510-240-5040
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Castro Valley . Whether you are looking for beginner guitar lessons for your kids, or are an adult wanting to improve your skills, the instructors in our network are ready to help you now!
Instruments: Piano Oboe
What I feel the most rewarding of teaching is to see my students grow musically and develop a passion for music. "Consistent" and "productive" practice are the key points I emphasize for all the students. I personally believe that being able to "see the result" can help students gain confidence about their potential so students will be eager to challenge more in order to accomplish a higher level. In order to promote effectiveness, it is essentially important that students understand what to improve and what the best method is for practice. Read More
Instruments: Piano
For beginners, my method is simple. To be able to read music is important to me. Therefore, I teach them to read notes, count, hand and finger positions. For advanced students, I will focus on teaching them to interpret a piece rather than copying from others. I will motivate the students to feel the piece so that they can play it easily and genuinely. Above all, all my students have to be able to read music fluently. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Cello Viola Ukulele Recorder Music Acoustic Guitar
My teaching experience comes from my experiences and lessons from my previous private teachers. During my 10 years of lessons I learned that importance of a regularly maintained practice schedule leads to the most effective practice sessions. I try to encourage students of all ages to seek out music that they find enjoyable and I do what i can to shape my lessons to make learning the music exciting. I try to anticipate a students need. Read More
Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet
I was educated from age 7 in Clarinet, reaching the highest award offered by The Associated Board of the Royal School of Music at age 12. I was graded A* for my school music exam (GCSE) a year early, and also gained and A Grade in my college (A Level). Seeking to go to music college I then took ABRSM Grade 6 piano. I played in the Birmingham Schools Wind Orchestra (Principal Clarinet) and the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra (1st Alto Saxophone). Read More
Instruments: Piano Keyboard
I set goals and targets for my students every lesson, and design assessments to determine wether they have met those goals and what they need further to succeed. At the end of each lesson, I give the student my notes for things to remember as they continue practicing throughout the week. I design my plans to be flexible with the students goal and pace, but also designed to ensure the student is getting their necessary practice time and musical training each and every week. Read More
Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Music Keyboard
The first lesson is always a trial lesson, in it I attempt to access where the student is musically. I also use the time to find out what the student's musical goals are . We look at things like reading, theory, dexterity on the instrument. If the student plays a wind instrument we look at things like embouchure and breathing. Once I have gotten a good idea as to the student's skill level and have spoken to the student about their musical goals and interests. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
My teaching experience began in undergrad, our teachers started a vocal pedagogy class in which we were required to have a student. Also in undergrad we participated in a studio repertoire class where we would sing for one another. We watched our teacher give constructive criticism and participated in giving compliments and criticism as well. Read More
Instruments: Saxophone
If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I have a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Connecticut State University in Jazz Saxophone Performance. Before I attended WCSU, I was in a classically oriented program at a liberal arts college and I found it to be stifling creatively. I greatly respect the classical saxophone tradition, but as a tenor player I found that there was a lack of interesting tenor repertoire that I was able to play.
By pursuing a jazz performance degree, I found that it gave me more than enough time to practice what I was interested in while giving me a lot of time to perform outside of school and make my network bigger.
What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
There are a few that come to mind. One of the most prominent is the first time I performed a composition that I wrote in front of an audience. The feeling of being able to share my work with people while playing with a great band was indescribable.
Another proud accomplishment of mine was performing with one of my longtime heroes Orrin Evans at a concert while I was a student at WCSU. Orrin is one of my absolute favorite musicians and being able to play with him was truly a blessing.
Finally, winning the Jazz Chamber Group portion of the 2016 James Furman Concerto Competition. I was placed in a great combo with some of my best friends, and being able to win while we were just being ourselves felt great.
Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
I actually have had a few teachers who have inspired me to be a musician full time. The first was one of my saxophone teachers in high school, John Lowery. John taught at a summer camp I attended, and he introduced me to some of the older jazz records that helped me shape my concept of how to play the saxophone.
The second was Mike DiRubbo, who taught me while I was at working Litchfield Jazz Camp in college. At this stage I was feeling very unmotivated about pursuing music as a career and I wasn't practicing as much as I should have been. Mike gave me a tough love speech about how I wasn't doing myself any favors by not trying my hardest, and that all the natural talent I had wouldn't help me if I wasn't willing to work hard. This was the wake-up call I needed to start studying music with everything I had.
When will I start to see results?
This greatly depends on the student and how much they practice on a daily basis. If a student is highly motivated to learn and they practice consistently on a daily basis and they grasp the material, you could see results in as little as 1 or 2 weeks.
For some students, there will be some difficulties with certain topics or with finding the time to practice, so the process will take a bit longer. It's important to be patient and understanding with each student while they try to find their way. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
I find that splitting the allotted time I have to practice into 3 topics helps me tackle the most important elements of the saxophone: sound, technique, and music.
For example, let's say I have 1 hour to practice some things before I leave for work. By following the "rule of 3", I have 20 minutes for sound, 20 minutes for technique, and 20 minutes for music. I'd probably divide it up like this
Sound: 10 minutes of longtones with a tuner, 5 minutes of overtone exercises, and 5 minutes of altissimo practice.
Technique: 5 minutes of working on triad patterns, 10 minutes of scales in 3rds, and 5 minutes on arpeggios.
Music: 10 minutes working on a melody for a tune, 5 minutes on a transcription, and 5 minutes on an etude.
By doing this, I've covered a wide variety of topics in just 1 hour.
24 Years
Since We Started
41,456+
Happy Customers
10,769
Cities with Students
3,123
Teachers in Network
Trusted as the industry leader, for over 21 years the teachers in our network have been providing Piano lessons in Castro Valley to students of all ages and abilities.
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