Guitar Lessons in Portola Valley, CA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Organ

It is important that each student progresses at their own pace with reasonable and realistic goals that they can reach. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a students desire to achieve even greater challenges. My desire is to find what motives the student and create a curriculum that will refine them based on their desire. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Typically, I like to use the student's goals to decide where to jump off from. If a student would like to learn to read music, I would like to start with the book that I started with, Alfred's Basic Guitar Method. I find that it is a very effective book that teaches the basics and lays it out with enough practice material to make students aware of how the guitar works. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

I can accompany the student with the guitar or piano. For beginners in piano, I will typically begin with the Faber workbook. If they have their own workbook that they would like to work from, I will work with that. I teach Circle of Fifths as an early tool to cultivate an understanding of harmonic language, and make it as simple and easy as possible, until the basics become engrained. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin

I like to start by teaching all of the students music theory before we play any instruments. In the real world, you cannot read a book properly if you do not know the "ABC's". I strongly believe the same goes with music. Once we learn the fundamentals of music theory, learning songs, and other instruments will become a lot easier. Once we have the music theory settled down, we will play books. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass

I feel the most important thing in life is acceptance and the quality of allowing others and yourself a peace from within. This state of being or of mind gives everyone an opportunity to be involved and feel that their contribution has great meaning and value. Far to often students experiences from a very young age a sense of not belonging and disassociation caused by economic, ethnic and cultural barriers. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I began teaching guitar after graduating undergraduate school in NYC. I taught some of my college friends as well as expanded to middle school and high school. students. I have taught 9 year olds as well as seniors well into their seventies. I love interacting with people and helping them learn and develop their love of music. There are so many different types of music in the world such as Persian modal, Indian ragas, Argentina rumbas, Reggae and much, much more. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Trumpet Trombone Euphonium Tuba Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I am an experienced trombonist and teacher with degrees from the New England Conservatory and California State University at East Bay (MA in Music anticipated Fall 2020). I have been teaching since the 1990s, and performing all over the world since the early 2000s. My primary instrument is on trombone, but have had students on tuba, euphonium, and beginning trumpet as well. My performance experience is primarily in the jazz, pop, and rock genres, but am conservatory-trained and well-equipped to prepare young students to enter the classical world as well. Read More