Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael “Piano Mike” Gonzalez.
Hi Michael “Piano Mike”, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Michael Gonzalez was born in Tampa, Florida, and graduated from the University of Florida with a BA in music this past winter. He began taking weekly piano lessons at age seven at the home of his teacher, Karta Iglesias. A year later, he began learning guitar. With a prior foundation on the piano, the transition to guitar came very naturally. Growing up, Michael was fortunate to be surrounded by great music, especially that of 1960s and 1970s rock bands like The Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
Michael attended a small Montessori K–8 school with about 110 students, including roughly 10 in his grade. Despite the school’s small size, he had two close friends who shared an interest in the same music. In high school, he was involved in the school’s jazz ensemble, choir, and a cappella group, while continuing to take private piano lessons.
After finishing his junior year of high school, Michael was recommended for a teaching job by the graduating pianist from the jazz ensemble. The pianist connected Michael with the owner of Chops Music Studio, Matt Jeffries. During his one year at Chops Music Studio, Michael began teaching piano and guitar lessons to children. Later that year, he auditioned for the School of Music at the University of Florida (UF) and was offered a scholarship to pursue a BA in Music.
In November 2023, Piano Mike began to grow when he acquired four students from three different homes. They found him through just one yard sign placed outside an elementary school. By February 2024, that number had grown to nine students. Since that spring, he has maintained a studio of about seven students, traveling to their homes five days a week to teach lessons. His students have performed in two recitals so far, with a third planned for this coming May.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a relatively smooth road to becoming a music teacher. I was lucky to be recommended for my first teaching job in high school, and in college, I was lucky to know the Halls through my family. However, I have faced challenges in music education in general.
I used to be too lenient in my first two years of teaching. I never felt like the teacher should scold a child because growing up, that never happened to me during my lessons. My teacher did all the talking, and I rarely said more than a couple of words each lesson. And so listening and sitting still was no problem for me.
Another obstacle I faced was how progress would stall when working on pieces that my students chose. Having the student study his favorite piece seemed attractive to me as a teacher because it would motivate him to learn. However, many arrangements of popular songs are not written with a clear educational purpose. Students then learn a song, and not the piano.
But the biggest obstacle I find in music education is the child’s use of electronic devices, which interferes with practice time and distracts them from more educational music. The devices give children too much access not only to what they watch but also to what they listen to. Growing up, I’m glad I couldn’t stream any music I wanted to because I really liked Gangnam Style by PSY. If I had access to all the songs in the world as a boy, I would have listened to more songs like Gangnam Style until K-pop became all that I listened to. The electronic instruments and Korean lyrics would not have developed my ear and lyricism the same way blues-rock did. One of my students likes a Latino DJ (DJ Azul) who makes techno music in Portuguese. The parents also agree with me that he’s not learning much from his taste in music, and so they make an effort to listen to music from the 1900’s as well as the classical pieces we study.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I teach primarily piano to all my students except for two, who have also taken a liking to the guitar. Families who enroll their child in piano lessons often have their child participate in a couple of sports as well. For all the busy parents whose kids are doing every sport possible, I meet them at their house.
I feel most proud when I leave the students’ house after they’ve had a great lesson. I’m proud to see them gain confidence not just in music but also socially. I really push for my students to sing during our lessons and their individual practice time. I’m a big believer in exposing children to older music. Since the start of this year, I have started each lesson by playing a piece on the piano or guitar. Then we begin our technique exercise or music theory workbook.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I consider all my previous music teachers to have been my mentors, especially my piano teacher at UF, Dr. Hsiang Tu. I started Piano Mike while taking lessons from him, and he’s helped me learn to teach more effectively.
When it comes to networking, having an online presence is a must. A website is mandatory because, although you could obtain all the 7 students you need before word-of-mouth spreads, you should have one for spontaneous moments in the future.
For those interested in music lessons of any kind, my advice is to email local middle/high school band directors, who are always more than willing to help spread the gift of music. Two of my students came from families who emailed the piano professors at my university.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://pianomike.org
- Instagram: piano_mike_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550668317611
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gonzalez-889808289/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelGonzalez-vl9si
