Music Lessons in East Rochester, NY

Instruments: Piano

I have been teaching students of all ages since high school. While studying at Eastman, I have been responsible for teaching lessons to college-aged students of varying levels and abilities. I have also taught young beginners and older students returning to music. I have found that my wide ranging and diverse knowledge of the piano repertoire helps to engage students and encourages a personal relationship with music. My experiences have taught me the importance of having an adaptable teaching style that changes to help students reach their full potential: It is never enough to simply be a good pianist. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Saxophone Flute

I will work with each student to help them understand the fundamentals of jazz, for example, knowing major scales, minor scales, and all of the modes that we typically see in most jazz repertoire. For students that are more advanced we will work on learning how to play over common chord progressions and learn how to play songs found in the Great American Songbook. For students at a higher level, we can work on cementing more advanced techniques such as how to play over chord substitutions. Read More

Instruments: Violin

For beginning students, I like to build a foundation of training the ear, learning the language of music, and becoming connected with their instruments. I typically start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements or the Suzuki books. For intermediate students, I try and develop good building blocks for technique and facilities for getting around the violin. This is also a good stage to start introducing more advanced repertoire. For advanced students, I focus a lot on developing a deeper and more mature sound that really takes violin playing to the next level. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Music

While teaching, I create a very friendly and welcome environment. Comfort between the student and teacher is critical in order to progress with technique and repertoire. I open the floor to questions, concerns and truly want to hear what the students perspectives are. With beginner students, the primary focus is on breath management, developing flexibility between ranges, and applying technique to repertoire. For more advanced singers, I am able to help prepare for auditions or performances and focus more on the quality and control of the voice. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Every student is unique, and every student deserves a unique curriculum. That said, I usually start my absolute beginners off with open position chords and, when they're ready, open position scales - pentatonic and diatonic. We explore repertoire, often partially of the student's choosing. When this is established, we will dive into scales in all positions on the fretboard, and the corresponding modes for major, melodic minor, and harmonic minor. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Being as humble as I can be, teaching is a privilege. I love that I'm able to offer great amounts of value to my students' lives! In my approach, I do my best to engage students with challenging questions in various capacities. I offer precise feedback. There's much we can learn from outside perspectives, and so I incorporate past experiences and insights coupled with colorful analogies for optimal growth. I also offer a diverse set of tools, that I myself employ, which makes practicing more efficient and enjoyable. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Saxophone Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

As a performing musician, we are always giving and receiving knowledge to our colleagues and pals. I've been teaching people things about music since the end of high school, when I began to really feel like I had a grasp on what "good playing" sounds like. It wasn't until college when I sat down with someone and gave them a free one-on-one lesson for the first time. At that moment, even though my primary passion is performing music, I felt ecstatic that I was actually able to teach someone something that they'll remember throughout their days as a musician. Read More