Auckland
Piano Lessons | Keyboard Lessons | Aural Lessons, Ensemble Coaching, Song Writing Workshops, Theory Lessons, Composition Lessons, Jazz Improvisation Lessons, NCEA Music Tutoring, Online Lessons
Bio
I’m Dr. Mark Baynes, a jazz pianist, composer, and educator based in West Auckland, New Zealand. I teach piano from my home studio and online — wherever you are, we can work together.
My curriculum spans reading and technique, improvisation for all levels, and styles including Jazz, Funk, Latin, AfroCuban, and Pop. I also cover composition, songwriting, music theory, and music production. Whether you’re a beginner exploring your first chords or an advanced classical pianist stepping into improvisation, I tailor lessons to your pace and goals.
I’ve built a custom online practice platform called My Woodshed Music (mywoodshedmusic.com) that my students use between lessons. It includes a backing track library, a Groove Machine with real drum samples, video lesson recording, stem separation for learning parts from recordings, and AI-powered practice tools — all designed to make your practice time more effective and more fun.
As a performer, I’ve collaborated with Troy Kingi, Latin Grammy Award Winner Mireya Ramos, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, King Kapisi, and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. I’ve worked as a musical director internationally, from the Middle East to Canada, and shared the stage with artists like Eric Marienthal. I present The Jazz Show on 95bFM and have contributed as a columnist for NZ Musician Magazine.
I’m also the director of Let’s Go Music, a music education company, and I’m actively involved in curriculum development — serving on the NZQA panel reviewing unit standards for music technology, organising Networks of Expertise workshops for secondary teachers, and reviewing NCEA achievement standards as part of the Music Subject Experts Group.
Teaching Info
Learning jazz piano is one of the most rewarding challenges a musician can take on. I bring a blend of fun and focus to every lesson, setting specific goals with each student and building a bespoke learning plan around what you want to achieve.
Lessons are available in person at my West Auckland studio or online via video call — the experience is equally effective either way, especially with My Woodshed Music providing practice materials, backing tracks, and progress tracking between sessions.
I specialise in helping pianists at any level develop improvisation skills, but my teaching covers the full picture: chord voicings, lead sheets, music theory, composition, ear training, and reading. I introduce these elements early and keep them engaging. For advanced players transitioning from classical to jazz, I understand the unique challenges involved and can guide that process step by step.
My students have praised my ability to simplify complex concepts and make learning feel easy and inspiring.
I studied with Mark during my high school years. Mark introduced me to many fundamental concepts of jazz which had help me tremendously in preparing me for my undergraduate study at the University of North Texas. Not only that we covered the fundamentals, but Mark also introduced me to the music of many contemporary jazz pianists, especially the music of Brad Mehldau. I was so inspired to come to my lesson every week: the lessons were fun and very challenging. Mark’s teaching had prepared me to understand the process of actually learning the jazz style – we would be learning tunes, learning the voicings, playing together on two pianos (we had two grand pianos at the time!), and most importantly, transcribing. I started to learn and transcribe the solos of many jazz greats during my study with him. I would highly recommend anyone interested in learning jazz piano to study with Mark. He is the teacher who is very passionate about jazz music – every lesson is a discovery of something new and inspiring.
Tanakrit (https://www.tanakritmusic.com/)
Mark was my first jazz-piano teacher I have ever had when I started getting into Jazz in my teenage years. I remember my piano lessons with him being incredibly inspiring and refreshing, each week I went home with lots of music to check out and a lot of things to work on and reflect upon. Mark offered a broad range of teaching methods in his lessons, being goal-oriented while keeping the lessons fun and engaging. He helped me prepare for music competitions such as the National Youth Jazz Competition in Tauranga or the Auckland School Jazz Competition by going through the repertoire and showing me how to accompany and improvise over the pieces. I can strongly recommend Mark to anyone who’s eager to get Jazz-Piano lessons, for beginners as advanced pianist alike.
