Teaching

Whether you’re an experienced musician ready to take your musicianship to the next level or a beginner looking to start on the right track, I’m happy to offer online and in-person lessons, tailor-made to help you achieve your goals. The list below gives an overview of the skills that I can help you develop to guide you in deciding what you would like to focus on.

Healthy Technique

Learning how to move with ease at the piano is key to unlocking your full musical potential, laying the foundation for everything that we do at the instrument. Whether you feel technically limited when playing challenging passages or you experience pain and fatigue at the piano, I can guide you through every step of developing an effortless and expressive playing using the tools of the Taubman Approach.

Rhythm and Movement

Movement is our best tool for experiencing, understanding and internalizing rhythm in all its forms. Through very specific Dalcroze Eurhythmics exercises that are at the same time fun and challenging, your rhythmic feel and perception will improve organically alongside all other aspects of your musicianship.

Reading Proficiency

Whether you aim to play fully-notated music, lead sheets, chord charts, or a combination of those, learning to sight-read with ease takes practice and discipline, as well as a well structured progression and appropriate material. I will help you methodically build the ability to recognize intervals, shapes, and patterns on the staff, and develop a proprioceptive awareness of keyboard geography, ultimately enabling you to read music confidently.

Improvisation and Composition

Spontaneous musical expression is one of the most rewarding experiences for a musician. I view improvisation not only as an end in itself, but also as a means to develop and solidify many other musical skills. Drawing from my jazz training, my experience in Dalcroze pedagogy, my interest in historical improvisation through Partimento and Schemata theory, and my contagious passion for free exploration of sound, I will guide you through the exciting journey of improvisation and composition.

Ear Training

Developing sharp ears is one of the most valuable skills for a musician, but it can be a daunting task without guidance. I’ll help you structure your ear training practice, providing tools and exercises rooted in Dalcroze solfege for developing a quick and intuitive connection between your ears and your brain. We’ll apply and develop these skills by picking up melodies, chord progressions, and entire songs by ear.

Music Theory

In alignment with Jaques-Dalcroze’s philosophy, I believe that learning theory should follow the practice, and not the reverse. You will learn music theory in an organic manner, in connection with the other skills mentioned here, and within the context of the music that you are working on. This includes harmony, voicings, form and much more. Understanding music theory enhances creativity, informs interpretative choices, and deepens appreciation for the complexities and beauty of music.

Variety of Genres

While all these skills can be applied to any genre of music, I am happy to work with you on the language and stylistic specificities of jazz, classical, and Brazilian music. I can also help you build a solid background allowing you to easily play other genres such as funk, R&B, rock, etc.

Milton de Souza Carvalho

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Since I’ve started taking lessons with Arthur, I have experienced immense pleasure in playing the piano. Through natural movements that don’t challenge our anatomy, he has shown me the way to play, with security, passages that I previously considered difficult.
I am 70 years old and started playing the piano as a child. I had short periods of formal learning, but I’ve always mostly played music by ear. With Arthur, it is the first time I have experienced consistent technical improvement, which I am sure will take me to another level.
Besides the methodology, Arthur's dedication and patience during lessons make all the difference. His capacity for observation and his detailed guidance make it easy to understand what needs to be corrected.
Thank you, Arthur, for showing me a new path.
PS: I also have an 11-year-old grandson, Gabriel, who also studies with Arthur and never wants to miss a lesson.
Stefano Morbidelli

Senigallia, Italy
“I’ve been studying with Arthur for almost a year now and thanks to him I’ve greatly improved not only my technical skills, but also the way I study and face new passages and challenges. Arthur is always nice, patient and supportive with me; his teaching method is very efficient and has allowed me to improve quickly without feeling stressed or under pressure.”
Mindle Vaskovsky

New York, USA
“I grew up in Long Island, New York, and have been playing piano since I was a little kid. I am currently pursuing my BA in Music at the Aaron Copland School of Music in Queens. Through my years of learning, I found myself meeting certain limitations in my playing- tight wrists, weak fingers, back pain, lack in sound quality, and I simply thought that’s how it would always be. I came across the Taubman Approach, when a friend of mine suggested that I take lessons with Edna Golandsky, who is an adjunct teacher at ACSM. I was very intrigued by the method and started my retraining. At some point, Edna suggested that I spend some time studying under one of her students who teach the method, Arthur Simoes. I spent a couple of months studying with Arthur, and he helped me improve greatly. He is an incredibly patient, and talented teacher. He was able to pinpoint exactly which things I needed to adjust in my playing, in order to achieve better sound, and have no pain while playing. I am very grateful to Arthur for the patience and wisdom that he shared in teaching me the Taubman Approach, and wish him continued success in helping people become happier in their playing!”
Mélina Limani

Geneva, Switzerland
“Arthur helped me a lot in becoming more comfortable at the piano, as well as with improvisation. Thanks to him, I can improvise whatever comes through my mind, and I can play and recognize the chords that I hear! He also helped me writing my own songs. I recommend Arthur for anyone who wants to be able to improvise beautiful sounds, write their own compositions or play chords by ear.”
Wandemberg Alencar

Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil
"I have been through a long journey of many frustrating attempts to achieve freedom at the piano and express music the way I wanted. Playing fast was something that made me uncomfortable; fast passages actually terrified me. Then I met Professor Arthur, who, with patience in teaching me technique through the Taubman Approach and the perceptiveness to understand the core of my weaknesses, has been leading me along paths I had always searched for but had never found before. Today, I have a whole new perspective at the piano, and each lesson with Professor Arthur is a unique experience, filled with valuable teachings and plenty of music."
Michael Akré

Geneva, Switzerland
“Arthur is very patient and always knew how to help me with challenging things. It was such a pleasure to go to the lessons, and it always felt like time flew. The lessons were very interesting and captivating whatever we worked on (pieces, ear training, rhythm, technique, improvisation, etc.) Thanks to him, I learned and improved a lot. He always adapted to the pieces that I wanted to learn, whatever the style. I particularly loved to learn improvisation with him.”