It is certainly fair to say that Nancy Thompson-Lloyd loves music.

Her impressive background of training and performance notwithstanding, Nancy first and foremost loves the art and creativity of music, how it reaches the soul, and that music can be a universal experience for people of all ages.

Nancy began as many others do, with piano lessons starting around age six. Having a somewhat competitive nature, with herself most often being her own main challenger, she quickly advanced through the many early levels of training.

She loves music as it is an outlet to be creative and it is also a skill that one can learn and perfect. It is a life-long learning process and Nancy loves the process of learning, such as with a new piece of music – breaking it down, putting it back together, and then the finished work itself. To Nancy, music is a work of art.

Classical, sacred and gospel music is what she has been most drawn to and that has been her primary focus for performance, having been a church organist and pianist for over 30 years. Nancy has experience in collaborative piano and has often performed in chamber music trios and duets. In addition, she has a lot of experience with accompanying soloists, instrumentalists, and choirs.

Nancy wanted to share her talents and love of music, so she pursued it as a career. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy (Instruction) from the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and is also a member of the Southern Colorado Music Teachers Association chapter – www.mtna.org. She is a Colleague with the American Guild of Organists – www.agohq.org and a member of the Piano Technicians Guild – www.ptg.org. She was a Commencement/Convocation organist for the Colorado School of Mines for 20 years.

She is also a talented piano tuner and repair technician. Having always had an interest in piano technology, she started training formally in 2015. She enrolled in the Randy Potter School of Piano Technology, joined the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) as well as the local PTG chapter, and has attended many conferences which were focused on piano technology. She is currently working to become a Registered Piano Technician.

The services she provides include standard tuning, pitch raises, voicing and regulation work, and in-home repair, such as fixing sticky keys, or broken strings. Nancy strives to make any piano she works on sound and play the best it can.

Since the late 1980s, Nancy has maintained a teaching studio, teaching piano, organ, and keyboard. She is also a coach for students who are entering competitions or preparing for auditions. She is available for coaching, collaboration, and accompaniment. Nancy is available as a substitute or interim pianist/organist for churches, schools and other venues.

She works with students from the young to the elderly. A great age for children to start lessons is around six-years-old because their fine motor skills have developed by this time, but even younger children can learn musical concepts, such as loud and soft, fast and slow, etc. Learning skills and having an outlet for creativity is a very valuable activity for people, and exposure to music enriches you and broadens your horizons at any age.

Nancy feels that everyone who has a desire to study music can reach a level of achievement in the field and that it is never too late to start. Learning music also helps people, especially children, develop stronger skills in other areas. For instance, the structure of music is very mathematical and that is great for children in school. It also benefits children in a variety of other ways as well. It helps them be focused, it helps them be creative, can increase self-confidence, and it helps them unplug from their increasing electronic world.

One of the things she teaches is not only reading music, but ear-training to learn how to develop aural skills, to “play by ear” and to improvise.  Some students are really drawn to that while others are not and she tries to follow their natural interests and talents.

Her teaching philosophy includes both instruction and performance. Performance is a motivator; it takes you from simply learning the basics of a piece of music to being able to perfect it enough to play it in a public performance arena.

If a parent is thinking about music instruction for their children, piano lessons are a great place to start because it gives them all the basics and a good, firm foundation for other instrument study later on.

Nancy cannot stress enough how critical parent involvement is for a child’s success with their piano lessons. They need to be encouraging to the child as they practice and be patient as the child is learning. They also have to help their child find a dedicated time to be focused on music. Children these days have so much of their time booked up with activities, so they may need help finding a consistent time to study piano. It is consistency, over a period of time, that will make all the difference.

So, when choosing a music instructor, especially for a child just beginning lessons, you should find someone not only extremely skilled in playing music and music instruction, but someone who has lived a life of music and can impart that love of music from the very beginning.

Someone like Nancy.

About Nancy Lloyd

It is certainly fair to say that Nancy Thompson-Lloyd loves music.

Her impressive background of training and performance notwithstanding, Nancy first and foremost loves the art and creativity of music, how it reaches the soul, and that music can be a universal experience for people of all ages.

Nancy began as many others do, with piano lessons starting around age six. Having a somewhat competitive nature, with herself most often being her own main challenger, she quickly advanced through the many early levels of training.

She loves music as it is an outlet to be creative and it is also a skill that one can learn and perfect. It is a life-long learning process and Nancy loves the process of learning, such as with a new piece of music – breaking it down, putting it back together, and then the finished work itself. To Nancy, music is a work of art.

Sacred music and gospel music is what she has been most drawn to and that has been her primary focus for performance, having been a church organist and pianist for over 30 years. Nancy has experience in collaborative piano and has often performed in chamber music trios and duets. In addition, she has a lot of experience with accompanying soloists, instrumentalists, and choirs. Jazz music also occupies a portion of her heart.

Nancy wanted to share her talents and love of music, so she pursued it as a career. She earned a Master of Arts degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy (Instruction) from the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. She is a member of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and is also a member of the Southern Colorado Music Teachers Association chapter – www.mtna.org. She is a Colleague with the American Guild of Organists – www.agohq.org and a member of the Piano Technicians Guild – www.ptg.org. She was a special organist for the Colorado School of Mines for 20 years.

She is also a talented piano tuner and repair technician. Having always had an interest in piano technology, she started training formally in 2015. She enrolled in the Randy Potter School of Piano Technology, joined the Piano Technicians Guild (PTG) as well as the local PTG chapter, and has attended many conferences which were focused on piano technology. She is currently working on becoming a Registered Piano Technician.

The services she provides include standard tuning, pitch raises, voicing and regulation work, and in-home repair, such as fixing sticky keys, or broken strings. Nancy strives to make any piano she works on sound and play the best it can.

Since the late 1980s, Nancy has maintained a teaching studio, teaching piano, organ, and keyboard. She is also a coach for students who are entering competitions or preparing to audition for a scholarship or entrance into a music school. She is available for coaching, collaboration, and accompaniment. Nancy is available as a substitute or interim pianist/organist for churches and schools.

She works with students from the young to the elderly. A great age for children to start lessons is around six-years-old because their fine motor skills have developed by this time, but even younger children can learn musical concepts, such as loud and soft, fast and slow, etc. Learning skills and having an outlet for creativity is a very valuable activity for people, and exposure to music enriches you and broadens your horizons at any age.

Nancy feels that everyone who has a desire to study music can reach a level of achievement in the field and that it is never too late to start. Learning music also helps people, especially children, develop stronger skills in other areas. For instance, the structure of music is very mathematical and that is great for children in school. It also benefits children in a variety of other ways as well. It helps them be focused, it helps them be creative, can increase self-confidence, and it helps them unplug from their increasing electronic world.

One of the things she teaches is not only reading music, but ear-training to learn how to “play by ear” and to improvise. . Some students are really drawn to that while others are not and she tries to follow their natural interests and talents.

Her teaching philosophy includes both instruction and performance. Performance is a motivator; it takes you from simply learning the basics of a piece of music to being able to perfect it enough to play it in a public performance arena.  

Nancy provides in-home music lessons rather than students going to her studio. Of course, the student has to have a piano or an acceptable keyboard in their home. A good piano is her instrument of choice, but a keyboard can get them started. If the student shows a real interest in music and they want to continue, then the parents can think about upgrading to a piano.

If a parent is thinking about music instruction for their children, piano lessons are a great place to start because it gives them all the basics and a good, firm foundation for other instrument study later on.

Nancy cannot stress enough how critical parent involvement is for a child’s success with their piano lessons. They need to be encouraging to the child as they practice and be patient as the child is learning. They also have to help their child find a dedicated time to be focused on music. Children these days have so much of their time booked up with activities, so they may need help finding a consistent time to study piano. It is consistency, over a period of time, that will make all the difference.

So, when choosing a music instructor, especially for a child just beginning lessons, you should find someone not only extremely skilled in playing music and music instruction, but someone who has lived a life of music and can impart that love of music from the very beginning.

Someone like Nancy.

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