Music Lessons in Lower Makefield, PA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Trombone Euphonium French Horn Tuba Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

My teaching style is adaptive to the students goals! I am a fairly easy going teacher that will help meet students where they are at, and walk with them on their growth journey. We will progress at the student's personal pace. My style can range from working casually on a new song each week, trying to perfect that concerto you have been working on, helping pre-professionals get to the musical level they need to achieve to become a professional themselves, or somewhere in the middle! Read More

Instruments: Piano

I've had numerous students over the years, and at every lesson try to leave the student with a clear path to follow that is not too demanding, while still leading on to new levels of development. Many techniques I use are self-learned from trial and error.  I've done the work for the student.  This enables the student to make the most progress with limited practice time. I show my students how to practice, and also encourage them to explore the music they love. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

My teaching style is very transparent; I want my students to recognize what we are working towards and how close they realistically are to that goal. This way, the student and I are working together to achieve a greater understanding of their instrument! I love feeling like I'm helping a student gain an understanding of a topic, rather than simply dictating a list of rules to know. I myself have an appreciation for many different styles of music, so I do my best to help students understand stylistically what is appropriate, necessary, and customary about the repertoire they are performing. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I think that students learn best when they are relaxed and having fun.  So, anything I can do to keep it light - whether it's drawing a picture to make a point or making up silly words to learn a complex rhythm or using crayons to mark the sections in our music - is a win in my book!  Laughing and making mistakes are a big part of learning.  When my students make errors, I don't scold, I say "good for you, now we can learn something!" I believe that it is both possible and critical to develop the student-teacher relationship as a collaboration. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

For young beginning piano students, I typically start with John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano: The First Grade Book and move up throughout the series from there. For young beginning voice students, I start with lessons on proper breath support, sight-singing, intonation exercises, and warm-ups to shape their voice. For both my piano and voice students, I establish a strong, classical foundation that is built on fundamentals to get their instrument working properly and then branch out to other genres from there. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

For beginning students, I initially focus on their setup and how to hold the instrument properly. Having this solid foundation helps in the future to avoid injuries and negative habits. After that, I use the Essential Elements books and Suzuki method books as a guideline with supplemental materials. At this point I would also begin introducing solo repertoire appropriate for a first recital performance. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in, and guide my teaching according to their level of interest, keeping lessons engaging and fun. Many times that includes playing fiddle tunes, which is very exciting to me too, since I have been involved in Irish culture since I was young. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I am an experienced teacher and performer for over 30 years. I have taught privately, public and parochial school, and college level. I am an experienced actress as well as a singer. I play piano for my voice students and have them record their lessons. I have a recital in my home every year for students and parents. I teach both voice and piano and many of my students have gone on to have careers in music. Read More