Music Lessons in Schellville, CA

Instruments: Guitar Music Electric Guitar

My formal training and music abilities have led me towards a versatile path in the understanding of music. I am passionate about world cultures, and like to incorporate the elements of ancestry and sound healing in my own work. My role as composer sparked at an early age, when I first took the guitar and begun my first conscious and ever intuitive journey of channeling music and sound. In 2017, I was commissioned to score a full length modern dance production, choreographed and directed by Enrique Faundez, (Santiago, Chile). Read More

Instruments: Voice Music

For beginning students, I typically start with the foundational elements, focusing primarily on technique and simple application into song. I slowly introduce repertoire that is appropriate and can highlight their strengths. For more advanced singers, I continue to build upon the foundational elements and guide my instructions based upon the student's interest and goals. I am building custom lesson plans and materials suitable for the student, so the plans will be unique for the individual. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet

If you are beginning and are a child, then Hal Leonard's Essential Elements is a very general and safe place to start. I firmly believe that establishing a solid set of fundamentals is a great place to start. It is important to not lose motivation during this period, progress is rewarding and it gets even better! After a solid foundation is established fundamentally, the individual is opened into a musical world with limitless possibilities. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion

We will began with two drumsticks and a pad. Core fundamentals are the building blocks for everything we do behind the kit. We will first need to get the mechanics working before we drive the car. How to hold the sticks, how to strike a drum, and the basic of reading rhythms, will be the focus of the first 2-3 lessons. It is at this point we can start putting the two together. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

For beginners, I typically focus on teaching straightforward open chords, along with scales and exercises to improve finger dexterity. Following that, I guide them in incorporating melodies or soloing over chords. We delve into strumming patterns and cover fundamental techniques for warming up. With intermediate players, my approach involves introducing chord inversions and delving into basic music theory. Topics include understanding how to stay in a key and identifying the diatonic chords within it. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass

I have for the past twenty-two years been working as a Music Educator, Administrator, Jazz composer and performer. The last eleven of those years have been in the San Francisco Bay area at Oakland School for the Arts, teaching and leading large jazz ensembles, orchestra, small groups and music theory classes for grades 6-12. As Chairman of the Instrumental Music Department, I was responsible for teaching and developing music curricula, developing new programs, recruiting and auditioning new students, presenting and speaking with incoming parent groups, writing and developing the school A-G requirements, and meeting with community schools and faculty to create meaningful collaborations. Read More