Testimonials from Adult Students

"Katherine took me on as a student in early 2016 after my Mum spoke to her regarding my struggles with previous music teachers and I was extremely grateful due to her being overbooked as it was! She helped me transition from being an electone organ player to a piano player and was even entered in an exam the same year, earning myself a distinction! I've learned good habits, I can read music faster then before, and I always felt I could ask for help for whatever I needed! I am extremely thankful I have picked up good habits and I am ever so sad to see Katherine move away because she has honestly been the best teacher I have ever had." (young adult)

"I have been having piano lessons with Kath for about 3 years, I am a restarter who played as a child and returned to it about 4 years ago and was fumbling along on my own until I met Kath, In the past 3 years with Kath’s guidance I have improved more than I would have thought possible. Kath has taught me so much and the lessons are always interesting and fun, Kath has unlimited patience and is an excellent teacher with so much knowledge of all aspects of music last year I passed my grade 3 with merit. Kath will be greatly missed by her pupils in Nottingham and will be a tough act to follow, I would not hesitate to recommend Kath to anyone who is interested in learning the piano."

“Kath Hutchinson has been a godsend to me. I started piano as a child but had to stop when my parents moved around during the War. I took up lessons again when I retired from work about 16 years ago. About 6 years ago I started lessons with Kath who, with extreme patience, has taught me to play pieces I would never have attempted alone. She has really enlivened my retirement and at the age of 80 I would sincerely recommend her to anybody in a similar situation.” Dr. Anthony Swannell.(ret.)

“Kath has taught me for the last eight years she is an excellent teacher, very patient, encouraging and understanding. She has built up my confidence and helped me attain far more than I could ever have imagined.” Glenys. (A mature student.)

"Kath's positively inspirational at nurturing optimal results of older musicians." Melanie (67) learning for 15 months.

“I have been taking lessons with Kath now for over two years after a break from playing the piano of twenty five years. I have found Kath to be a wonderful teacher of infinite patience and care, extremely encouraging and sympathetic at all stages of my development, intuitively recognising my strengths and weaknesses and needs and carefully attending to them with hard work and praise in each lesson. She has taken my piano playing ability way beyond anything I could have imagined when I started and has given me a great sense of achievement. I eagerly look forward to each and every lesson.”

“I was an adult returner to lessons 4 years ago. I picked Kath partly because her website was so inviting and partly because she lived near where I work. I had always lacked confidence in my playing. I can now play in public with out my fingers knotting up. I have enjoyed the lessons very much. Kath is an excellent teacher demonstrating patience, knowledge, always encouraging and with good practice ideas. I would highly recommend her as a teacher.”

“I would like to thank Kath for the support she has given me over the past five years. Her dedication and skill as a teacher has been outstanding. I have gained so much from her guidance and feel that the "piano circle" events she organised gave me the impetus to work on pieces to performance standard, which was very important to me as I did not wish to take exams. I will miss Kath and her beautiful "baby Schimmel" piano.”“I would like to thank Kath for the support she has given me over the past five years. Her dedication and skill as a teacher has been outstanding. I have gained so much from her guidance and feel that the "piano circle" events she organised gave me the impetus to work on pieces to performance standard, which was very important to me as I did not wish to take exams. I will miss Kath and her beautiful "baby Schimmel" piano.”

"I have known Kath for about 10 years and have found her to be a friendly, professional, knowledgeable teacher who walks her talk – meaning she practices, performs with other teachers and continually seeks ways to developing her teaching and performing abilities. This also means I have found that she always seems to have or looks for a range of strategies to overcome any piano difficulties I encounter. Early in our relationship, I took and passed my grade 3 exams with a merit. This is one of my most significant personal achievements to date, even though I have a couple of degrees. I’d like to take this opportunity to tell you about my journey with Mozart’s Sonata in C Major. I started playing the second movement of Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, the Andante, before I met Kath. I was struggling to find a way to study some sections of the piece. I put the piece aside while I concentrated on my grade 3 exams; however, after the exams and, in my private study, I found I was able to play it through within weeks, and all the areas that seemed mountainous flowed easily. Kath and I parted for a few years and I returned last year and with the desire to play the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, the Allegro, which I had been struggling to play while I was away. Within three months I was able to play the piece through without stopping and with shorter practice sessions. Some months later performed the piece at our Piano Circle. This was an achievement not only because I had spent a couple of years trying to play the piece, but because it is a fairly lengthy Allegro, in my view, and my fingers sometimes seemed to be rebelling by getting stiffer the more I willed them to play. Will I learn the third movement? I highly recommend Kath. I would like to also take this opportunity to thank her for her help over the years and to let all prospective students know that they are in capable hands."