A native of Washington, DC, Philippa Smith-Tyler studied classical piano at The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. She has been a professional musician for over forty years. Ms. Smith-Tyler has played for churches up and down the East Coast, from Massachusetts to Florida. She started teaching piano to neighborhood children when she was twelve. After college graduation, she taught in the Washington, DC, public school system, and taught piano and musicology in local colleges. She continues to teach piano and voice in private elementary, middle and senior high schools.This book is the culmination of many years of observing how children learn to play piano. She also includes many octogenarians among her student alumni, and is known by her motto: I teach ages 3 to 99 - the very young to the very young at heart .