925-215-3543
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23 Years
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41,456+
Happy Customers
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Cities with Students
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Danville . 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 Guitar Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar
I'm a patient instructor that allows each person to grow at their own pace. We all have a goal of what we want to achieve and I guide you toward that goal. My primary goal is to create great musicians- people who are versed in many styles and have a handle on music as a language. I want to share my knowledge to help you find your musical voice and the creativity you seek through the guitar. Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute Recorder Piccolo
I teach the way that I do because I want my students to have the confidence that I often lacked growing up and because I want them to know all the things I wish Id known when I was their age. I work with students of all ages and levels to achieve their musical goals, from cleaning up and solidifying fundamentals to preparing for major performances, auditions, and a career in music. Read More
Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone Euphonium Tuba
I really try to work with the student with where they are at or where they want to go with their music. I was a slow learner on piano, so I can understand how confusing and frustrating it can be at times to learn an instrument. I really work to make sure that the students under stand the basics because that will outlast me when I am long gone from their life. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Organ Synthesizer Ukulele Mandolin Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar
I always say that rhythm is more important than the notes. Play the right rhythm and the notes will come instead of playing every right note while sacrificing rhythm. I encourage students to make their mistakes loud, proud, and in rhythm so everyone has a better idea of what needs to be worked on most. I also emphasize isolating parts to practice and working backwards. Example: play the last two bars of the song until comfortable with it, now play the last 4 bars, last 6, last 8...etc., whole song. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Conga Latin Percussion
For beginning guitar I start out with Chris Parkening: classical guitar book...learning finguring styles, rudiments, and notes. We then go into various techniques and develop song repetoire and chording and strumming styles. For beginning piano I start with level one Hal Leonard book for beg. piano and various beginning classical composers: Beethoven, Mozart, Tchakovisky, Jazz, etc. . I split this class into musicianship-learning notes and reading music, fingering and scales, and theory. Read More
Instruments: Piano Ukulele Keyboard Acoustic Guitar
For my young piano students, I use the structure of the Faber series to slowly introduce concepts. For my guitar students I have had great success with the Mel Bay series, which combines initial chord playing and some music reading fundamentals. For ukulele, I utilize the Hal Leonard service. With all of my students, I always want to have the students choose songs they like and that they can set as realistic goals. Read More
Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet Oboe
If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I started playing clarinet because the private sax teacher I had during high school insisted that I learn. I'm glad I did. I'm not as accomplished on clarinet as I am on sax and oboe but I can hold my own on most pieces. If you want to improve your technique as a woodwind player, I highly recommend learning clarinet. I chose oboe while in the military because I wanted to get promoted. In the army at the time, oboe was a shortage instrument and saxophone was not so I started taking oboe lessons. I had no idea I would fall in love with the instrument.
Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
Music did not run in the family I grew up in. I'm the only one of five children that play any instrument. My sister begged my parents for a clarinet then it sat under her bed for 3 months. My father used to say, "The only thing I can play is the radio." My children on the other hand are very musical. One of my daughters took guitar lessons for a while and was very good. Her teacher would end up staying an extra 30 minutes many times because he loved teaching her. As I mentioned in an earlier post my son Ruben is very good.
When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
As a military musician I was already being paid to play but I think the defining moment came when I saw friend's band performing in Germany. My friends R&B group was better than anything I had ever heard. I grew up near Atlanctic city and have heard awsome casino bands. My friends band was better. At that moment I sarted getting involve in different groups. When I retired from the army I started finding places to play. Within a couple of years I had work myself up to playing 5 and 6 nights a week.
If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
If I weren't a musician I would be a carpenter. I think carpenters are one the greatest professions around. Being able to take wood and build a house is an amazing thing to me. Then you have the specialist like cabinet makers. I met a master carpenter from Ireland many years ago, he made the most amazing cabinet with hand carved features with Teak panels. I love everything about carpentry, the smell of the different woods. The sanding, the staining, look of the grain. I guess making a woodwind instrument like an oboe, clarinet, or bassoon would kind of be like a master carpenter.
What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I have several favorites, I don't think anyone has just one favorite style unless they are the most boring person in history. I guess my first favorite to play would be R&B because that's what I grew up listening to. Next would be Jazz just because there are so many directions to go in. When I was around 28 years old I rented to movie Black Orpheus. Ever since watching that movie I have been in love with old Brazilian music. I'm talking about Jobim, Bonfa, Gilberto era Bossa Nova music. The genres I have mentioned are timeless. Every time I perform this music heads turn and start to nod to the beat.
What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I have several dream pieces of music I wish to perform. All of them would be to test my abilities. The first piece I would love to master and perform is by Yellowjackets, the piece is called "Out of Town." It's like a modern Bebop tune. Another piece is by Michael Franks call "You Belong to Me." It's not hard technically but its a Bossa Nova which is one of my favorite styles of music. Joshua Redman has a piece a called Hide and Seek. It's a just a blues progression but he wrote a Kick-A melody that would take me a few weeks to learn. On oboe one of my favorite pieces is Trios Pieces for Woodwind quintet. It just very challenging for oboe I love it1
23 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 Danville to students of all ages and abilities.
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