Private lessons
I love helping young people learn the art of music making and seeing their creative potential flourish.
I teach a variety of musical styles and work with students according to their interest. I approach music lessons as an important platform for introducing effective learning strategies that can help them outside of music. These strategies include visualization, time management, goal setting, memory strengthening, and body awareness. I have a masters level education in classical music performance, and have been teaching for 8 years in private and group settings.
I teach a variety of musical styles and work with students according to their interest. I approach music lessons as an important platform for introducing effective learning strategies that can help them outside of music. These strategies include visualization, time management, goal setting, memory strengthening, and body awareness. I have a masters level education in classical music performance, and have been teaching for 8 years in private and group settings.
Teaching Philosophy
I believe teaching is much more than showing someone how to play an instrument. Teaching is an opportunity for me to help people
Young kids
Because kids are so naturally creative and curious, music lessons at young age can create a deep sense of familiarity that will last a lifetime. These first lessons are the most important ones because they establish the first model for how the individual relates to the instrument. In lessons with younger students, I have three main learning objectives:
Teenagers and up
With the right learning strategy, no time is too late to begin learning. With students who are older or more serious, lessons are geared toward making the guitar an enjoyable part of the students lifestyle. This includes:
- have fun being curious about their creative potential
- build habits that will fuel the joy of lifelong learning
- experience the excitement of making music with other people, from jamming to classical chamber music
- increase their level of mental focus and motor skills
Young kids
Because kids are so naturally creative and curious, music lessons at young age can create a deep sense of familiarity that will last a lifetime. These first lessons are the most important ones because they establish the first model for how the individual relates to the instrument. In lessons with younger students, I have three main learning objectives:
- The first objective is to help the student develop a positive attitude towards having fun with their instrument. I invite students to experiment and begin making their own music from the first lesson. We sing songs with the guitar and incorporate movement or dancing, so that "practice" is more like play than work.
- The second goal is to build an innate sense of rhythm, which is the most fundamental skill in music making. I teach rhythm by bringing attention to the body's most naturally rhythmic movement: walking. Having students move their feet as they play, clap, or sing is a fun and effective way to build this skill.
- The third goal is to establish the ability to listen perceptively and continually improve what they are playing. While I also specialize in teaching the skill of sightreading to older students, I often teach by ear with younger students . Learning to play by ear enables students to learn music more quickly, and to have a more intuitive sense of how pitches relate to the patterns on the fingerboard. Just as we learn to read after we learn to speak, I gradually introduce sight reading to all students, and encourage at least a basic ability to read music notation.
Teenagers and up
With the right learning strategy, no time is too late to begin learning. With students who are older or more serious, lessons are geared toward making the guitar an enjoyable part of the students lifestyle. This includes:
- How to use curiosity to cultivate effortless focus
- Listening assignments for genre being studied
- How to play without tension by consistently practicing technical exercises
- Develop listening skills
