John Mulroy

"The high-level faculty, inspired student body, and great clinics and concerts keep me motivated as I continue to grow, personally and professionally, as a pianist and educator at Berklee."

"I'm teaching private lessons, piano ensemble, comping, and reading labs to piano principals, and basic keyboard to non-piano principals. Developing as a pianist is a process, and I encourage students to practice every day so they'll have the ability to express themselves musically and emotionally."

"As a teacher, I always demonstrate the pieces we're working on, and even record my playing in class so students can listen and give a critique. Of course, I have them do the same. I ask them to listen for a singing tone, crisp articulations, dynamic shading, a steady flow—in other words, a musical representation of the piece."

"Recently at Piano Club I gave a clinic on developing a jazz line. We worked on crafting a phrase from triads and seventh chords derived from a chord scale. We combined the three- and four-note groups in various ways to come up with interesting bop style lines."

"I find that Berklee students really want to know about improvisation and how to use the basics to develop vocabulary—something they can rely on in real-life situations. For improvisers, that's freedom."