Joyce Porter Barringer

Joyce is an amazing teacher. I had taken so many years (decades?) off from playing piano when I finally reached out to her. At best, my playing ability was at a mid-​intermediate level.
In less than three years, and dozens of classical pieces later, she had me playing Brahms Intermezzo Opus 118 No2. I never dreamed my ability to play could grow as much as it has under her supervision.
She’s very patient and flexible. When work would get in the way, we’d take some time off and work out when to meet again.
She has a vast catalog of classical music she teaches from. And she does an excellent job of balancing technical work with the joy of playing.
You will have to climb a few stairs to get to her.
I moved to Seattle and have been struggling to find a teacher here. It’s difficult because Joyce has set such a high bar.

Somewhere after New Years, driven by that naïve «I’m not going to be a water-​treading wastrel this year!» mentality that hits us all when confronted by the terrifying blankness of another year of life, I decided I was going to try to learn the piano. Hungover, but determined not to let that thought pass idly through my brain, I found Joyce via her great Unilocal reviews and sent her an email. A few weeks later we began lessons twice a month.
She was encouraging, positive, and laid back. I quickly began to look forward to our lessons, not just for their own sake, but because Joyce, her husband, and their cat Tango had become a welcome addition to that little extended circle of people in my life. I always left after a lesson feeling better about life in general. Improving myself, chatting with these warm, intelligent people for a few minutes who I’d never have otherwise met, leaving and immediately bee-​lining it for Anna’s (across the street!) – it all just combined to form a wonderfully rewarding experience.
And somewhere along the line, amidst all of this pleasantness I began to pick it up! Before I knew it I was reading music, playing scales and arpeggios by memory, and ham-​handedly banging my way through pieces both familiar and unfamiliar (she mercifully let me skip the cheesy ones from the book). She was great at explaining concepts if I got lost or simply wanted more information, and was careful to foster proper technique along the way – merely ‘hitting the notes’ wasn’t enough, she emphasized style and touch to create the proper sound.
I got extremely busy with work and planning a wedding, so I have been on a hiatus with my lessons, but looking back as I write this I am kind of amazed at how much I retained, having barely played at all since I hit pause on this endeavor.
Overall I think you’d be hard pressed to find a better, kinder, or more patient teacher. After all, she put up with me.

I found Joyce via Unilocal when I first moved to Boston less than two years ago. So glad that I did.
She is a wonderful teacher, encouraging, patient, calm, always had something positive to say. Without her, I won’t be able to pick up Bach’s pieces again. It was unfortunate that I have to stop playing after a year, I DO hope one day I will be back on to her piano class again. Her teaching is truly helpful!

Joyce helped me find and develop a love for playing piano. I studied piano as a child, and for years I wanted to return to it. However, I had bad memories of dreading my piano lessons and feeling guilty when I didn’t practice. That completely changed with Joyce. Every week I looked forward to my lesson with her. From the beginning she gave me the encouragement that I needed to keep going and believe that my practice was worthwhile. She praised me when I was on the right track, and gently corrected me when I wasn’t. She understands that someone learning the piano needs to love their material in order to be motivated to practice. So, she pointed me in the right direction for finding music that I love, and never faulted me for choosing not to play a piece because it wasn’t my style. Her patience is remarkable — she never seems to get frustrated. Even when I was butchering Beethoven, she had something positive to say. When I had finally learned a piece and could play it competently, she helped me hone my performance and find the nuances in the piece. She will tailor her lessons to your individual need. She is also a lovely person, and a delight to work with. I highly recommend her!

I’m 25 years old and on a whim I decided that I wanted to take piano lessons again and I got very lucky finding Joyce. I was a little nervous starting up lessons as an adult but Joyce was just awesome. She’s really patient and a fantastic teacher. Playing the piano is difficult, and it certainly takes dedication and daily practice. When I took lessons with Joyce I was also working full-​time so some weeks I wasn’t able to practice as much as I’d have liked. This was never a problem, every lesson was fun and I learned a lot.
Having Joyce as a teacher was so much fun, and every week I was driven not only by my interest in music, but also to show her what I was capable of. She just brings the best out of you.
I recommend Joyce to anyone, young, old, or somewhere in between. If you like piano, she’ll make you love it.

I’ve been taking lessons with Joyce since the fall of 2010 (in fulfillment of a lifelong and long-​delayed dream) and have to say that she’s simply an outstanding teacher. She is flexible, patient, communicative, and passionate about what she does. She is good both at suggesting materials to learn from and filling in the gaps where the books fail to illuminate a particular concept or technique. I leave each lesson a little calmer than when I went in.
Also, she is literally a two-​minute walk from Porter Station, so, highly accessible to anyone using public transit.

Joyce is a fine teacher. My fingers don’t do what she says (or what I want them to do) the first few tries, but her patience wins, every time.
I’m very happy I found her, and that she took me on as a student.