Music Theory & Ear Training Lessons in Las Vegas

Music theory is the grammar of music, and ear training is learning to hear it. Together they are the difference between copying notes and understanding them. I teach music theory and ear training in Las Vegas, in person in my Spring Valley studio or online, from the very first lesson to advanced harmony, for pianists, singers, other instrumentalists, songwriters and composers.

I am Dr. Maria Pisarenko, D.M.A., concert pianist and piano professor, trained at the Moscow Central Music School and the Gnessin Academy, where theory, harmony, solfège and ear training are studied as seriously as the instrument itself. I have absolute pitch, and I use it to train ears for very specific tasks.

Music theory, beginner to advanced

• Beginner: notes, rhythm and meter, key signatures, scales, intervals, basic chords.
• Intermediate: harmony and chord progressions, cadences, inversions, seventh chords, voice leading, reading a score.
• Advanced: chromatic harmony, modulation, counterpoint, musical form and analysis of real repertoire, from Bach to film music.
• For composers and songwriters: harmony you can use, writing for piano, arranging, orchestration basics, and how to get the music in your head onto paper.

Ear training

Ear training is a skill you can build at any age. I train students to recognise and sing intervals, chords and progressions, to take melodic and rhythmic dictation, to play by ear, and to sight-sing. Every exercise is matched to what you need it for, not done for its own sake.

Exam and entrance preparation

• AP Music Theory for high school students: written theory, aural skills, dictation and sight-singing.
• ABRSM theory and aural tests and the RCM theory levels.
• College and conservatory entrance exams: theory placement tests and aural skills auditions for music majors.
• See also my piano exam, competition and audition preparation.

Ear training for future piano tuners

To become a Registered Piano Technician (RPT) with the Piano Technicians Guild, a candidate passes three exams: a written exam, a technical exam and a tuning exam. In the tuning exam the candidate must tune by ear, without an electronic tuning device. That is where many technicians struggle, and that is the part I can help with.

I do not teach piano repair or regulation; that is the work of an RPT mentor. What I teach is the listening: hearing pitch precisely, recognising pure and tempered intervals, hearing and counting beats, comparing octaves, fourths and fifths, and building the concentration to listen this way for hours. If you are preparing for the tuning exam, or simply want to tune better by ear, I will design a course around exactly that.

Who comes to me for theory and ear training

• Piano students of every age who want to understand what they play.
• High school students preparing for AP Music Theory or college music auditions.
• Singers and instrumentalists who need sight-singing and dictation.
• Songwriters, producers and composers.
• Future piano tuners and technicians.
• Adults who simply always wanted to understand music.

Theory and ear training can be private lessons or small group classes of up to four. Lessons are by appointment. See lessons and prices.

Tell me your goal with the form below, or text or WhatsApp (702) 809-7576: what you play, what you want to pass or learn, and by when.