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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Elk Grove . 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 Violin Trumpet Fiddle French Horn Electric Guitar
While in high school and college, I mostly tutored other students in history, chemistry, and math. However I worked as a private instructor for students learning violin and guitar for much of 2017. I was trained classically in violin in the Suzuki method, took rock/folk-based instruction in guitar, and learned brass and percussion through my high school marching band, which also doubled as a concert ensemble for half of the school year. Read More
Instruments: Piano Bass Guitar
I have been a lifelong lover of music. As a young child, I received a little organ for Christmas, and it wasn't long before I was picking out "Jingle Bells" and other tunes on the keys. I went on to take piano lessons during my elementary years, and continued on my own after that. In college, I started out as a music major and took further piano training and music theory courses. Read More
Instruments: Piano
For beginners who are young children under 7 years of age, I always start with Bastien Piano Basics Primer A together with the theory book primer A then Primer B (piano and theory). Once the student has progressed to gain fundamentals I introduce Alfred’s Basic piano Library Prep Course with the theory book as well. Some students start from B but most of them start level C depending on their ability. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Ukulele Keyboard
My teaching experience dates all the way back to early high school, when I taught piano lessons to kids in my local neighborhood. In college, I continued teaching as a part time job while at home during the summers, and when I returned home from touring, I taught at several studios in the Sacramento area, teaching private voice and piano, and classes I designed curriculum for, such as Musical Theatre for Beginners, "We Sing Disney", and Singing for Ages 8-12. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
I love watching my students develop their passion for music! And so, I do my utmost to challenge each student as much as possible at their own pace. We will set goals for the students in every lesson. Hitting certain milestones help the students to feel motivated, and want to push themselves more. Each student is different and so they learn differently, I do my best to learn from the student and tailor my teaching style to their particular learning style. Read More
Instruments: Piano Accordion
My teaching style is very simple. Be creative and always involved humor. The student will know instantly if the instructor is eager to teach as the student to learn. For example, i would use a lot of metaphors and analogies to explain a musical concept. I would always tailor lessons to their level of skill. Nothing is more rewarding than to see one of my student's at a recital and i hear their parent's tell their friends,"that's my son", "he learned from the best". Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute
For young students, we'll start our first few lessons with rhythm and singing games to break the ice. These games also help train the ear. For flute students, we will then progress to the basics of breathing, tone production, note fingerings, and music reading. Once we reach the point where the student can read and play simple tunes, we will start using Trevor Wye's Beginner's Book for the Flute. For teenage and adult students, we'll discuss your goals in our first meeting and go from there, whether those goals are learning to play for your own enjoyment, or preparing to apply for college and/or summer music programs. Read More
Instruments: Piano Organ
What does a normal practice session look like for you?
My practice is different every day. The window of time available changes, sometimes during the practice session. Rather than stubbornly sticking to my original plan for that session, I have found much more peace of mind in revising the goal for the day. Example: When you have planning on practicing for two hours and then the phone rings, changing your plans, when you reassess the time available and find something that can be accomplished within that amount of time, you will have reached a goal and will feel good about it.
There is no requirement to adhere to a rigid goal and feel down on yourself for not accomplishing it. Life happens!
FYI, it took me a long time, i.e. years, to learn that!
What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I would give my right arm, as they say, to be able to perform Twenty Portraits of the Infant Jesus by Olivier Messiaen. It's too hard! Several years ago, I found four movements that seemed to be more accessible than the others. I would practiced them for two months, say, then put them aside. Six months later, I would try again. The result was always the same. My fingers remembered nothing and I had to start over.
After four rounds of this, I decided to look at Messiaen's Preludes instead. I have happily performed three of the Preludes many times.
Pierre Laurent-Aimard performs the Vingt Regards (Twenty Portraits) on tour, from memory. I have ceded ownership of the piece to this wonderful pianist.
Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
Yes, music was something that was always around when I was a child. My father was a minister. He had sung in his college's male quartet. He had a lovely bass voice, and with further training might have had a professional singing career.
My mother had been a public school music supervisor before I was born, after which she taught kindergarten and supervised the elementary Sunday School department in our rather large church. She led a brief worship service for the children before smaller classes were taught, including a music component. My parents met in college choir.
In the Midwest, ministers' children at the time typically took lessons. My three older siblings all played instruments, with my sister playing both piano and organ. She played organ for our church before I did.
It must have been an unspoken part of the circumstances that the minister's children play for church. Even if that was the case, it was fabulous training. Playing congregational responses and hymns well requires good listening skills, the ability to adjust to changing acoustics depending on the size of the congregation, providing inspiration for the congregation to keep a steady tempo, and dreaming up something to bridge unexpected gaps in the service. That's quite a challenge for a 14-year-old!
Also, church services and choral rehearsals have many similarities in terms of the number of participants, size of the space, location of the piano or organ, listening and response skills needed.
When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
When thinking about college choices, I began thinking about various possible majors. Since I felt very strongly that I would never be able to live without music, the decision was an easy one.
Settling on the piano took a little longer. I started out majoring in organ. However, my older sister is such a good organist, that was a big factor in my choosing something else. In addition, it turned out that I was more comfortable playing the piano, while my sister found a better fit with organ.
That said, I have had organist/choir director/choral singing jobs in different churches and denominations since age 14.
25 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 Elk Grove to students of all ages and abilities.
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