Music Lessons in East Rochester, NY

Instruments: Piano

Music cannot be fun if the only feedback a student gets or a teacher gives is critical. I stress the importance of comfort at the piano: no pain, no gain is never applicable to becoming a better pianist! Therefore, I encourage my students become very aware about how their physical gestures influence the sound that they produce. This ensures that students are confident and in control when approaching new, more difficult pieces of music. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I started teaching fifteen years ago when I was getting my Music Education degree in Buffalo. Even though I was training to become a choir director (which I still love doing!) I found teaching one-on-one lessons and building connections was my true calling as a music educator. Since then, I have taught lessons privately in students' homes and online. In addition to my private studio, I have been a collegiate music educator training professional musicians. Read More

Instruments: Violin Cello Viola Double Bass

Making music together is about connecting with each other as humansand that is what I emphasize from the first lesson. I want to get to know the real you before I get to hear you playyour interests, your goals. This allows me to see your playing as an extension of your personality. From there, learning is a matter of learning the vocabthe technique on the instrument that lets your unique personality shine through. Read More

Instruments: Drums Djembe

My goal as a teacher is to inspire students to develop as a passion, love, and appreciation for music and drumming. I tailor my lessons towards the students unique goals and interests so that they will be inspired to practice and so that they will be excited about what they are learning and progress quicker. As a teacher, I want to get my students actually playing music as soon as possible. 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 Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

I typically start with Alfred's Basic Piano Course if I'm teaching beginners, there are also Alfred's books for intermediate level students. It really depends on the student's preferred way of learning. There are a ton of great books out there to supplement teaching. I've also found John Thompson's series of books to be very helpful. Before I start teaching out of books though, I usually try to have the student write things down in a blank notebook of their choosing. Read More

Instruments: Bass Guitar Double Bass

The methods I work in are very particular for the specific student. I work to cater my teaching to the student rather than the other way around. It really is important to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the individual student to be able to determine what is the best course of action. For early beginners I work with the Simandl book, as well as exercises and etudes that are common such as Sturm, and Petracchi. Read More