About Sairfeet Music
Music has been part of my life since school — though not always in the way you might expect from someone who now teaches it.
Where it starts
I've lived in Fife pretty much all my life. I farm at Cults Farm — a place made up historically of several smaller farms, two of which were called Upper and Lower Bunzion. When I was looking for a name for this venture, Sairfeet appealed to my sense of humour. It felt right: a bit of home, not taking itself too seriously.
Music has been part of my life since school — though not always in the way you might expect from someone who now teaches it.
The long way round
I played both piano and accordion at school in the late seventies and early eighties, but I was more interested in playing cricket than music, and I rarely liked the pieces I was being asked to learn. When I was fifteen, I failed Grade 5 piano twice and quietly concluded that was as far as I could go.
It wasn't. But it would take a long time to find that out.
I bought a second-hand accordion at university, and it sat untouched in its case for the better part of twenty years. Then, in the spring of 2008, my aunt asked me to play at her 60th birthday party. Something stirred. I had rediscovered Scottish traditional music around that time, and that autumn, on holiday, I stumbled across an accordion teacher — his band were playing at the hotel we were staying in. I started lessons with him on 11th November 2008, and I have never looked back.
Piano came back into my life a little later, in an equally unplanned way. I was helping my younger son with his piano practice when his teacher asked me why I didn't play myself. I told her the story. She persuaded me to have another go — and I passed Grades 5, 6 and 7 with her. When she retired, a new teacher took me through Grade 8. He's an exceptional teacher, one who lets me explore where I want to go while guiding and challenging me at the same time. I've thought a lot about what makes that work so well, and it has shaped the way I teach.
I'm working towards an ATCL diploma, though I'm quite happy to indulge my curiosity and broaden my musical experience along the way.
Why this matters for you
If you gave up music and have always wondered whether you could go back — I know that feeling from the inside. I know the rustiness, the self-doubt, the gap between what you can hear in your head and what your hands will do. I also know that the ceiling you hit the first time round probably wasn't a real ceiling at all.
And if you've never played but have always felt the pull of music — that's just as valid a place to start.
My approach draws on my own experience as an adult returner as well as traditional teaching. It's exploratory and personal, built around musical understanding rather than just technical progress. If you want to work towards grades, we can absolutely do that. But the aim of Sairfeet Music is something broader than that — to help you find the musician that's already inside you, whether that means playing, or listening, or simply understanding music in a way you never have before.
Farmer, pianist, piano accordionist, and teacher — based at Cults Farm in Fife. Teaching piano because music is worth passing on.
Sairfeet. It comes from the land I farm. It makes me smile every time.
Ready to begin?
Whether you're an adult returner, a complete beginner, or something in between — get in touch for a no-obligation conversation about what you're looking for.
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