Music Lessons in Watertown, MN

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

I strive to get all of my students to understand not just how to play music, but how to learn how to play music-similar to the old adage "give a man a fish and he can eat today, but teach a man to fish and he can feed himself for the rest of his life". I use a open school-style philosophy of teaching, which revolves around exploration of the music (trial and error, in a sense), as well as encouraging the students to be self-reflective, self-critical, and to ask as many questions as they want to in order to understand each musical concept within the confines of his/her individual learning style. Read More

Instruments: Violin Cello Viola

I was born into a family of string teachers. My father was a conductor and cellist and also played violin. My mother was a violinist and my brother. So it was only natural this became my course in life. I started on the violin, but soon focused on the cello. I was surrounded by string teaching my whole life. But it was not until I met George Neikrug and learned about D. Read More

Instruments: Violin

For beginners, particularly children, I use the Suzuki method due to the emphasis on learning the instrument before learning how to read notes. I do this in part because, regardless of method, listening to experts play pieces that you are working on is a big part of string playing, and the Suzuki method has become standardized enough that the beginner and intermediate pieces have readily available recordings. Once a baseline of the instrument is established, I add outside repertoire and workbooks. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Organ Synthesizer Music Keyboard

I teach with a very casual approach. It's not a science or math class. ( I guess it actually is in all regards ). Different student have different needs. I believe in finding out a students wants. I had a younger student who wanted to Zeppelin on the Alto. "Okay" So I showed the student exactly what to do. He had no knowledge of music but I knew that if he enjoyed it, he'd keep playing and playing. Read More

Instruments: Voice

For me, voice teaching is all about the individual. Unlike a violin, trumpet, piano, or other instrument of a fixed size and shape, voices come in all shapes and sizes. Each students physiology and psychology is different and responds better to different stimuli/approaches. In singing, our bodies are our instruments! Therefore, there is no one size fits all approach to teaching voice. It thrills me to get to know a student and work with them in a cooperative and encouraging way to achieve his or her goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

My teaching experience dates back to my college days, as I began teaching private lessons part-time many years ago while learning piano at University and working in children's creative center. I began to teach students in my home studio. Working in Musical theater, I gained more experience teaching piano and voice, accompaniment to ballet classes and theatrical plays. My students participate in awards and honor recitals throughout the year. I have taught piano and voice lessons for over 25 years. Read More

Instruments: Piano Clarinet

I have experience teaching clarinet all ages and different levels (from the beginners to a more advanced). Through this I developed the ability to better understand the learning process for students who may or may not have much experience with music or have more or less developed music skills. Since myself I have been exposed to a few different cultures, I became more flexible with having more methods and approaches for teaching. Read More