630-936-4822
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25 Years
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630-936-4822
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Elmhurst . 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 Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Clarinet Bass Guitar Synthesizer French Horn
From the very beginning of my work, I believe in positive reinforcement because I find that we all need our hopes and beliefs in our ability to accomplish something to be nurtured before we take on any challenge, objective or goal. This is very important because I also believe that presenting students with challenges and goals allows them to experience adventure, fun, and rewards- particularly in the context of music. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer Keyboard
While at Millikin University, Mary took piano lessons from Aldo Mancinelli (and his wife and former student, Judith Mancinelli), who took lessons from Claudio Arrau, who took lessons from Martin Krause, who took lessons from Franz Liszt, who took lessons from Carl Czerny, who took lessons from Ludwig van Beethoven, who took lessons from Joseph Haydn. Haydn was friends with and had a huge influence on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Ludwig van Beethoven also studied with Christian Neefe, who studied with Johann Hiller, who studied with Gottfried Homilius, who studied with Johann Sebastian Bach. Read More
Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Harp
I strive to tailor instruction to meet the needs of the individual student. For students who are at a beginning level, I often start with a reliable methods book (i.e. Piano Adventures) to lay a foundation. From there, I like to explore a range of supplementary materials that can help students work toward their personal goals and interests, such as modern/ other genres of music, composition material, technique-specific exercises, etc. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Keyboard
To me, the most important thing about teaching is listening to a student's goals and interests. I do my best to keep my ears open as we work to make sure I am structuring a program that helps them feel fulfilled and challenged every step of the way. For younger students, the goal is to keep them engaged in music until the point when they have such mastery that they can see the results of their work tangibly. Read More
Instruments: Piano Clarinet
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music! Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a students desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. By trying to find out what inspires the student, I can successfully tailor my instruction to their wants and needs. Read More
Instruments: Piano Synthesizer
I developed my passion for music because I fell in love with learning about different music genres. I also want to learn and understand the music interests of my students. Knowing this helps me develop lesson plans that revolve around that type of music. I want my students to be engaged, and I want them to be interested in what they play. This helps in the learning process; it becomes less of a work mindset, and more of a fun mindset. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Bass Guitar Ukulele Recorder Euphonium French Horn Tuba Electric Guitar Djembe
The approach, overall, is to drive toward the student's goal. When someone wants to learn how to play an instrument well enough to play in a band or orchestra, I usually consider two needs - playing music and interpreting written music. These are basic parts of education, literally easy to define by achieving pages in etude books. In addition, though, there is a third component to meeting the set goal: writing music - a sensibility that you can create. Read More
Instruments: Voice Bass Guitar Double Bass
Why did you choose your primary instrument?
I didn't it chose me. Isn't that so cheesy to say. I started as a bass player, I always sang as well but I chose bass. I took lessons and had success in orchestras and bands as a bass player. But my desire for music was never enough so that lead to guitar and piano which lead me to harmonica and accordion and bagpipes and banjo. I kept picking up instruments and the one constant was that I was singing. Singing just made sense to me and I could be fully responsible for my instrument. So I became a singer and a teacher.
What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
The simple most difficult thing to master when it comes to voice, especially in commercial styles is that what you hear is not what you get. What I mean by that is that the sound of resonance in your head is not the same as the sound coming out of your mouth. The task at hand then becomes mastering the feeling, singing by feel and muscle memory, knowing the right placements and vowels. That, I believe, is the hardest part of mastering voice. If not the hardest it sure doesn't make a whole lot of sense.
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 Bachelors of Music Degree from Belmont University. I majored in Vocal Preformance with an emphasis in history and pedagogy. So what that means is I have a degree in pop styles of singing. Commercial music would be pop, rock, country, folk, jazz, r&b, rap/hip-hop, modern musical theater and anything you hear on the radio. The history part means I am a music nerd and find it interesting to know useless fun facts about singers. The Pedagogy part means that I studied to learn how the voice works on a physical level and the theoretical side of how to control it.
What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I have performed in many styles. I am an accomplished musical theater actor, I was a jazz singer for 4 years at a restaurant, I have been in country bands, pop bands and everything in between. But my absolute favorite style to perform is Rock n' Roll. I love the theatrics and the high energy of it all. I was drawn into it, be the flashy lights but then was caught by the acceptance. The community surrounding the genre is so inclusive and welcoming and you feel that on stage while performing. Plus you get to wear leather pants and that is pretty cool.
Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
In short yes. I always joke I grew up under my grandpa's piano. My great grandfather was a piano tuner around the Detroit area. He was the only person the famed Victor Borge would trust to tune his piano. My entire family sings, usually in 5 part harmony. I was very lucky to grow up with music, it helped me to develop a very good ear. I learned to play guitar by watching my uncle, and piano by watching my grandfather. My mom would play a game with us when we were little where we would pick a song like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and she, my sister, and I would sing the song a half step apart from each other to train our ears.
When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I think I always wanted to be a musician. In what context has changed a bit. I wanted to be on broadway for a very long time, I also wanted to be a rockstar, and I wanted to be a teacher. The choice between musical theater and pop/rock came at college. I had been taking classical voice for years and loved it but I knew I wasn't going to be an opera singer. I applied to two highly recognized schools, one for theater and one for commercial music, and said which ever I get into I will go to. Well I got into both, and was offered scholarships to both, and not a single defining sign seemed to show itself. I took a chance and moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University after a lot of thought. And rock n roll recognition happened and I have had many incredible experiences from being in Nashville, but it seemed my favorite part was teaching private voice. So the time came and my wife and I moved to Troy, MI and the clear choice for me is to do the one consistent thing in my career, and that is teach.
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 Elmhurst to students of all ages and abilities.
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