Trinity Grade 8 Certified Piano Instructor Helping Students Learn with Confidence and Purpose

Learn more about Roshni

• Tell us more about your subject. How did you develop an interest in this field?

  I have always loved playing the keyboard/piano growing up. About 10 years ago, my music teacher made me a group leader to arrange a song for a concert she was staging. I was working with much younger children (7-10 years old) and working with them made me fall in love with teaching. I really enjoyed creative problem solving when one of them couldn't figure something out. It got me thinking that I can actually do this for a living!

• What or who is the motivation behind you choosing to teach & why?

  We interact with sound and music on a daily basis. My motivation comes from there - making sense of what we hear, why some melodies are so catchy and why some chords elicit such emotional responses in us! Apart from teaching the piano, I love to inculcate a deeper appreciation for music in my lessons.

• How does your work help society?

  We all have music in us - our heart beats a pulse, one of the most basic forms of rhythm that we all grow up with without even knowing! A good music education can be life-affirming, fun and even therapeutic. On difficult days, I have turned to my instrument, and that's my hope for my students as well. The arts are a very powerful tool for expression. Working with children has especially been rewarding as they learn important skills from these classes - hard work, discipline, practice, accountability, collaboration and performance.

• If you had to think of a role model for your work, who do you think of & why?

  My grandmother is a mridangam player and music teacher herself! She has experience of performing and teaching for 50 years. I always enjoyed watching her giving lessons. In fact, when I was 3 years old, I would sit with her while she taught! I picked up the teacher trait from her subconsciously, I guess. I would love to take the legacy of music education ahead in my family.

• Tell us about your hobbies outside teaching.

  I am an avid reader of fiction (currently reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros). I enjoy cooking and cleaning too. I have the most fun teaching my dog new tricks!

• Do you have an anecdote to tell us about your student or professional life?

  Early on in my piano teacher career, I walked into a class with a student and she was so excited to see me because she had figured out a melody from a song she loved. She made me sit down and performed it for me like it was a concert. That was so wonderful to experience!