Piano Lessons in Compton, CA

Instruments: Guitar Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Ukulele Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I love the guitar. I love plugging an electric guitar in to an amp with distortion and let it rip. It's creative, scientific, full of emotion, full of discipline, full of fun, and something that I can connect with others by doing. It's quite possibly my favorite thing in the world. I love the drums for the same reason. It's great to pound on them for stress release, the fills are and endless supply of creative options, and also very mathematical at the same time. I love the clarinet because it is beautiful. Both to look at and the sound. You can play soft, pretty pieces. You can also play loud, intense pieces.

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
I never thought I could write and record my own album. Now I have three and working on a fourth. Without going to school and taking lessons I would have never had the confidence to do it on my own. Now I'm completely confident, but still incredibly eager to continue to learn. I love teaching music to all ages. It gives me so much pure joy to see the smiles on student's faces when they learn a song or a cool drum beat. It's truly my calling in to life to be a musicians and help others realized that they can be musicians too.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
Not any specific rewards, but some great success stories. I had one student who was 14 years old and had been getting in to lots of trouble at school. All he seemed to be interested in, other than getting in to trouble, was music. Therefore his parents enrolled him at the music school I taught at. Luckily enough, he was paired with me to learn guitar. His face lit up with excitement when I told him we could learn songs from his favorite band, Blink-182. Over time his parents told me that his attitude started to improve and rather than getting in to trouble, he was staying at home to practice his guitar. It was the best news I've ever heard. Music truly can change a person.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Learning the song "Blackbird" by the Beatles was very challenging for me at the time. It uses a picking style that was completely new to me. I would practice phrases, get frustrated, but keep at it until I had it down. Singing in front of an audience for the first time was very scary for me. I'm not the most accomplished singer, but I wanted to do it. Afterwords I thought to myself, "Hey that wasn't so bad". I then had the confidence to keep doing it, keep improving, and expanding what I can do musically.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
I like Hal Leonard for guitar, Fast Track for drums, and Standard of Excellence for clarinet. However, I'm open to using additional/different materials depending on the student. I use the website Ultimate Guitar for tablature of songs on guitar. Tablature is an alternate way of reading music. Some guitar teachers don't like it because it is not actually reading music, but rather a chart showing where to put your fingers to play. However, I feel it can be a very useful tool for growing as a guitarist.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I like to practice in short intervals multiple times a day. Practicing a concept multiple times a day without overwhelming yourself with too much other material will really help you learn the technique quickly. I like to warm up by doing finger exercises or arm and leg stretches, sit a quiet room with no distractions, and really buckle down with the music in front of me. It can be boring to repeat the same thing over and over, but the more you do it the better you will become and be able to advance.

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