Music Lessons in Vestaburg, PA

Instruments: Piano Music

Over the past 13 years, I have taught piano, music theory, and music composition to a diverse group of learners, including school-age children, college students, and adults of distinct backgrounds. From 2014-2018 I received the Graduate Teaching Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, where I led piano courses for non-Music majors, and held weekly recitations and office hours for required courses for Music majors. This encompassed instruction in counterpoint, musical form, harmonic analysis, training students on dictation and sight-singing, as well as providing help with digital audio software. Read More

Instruments: Cello

I have cultivated several concerto competition winners for the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Philharmonic concerto competitions. A number of my students continued to study music in some of the most prestigious music schools in the world including Julliard School of Music, Rice University, Indiana University Bloomington, Northwestern University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and Carnegie Mellon University. My teaching prowess has garnered international demand and I have taught masterclasses in the U.S., China and Chile. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I love seeing students gain confidence and self-esteem through their music lessons. I also think discipline and independence can be built at home through individual daily practice. I treat my pursuit of music seriously, and encourage my students to do the same. I hope all students set goals, both within the lesson and during their weekly practice. I will always acknowledge students' progress, and will continue to push students to grow and develop. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute

I like to work with students through the Rubank Method books. These are excellent books for any level musician to pick up and work from. I use these as a foundation of technique that can be translated to repertoire. Again depending on the style of music the student wants/needs to practice, I will pull from etudes, solo transcriptions, and popular music to start building the student's repertoire. I will also work with students on building skills in improvisation. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

Over 13 years of instructing at music stores in Pittsburgh and New Castle, I have taught over 10,000 lessons to 400+ students. Through my years of playing experience as a live performer, teacher, songwriter and session musician, I have gained experience in many genres including: jazz, blues, classic rock, metal, reggae, country, punk, rockabilly, pop, RB, classical, honky-tonk, funk, and hard rock. Read More

Instruments: Trombone

For beginning students, I like to build a good foundation. I start with breathing exercises and a little mouthpiece buzzing. Then move on to a beginning book with helpful exercises as well as writing my own to tailor to the student's individual needs. I will begin to introduce solo repertoire once the student has a solid grasp on fundamentals and always encouraging them to keep practicing those key elements. I also like to incorporate anything the student might be interested in to keep the student engaged and excited to practice between lessons. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

For all beginning students who are children, but also adult beginners, I like to focus on vocal warm-ups and exercises to ensure that they develop the fundamentals of healthy singing. After getting to know the student's voice a bit, I believe that coaching solo vocal repertoire is essential to building vocal technique and confidence in performing ability for many different situations. When assigning vocal repertoire, I first like to find out what sort of music the student is interested in and also what their goals are in taking voice lessons and assign repertoire accordingly, but I also like to begin with songs from Schirmer's 24 Italian Songs and Arias book to strengthen basic breath support and a vocal line that is connected to good breath support. Read More