Music Lessons in Ferndale, MI

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums

To me it is very important to balance the technical and creative aspects of development. No matter what age/skill level I split time during lessons into activities that develop technique and language, and compositional, creative activities that help each student explore their instrument and what they have to say with it. This balance can be altered depending on the interests of the student or parent. I also encourage students to bring in songs that they want to learn/play along with to keep the lessons relevant to their musical interests. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Banjo Ukulele Double Bass

I have been playing music for the vast majority of my life, it is my passion and purpose in life. I play a multitude of genres and instruments because I love to be able to speak every dialect of Great Communicator, the universal language that is Music. I have played in Arabic, Jazz, Folk, Country, Metal, Funk, large Orchestras, small chamber classical music throughout my varied carreer as a performer and I thouroughly enjoy catering my education approach to my student's individual tastes. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I always ask my students what their goals are, both short and long term. This then gives me a good outline of how I expect our lessons to go. My biggest goal is not just for my students to grow and progress but also to have fun! We sing because we love it, and it gives us joy to do it and share it with others. While I do strive to challenge my students, I never want them to leave a lesson discouraged. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I began teaching during my Masters. I have taught at the Forte Music School in Toledo, and a few lessons privately. Now that I have graduated I plan on taking more time to dedicate to building my voice studio. I thrive on making a fun, warm, comfortable environment for my students. This will be a place where it is okay to make mistakes because we know they will aid us in our successes. Read More

Instruments: Voice Bass Guitar Double Bass

I have been teaching private lessons since 2009. I specialize in commercial styles (pop, rock, jazz, country, etc.) as well as musical theater. I encourage creativity with my students and through unusual means I have found success in getting those good habits down. As a songwriter and long time frontman I support and help with my students desire to write their own music and find their performance style. My students in Nashville('10-'18) joked I give rockstar lessons not voice lessons. Read More

Instruments: Drums

When starting with a beginner student, I typically start by asking general questions about their interests and the music genres they enjoy. Then, we move on to the basics of maintaining proper form, understanding rhythm, and practicing simple exercises to ensure they start off with the right foundation. After that, we focus on learning the first few basic beats and ensuring they have a good understanding of how they are played. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For very young beginning students, I typically start with Faber Piano Adventures, and for older beginners, the Faber Accelerated Piano Adventures or Hal Leonard Adult Learner Series. Once the student has shown an understanding of basic theory and technique, classical repertoire will be introduced, along with level appropriate arrangements of the student's choice music. It's important that the student is taught how to practice a piece effectively to continue growing musically in between lessons, so that lessons can be used to find areas for improvement, and to learn new concepts and material. Read More