Music Lessons in Bargersville, IN

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Banjo

I start with a few different books depending on the student's interest. I try to encourage younger students to learn to read music. I have often used the Hal Leornard Guitar Method. Often adult students want to focus more on learning chords and how to play a few songs. Sometimes I use the Hal Learnard Tab Method or my own 16 page beginner's guitar book. Read More

Instruments: Piano Music Keyboard

My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching college-entrance level music theory classes and private piano lessons. For the past of ten years, I have been teaching classical piano, music theory, ear training, jazz piano, jazz history/theory, and k-12 level school bands including young winds, symphonic band and jazz band. I teach students with different music levels and ages. And I speak Mandarin and English, and I have been teaching bilingually for almost my entire teaching career. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I believe the foundation of progress is consistency, so I try to establish routines with my students, spending part of each lesson on technical exercises, theory/aural skills training, and repertoire. I also set performance goals for students by organizing recitals *this has been more tricky during Covid, but I think it is important nonetheless to get students to perform from memory at least twice a year (once at the end of fall and spring terms). Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

Experience has led me to instead encourage my students to listen to recordings of themselves and others after they finish learning their music, so they have a chance to develop their own ideas of the piece first. In New Zealand I learned to play on Hamburg Steinways, instruments that need care to make a full, round sound when playing loud. This helped me to form and teach a technique grounded in efficient use of arm weight versus muscle. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Euphonium French Horn Tuba Music

I'm a passionate musician who likes sharing his love of music with others. I'm currently completing coursework for my Doctorate in Music at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. I've been fortunate to perform both as a soloist and orchestral musician in Aruba and Italy, in addition to the diverse performing I've enjoyed stateside. Comfortable in a multitude of genres, I am equally at home in the classical realms of orchestral, wind-band and chamber music repertoire, in addition to jazz, marching band and commercial music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Synthesizer Lap Steel Guitar

My approach to teaching is to start simple and break down topics and themes into smaller goals that help the student feel a sense of accomplishment and eager to learn more. By letting the student's inspiration lead the way I can successfully guide them to reach those goals that they might not have had before starting the lesson. Nothing is more important for me than for a student's own creative mind to further their own curiosity from learning how to play their favorite song, understand a musical concept or make their instrument sound how they feel. Read More