knowledge of musical theory and styles really informs his teaching. And the kids love getting to choose their pieces for the end-of-year recital. We highly recommend Axel to anyone interested in learning piano.
My 10 year old son has been taking lessons with Axel for the last two years. Although my son is passionate about the piano, he can sometimes lack focus, and Axel is excellent at keeping him concentrating for the duration of the lesson. Under Axel's tutelage, my son has learnt to play a variety of pop, classical, and folk songs and regularly entertains guests to our house with renditions of The Entertainer, You'll be Back from Hamilton, Counting Stars, Hallelujah etc. I attribute a lot of my son's success over the last two years to Axel's positive and nurturing attitude and willingness to adjust the lesson according to the student's needs. I have no hesitation in recommending Axel to any level of piano student who is seeking instruction.
Axel is a wonderful teacher whose talent, as a teacher and musician inform his work. He has a wonderfully engaging, and warm manner that allows one to relax into the sometimes stressful experience of a piano lesson. His formal music education gives him a solid base from which to teach; and his experience as a working musician helps him empathize with the ongoing challenges of perfecting one's craft. I think he's a very talented teacher, having had several piano teachers over the course of my life!
I highly recommend him for children and adults.
I recently also had the opportunity to hire him to play with a saxophone and a bass player, both of whom he has played with often in a trio ensemble for a party. It was wonderful to see his music come to life! He's a really gifted musician.!.
I studied piano as a kid but had not played for many years when I began my lessons with Axel. Learning with him as an adult has been such a different and more fulfilling experience! His emphasis on teaching not just songs but also music theory and methods for effective practicing has allowed me to begin to really understand music and how it works. With his teaching I know that I am truly learning, rather than just memorizing a few notes and tunes. This has allowed me to target my weaknesses and build my strengths in a lasting way. I truly appreciate his methods and the commitment he shows to each student. I can't recommend his lessons highly enough!
We needed somebody who would be patient with our son, who is enthusiastic but can be quite antsy. Axel came highly recommended by another parent and we have been having a wonderful experience with him. My son says he is encouraging and he feels like he gets him. He appreciates that Axel understands his level and gently guides him in the right direction. He really knows how to connect with his students. Axel is also calm, professional, reliable and has a great sense of humor. He's the best!
We could not be happier with Axel's lessons with our 8 year old daughter. Over the course of the year, he has managed to transform her strong reluctance towards playing the piano into pride and enjoyment- a formidable feat! Axel is patient, prompt, very friendly, great with kids, and is a talented musician himself. We feel very fortunate to have him in our lives and are happy to give him our highest recommendation as a music teacher.
I have always loved to play the piano so when my 5 year old son asked if he can learn too, I immediately looked for a teacher. Testimonials of other parents on Axel’s website were so warm and positive that we right away book a trial class. It was a perfect match for Freddy from the first day. In fact, I loved his lessons so much that I too began taking classes again. Axel had a wonderful approach. He was patient and supportive. My second son, Evan joined us as soon as he turned four. One of my fondest memories are boys recitals, especially the one where Freddy and I played a jazz piece together. Thank you for being a wonderful teacher to all of us!
My 9 year old son began playing piano with Axel at the beginning of this year. As it was our first time taking piano lessons i had no idea what to expect, but Axel set the bar very high.
Axel is not just passionate about music and highly talented in his own regard, but also is a great teacher who seeks to instill a deeper understanding of music theory and practice to his students. He has a good rapport with my son, seems to understand and adjust to Marty's high energy personality, and continues to keep him both interested and challenged on a weekly basis.
For the June recital he had Marty practice a song, and when he mastered that within a few weeks, had him add another song of his choosing to his performance. Together they worked on an original arrangement of the Jurassic Park theme song. It was a delight to see the process evolve and really gratifying to see him perform it at the recital with great confidence and pride.
I would highly recommend Axel as a piano teacher. Also, he has a very cute cat!
Axel is Amazing! Awesome! Or I would not have continued taking lessons with him for the past ten+ years (and still take weekly lessons). Nor would I travel all the way from Forest Hills, Queens each week. His innovative, fun, very practical approach to teaching has kept me going. Especially fun and helpful are the "Play-Alongs"; tracks that he has created of other instruments playing a tune we are working on, or, different chord progressions taken through each key, for instance, which I simply downloaded on my computer, making practice sessions less painful (enjoyable even) and more fruitful. Additionally, there are computer programs he has introduced into our lessons/practice that have been a great help in transcribing music from recordings. Axel has taught me to make use of "in-between times", to practice his very goal oriented practice sessions. As Axel's oldest student, (65 yo.), I want to encourage other 65 yo. & up folks to try some lessons with Axel if playing the piano is something you have thought about doing, regardless of whether or not you have ever tried it in the past. I can tell you from my experience, that it is not too late!
We could not be happier with Axel's lessons with our 8 year old daughter. Over the course of the year, he has managed to transform her strong reluctance towards playing the piano into pride and enjoyment- a formidable feat! Axel is patient, prompt, very friendly, great with kids, and is a talented musician himself. We feel very fortunate to have him in our lives and are happy to give him our highest recommendation as a music teacher.
My 9 year old son began playing piano with Axel at the beginning of this year. As it was our first time taking piano lessons i had no idea what to expect, but Axel set the bar very high.
Axel is not just passionate about music and highly talented in his own regard, but also is a great teacher who seeks to instill a deeper understanding of music theory and practice to his students. He has a good rapport with my son, seems to understand and adjust to Marty's high energy personality, and continues to keep him both interested and challenged on a weekly basis.
For the June recital he had Marty practice a song, and when he mastered that within a few weeks, had him add another song of his choosing to his performance. Together they worked on an original arrangement of the Jurassic Park theme song. It was a delight to see the process evolve and really gratifying to see him perform it at the recital with great confidence and pride.
I would highly recommend Axel as a piano teacher. Also, he has a very cute cat!
I started taking piano lessons with Axel shortly after I turned 30. Part of me thought it was too late in life to be successful at piano, since I had never learned an instrument and never learned to read music when I was a kid. Over the last 8 months, Axel has been a wholly supportive teacher. He has been attentive and aware of little nuances in the ways I'm practicing piano and the ways I could be practicing more effectively.
He's great about pushing me to play better without overwhelming me in the slightest. We are now 8 months in, and I've made it through hundreds of pages of piano books, playing pieces that no longer sound like beginner-level plinking around - pieces my friends and family actually enjoy listening to. Thank you Axel!
My 10 year old son has been taking lessons with Axel for the last two years. Although my son is passionate about the piano, he can sometimes lack focus, and Axel is excellent at keeping him concentrating for the duration of the lesson. Under Axel's tutelage, my son has learnt to play a variety of pop, classical, and folk songs and regularly entertains guests to our house with renditions of The Entertainer, You'll be Back from Hamilton, Counting Stars, Hallelujah etc. I attribute a lot of my son's success over the last two years to Axel's positive and nurturing attitude and willingness to adjust the lesson according to the student's needs. I have no hesitation in recommending Axel to any level of piano student who is seeking instruction.
I have always loved to play the piano so when my 5 year old son asked if he can learn too, I immediately looked for a teacher. Testimonials of other parents on Axel’s website were so warm and positive that we right away book a trial class. It was a perfect match for Freddy from the first day. In fact, I loved his lessons so much that I too began taking classes again. Axel had a wonderful approach. He was patient and supportive. My second son, Evan joined us as soon as he turned four. One of my fondest memories are boys recitals, especially the one where Freddy and I played a jazz piece together. Thank you for being a wonderful teacher to all of us!
I studied piano as a kid but had not played for many years when I began my lessons with Axel. Learning with him as an adult has been such a different and more fulfilling experience! His emphasis on teaching not just songs but also music theory and methods for effective practicing has allowed me to begin to really understand music and how it works. With his teaching I know that I am truly learning, rather than just memorizing a few notes and tunes. This has allowed me to target my weaknesses and build my strengths in a lasting way. I truly appreciate his methods and the commitment he shows to each student. I can't recommend his lessons highly enough!
We needed somebody who would be patient with our son, who is enthusiastic but can be quite antsy. Axel came highly recommended by another parent and we have been having a wonderful experience with him. My son says he is encouraging and he feels like he gets him. He appreciates that Axel understands his level and gently guides him in the right direction. He really knows how to connect with his students. Axel is also calm, professional, reliable and has a great sense of humor. He's the best!
Axel is Amazing! Awesome! Or I would not have continued taking lessons with him for the past ten+ years (and still take weekly lessons). Nor would I travel all the way from Forest Hills, Queens each week. His innovative, fun, very practical approach to teaching has kept me going. Especially fun and helpful are the "Play-Alongs"; tracks that he has created of other instruments playing a tune we are working on, or, different chord progressions taken through each key, for instance, which I simply downloaded on my computer, making practice sessions less painful (enjoyable even) and more fruitful. Additionally, there are computer programs he has introduced into our lessons/practice that have been a great help in transcribing music from recordings. Axel has taught me to make use of "in-between times", to practice his very goal oriented practice sessions. As Axel's oldest student, (65 yo.), I want to encourage other 65 yo. & up folks to try some lessons with Axel if playing the piano is something you have thought about doing, regardless of whether or not you have ever tried it in the past. I can tell you from my experience, that it is not too late!
Axel is a wonderful teacher whose talent, as a teacher and musician inform his work. He has a wonderfully engaging, and warm manner that allows one to relax into the sometimes stressful experience of a piano lesson. His formal music education gives him a solid base from which to teach; and his experience as a working musician helps him empathize with the ongoing challenges of perfecting one's craft. I think he's a very talented teacher, having had several piano teachers over the course of my life!
I highly recommend him for children and adults.
I recently also had the opportunity to hire him to play with a saxophone and a bass player, both of whom he has played with often in a trio ensemble for a party. It was wonderful to see his music come to life! He's a really gifted musician.!.
Axel is an amazing teacher, highly skilled, super knowledgeable in music, extremely dedicated and very engaging! After only a few lessons with Axel, my son's ability improved tremendously - friends and family were all in awe. Most importantly, my son (8 yo at the time) couldn't wait for the next lesson from week to week. He also started practicing by himself every day - to be exact, every time he would walk by the piano, he couldn't resist playing! Axel also made the transition to online teaching very smoothly and thanks to him, my now 9 yo son happily continues making huge strides in his piano skills on a weekly basis.
My kids love Axel. They’ve been taking piano lessons with him for the past 4-5 years, and they continue to enjoy learning from him. Axel’s enthusiasm, his patience, and his deep knowledge of musical theory and styles really informs his teaching. And the kids love getting to choose their pieces for the end-of-year recital. We highly recommend Axel to anyone interested in learning piano.
