Piano Lessons in Walnut Creek, CA

Instruments: Trumpet

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Taking frequent breaks in practice is very important for any instrument. For trumpet, you don’t want to over-play and hurt your lips. The way I tackle this is to take breaks as much as you play- even if that includes timing yourself to have equal practice and break time. It is important to have a steady warmup, that may change but contain the same elements. For every student, their practice with technical studies vs literature is different. It is important to be aware of this practicing behavior. Many students will play the beginning of a piece every time they practice and totally neglect the rest of the piece; many have bad practicing habits and we can fix them, easily!

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
If your child is remotely interested in trumpet or if they are a beginner in band, they can definitely start taking lessons! In school, your child can excel with private lessons and thrive being a musician. Not having lessons as a child, it was extremely confusing figuring out where to start with practicing and even what skills to develop. Your child will want to excel and be first chair in band, but practicing trumpet is so much more than that. It allows them to keep a practice schedule and have something they truly care about! Motivation in a child’s life is extremely important as it can be easy to be apathetic in school; music can be the light in a child’s life.

When will I start to see results?
While every music student’s journey is different, taking lessons will be vital in their success. How much a student wants to practice can be changed with a little motivation. As for concrete results, you should see results right away with the student’s practice. Even a little practicing is huge for the student, especially for beginners. Lessons do require a committed student who is willing to follow through with practicing and performing, but I work very hard to motivate students to find their passion.

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
I had several teachers who inspired me to pursue and thrive in music. In high school, I spent a lot of time playing around and was uninterested in music. I started college wanting an agricultural degree. But I decided to play in Jazz 2, the second band, with Greg Ball as the director, and I thought “Why am I doing anything other than music?”. Greg Ball made the rehearsal experience so much more than about the music we were playing and making it an enjoyable experience for everyone. From then I decided to be a music major, when I met Dr. Brian Walker. Dr. Walker pushed me to the limit in my lessons and made me work harder and harder throughout my degree. Even though it was a very difficult road, there was always a huge amount of payoff! Many other teachers helped me through my music courses and I joined several different ensembles in college, including vocal ensembles. I have always believed that it is important to expand and discover what you enjoy. Music is a universal language and even if your child decides they don’t want to pursue trumpet in the future, it will have always been a part of their lives and those skills can transfer to other real world skills.

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