Noud (1994) was born and raised in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. He started at the piano when he was nearly 7 years old, basically out of sheer luck, when his sister decided to start with piano lessons.
Quickly it became clear that Noud had an insatiable interest for this instrument and its music.
However, it still took quite some time before he decided to pursue an education to become a professional musician. In 2012 Noud moved to Amsterdam to study at the conservatory in both the Bachelor and the Master program for Classical Piano.
In his teaching methodology, Noud focusses on the three values that he grew up with: fun, understanding, and relaxation. One does not simply have fun when starting on a new instrument. A lot of student might feel overwhelmed by all the new information, and all the challenges they might experience. Therefore, it is very important to create positive experiences, both on and off the piano.
Learning a lot of new songs, experiencing different styles, but also playful moments including acting, improvisations, and writing your own songs, are all part of Noud’s approach. To develop an
understanding for music and piano technique, Noud tries to develop critical hearing, critical thinking, and finding ways to improve your own playing. Noud believes his task as a teacher is completed when a student becomes his or her own teacher. Both fun and understanding are not possible to develop when there is no relaxation. That’s why this is prevalent in Noud’s teaching from the earliest stage. More advanced students may also get reading or listening assignments, simple analysis, technical exercises, piano mechanics, the history of the piano – of course, this all depends on the wishes of each particular student.