Music Lessons in Clayton, CA

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Euphonium French Horn Tuba Music

I've been teaching the brass instruments for over 30 years, and I love to teach my students! I teach all ages, and I tailor my teaching to the student's own pace and abilities. I'm very good at sizing up students and telling them exactly what they need to do to instantly improve their playing. I also include some education in music theory as part of our lessons. I assist and encourage my students to become the best musicians they can be, which includes learning different styles of music, composing their own music, and preparing for auditions and competitions. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar

Flowing between the presentation of new information and the actual active playing music is very important to the way I conduct lessons. Especially for the young, I place much more emphasis on facilitating musical experiences rather than the integration of musical nomenclature and conceptualization. When we learn to speak, our ears guide us first, and we imitate. Writing and reading comes later. I've found that this pertains to music as well, if not even moreso. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I started to teach during my studies at Eastman. With the help of my YouTube channel, I was able to have the opportunity to teach fans who had wanted to learn with me. Since these fans were all around the world, I had to teach them with the use of Skype. Then and there, I had started to teach fans of all ages online. I also had the opportunity to teach guitar to locals of my hometown in Texas where I met up with people of all ages and taught one on one private lessons. Read More

Instruments: Piano Cello

I have written and released my own piano series which I use for beginner and intermediate students of all ages. My method introduces students to vocabulary of rhythm, pitch, music symbols and ensembles. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

With others, we work on reading and learning to sightread effectively. Others are very creative and I teach them how to compose and do improvisation. I have taught and overseen instructional programs so I understand everyone learns differently and I customize to teach different learning style. I also pick music the student loves. Students learn to play much faster and are more engaged if they can do music they love. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

Each of my students is an individual with specific needs. I learn from all of them to help me be a better teacher, but keep in mind that they will have different strengths and proceed at different rates - and that's okay! I also believe that learning the violin is not a race to the end of book 10, but rather a journey, and that each student's place along that journey comes in many shades of grey. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginner students who are children (or for students who are looking for a more traditional curriculum involving reading standard notation), I typically begin with Hal Leonard's Guitar Method books to develop a foundation and familiarity with reading notes and handling the instrument with correct posture and technique. For students who simply want to play the music they enjoy and prefer using tab over standard notation, I like to jump right in by learning first-position chords, which is usually followed by common finger-picking patterns/strumming patterns, and playing songs of the student's preference. Read More