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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Lakewood . 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 Cello
If teaching the 'cello, I like to use the instruction book that I learned from which is Samuel Applebaum's Beginning Strings book and around this I will introduce more international music, often in duet form to help with intonation. After the student develops good basic technique, then sonatas and concerti are gradually introduced. If teaching the piano, then I make sure that Dozen a Day for the beginners is incorporated with any of the beginning/intermediate books such as John Thompson's, Edna Mae Burnam's or Frances Clark's methods and for more advanced piano students the Hanon exercises are included along with the standard Classical repertoire. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
My teaching experience began during my undergraduate career, as I was hired by the Music Department at UC Berkeley to work with non-major music students to tutor and assist them through their music theory and musicianship courses. While receiving my masters, I began teaching private lessons part time 2 years ago, and have been consistently working with students since. I specialize with young beginning to advanced students, teaching vocal technique and introductory keyboard skills. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Organ Synthesizer Harp Accordion Harmonica Lap Steel Guitar Banjo Ukulele Mandolin Recorder Lute Electric Violin Fiddle Double Bass Euphonium French Horn Tuba Piccolo Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Shakuhachi Oboe Bassoon English Horn Conga Latin Percussion Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar
Derek is most known for his association with the John Daversa Big Band. Derek has had the pleasure of meeting and performing with many of his musical heroes. He has recorded live and studio albums with Arturo Sandoval, Jon Faddis, John Fedchock, James Morrison, Greg Gisbert, Roger Ingram, Paul Stephens, Scott Englebright, Donny Dyess, the Tastee Bros, Bernard Wright, Gene Coye, Steve Reid, Kate Reid, Melvin Butler, Ed Calle, Richard Todd, Mike Brignola, Alex Norris, Dante Luciani, John Hart, Martin Bejerano, Chuck Bergeron, Rick Margitza, and appears on the Gary Lindsay album "Are We Still Dreaming" with the South Florida Jazz Orchestra. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
I know I'm doing my job when my student is growing not only in their abilities, but in their love of music! Ensuring that each student is learning repertoire that they enjoy at a pace that suits them is central to my teaching style. I love to find each student's strengths and celebrate them, as well as targeting goals for improvement in a warm, safe setting. I believe that music is meant to bring joy and healing to people, whether you are listening to it or making it. Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute
I believe one can grow as a musician at any age, expertise, and understanding. I do use printed method books for my students to guide them along the process (Hal Leonard, Rubank, Taffanael and Gaubert Bernstein to name a few) for the child, methods and scales will be assigned to teach proper technique and positioning. For the adult, depending on their interests, different types of reading music material will be introduced. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Ukulele Recorder Conga Music Keyboard Acoustic Guitar
I've had the opportunity to teach Ensemble music in a High school for students between 12-16 years old. Also did master classes for adults looking into genres like Boleros, Vals and Classical Music (Nylon Guitar). I've had 50= students doing private lessons with me and couldn't be happier of the results that they made with me. I've also found that a combination of classical and modern music can go a long way in helping students enjoy the piano and motivate them to practice and continue to learn. Read More
Instruments: Piano Flute Piccolo
What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
I encourage younger students to practice each piece 5 times a day. I switched to this method of practice after watching my own children whittile away 20 minutes on the bench achieving very little! Once the student is past the first couple of books, I encourage them to start breaking the difficult parts into 2 or 4 measures, and practice them slowly, 3 times perfectly, with a metronome if needed. Then, they can increase the metronome 1 tick at a time. Doing this over a few days, produces remarkable results!
How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
After teaching a variety of younger students, I find that once a student can read, they are ready to take lessons. This age is quite subjective, from 4 to 8 really. But, generally, once a child can read, they can sit for 10-15 minutes in order to practice. If we start much earlier, the parent would most likely need to sit with the child during practice, which is usually not practical.
When will I start to see results?
This is usually in direct proportion to the student's practice and attendance record! If the student is practicing 5-6 times a week, and attending lessons regularly, then we can expect to progress through the book at an expected rate. Missed lessons and no practice means that we will spend much time reviewing during the lesson, which is discouraging to the student and the teacher. That said, sometimes review lessons are needed, which is a normal part of teaching. You should expect your child to be playing recognisable melodies sometime within the first 6 months of lessons.
Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
Music was a part of my family life as my dad plays the trombone and directed the choir at our church for many years. I had a variety of music teachers when I was young, and played in the band and orchestra from the time I was in 5th grade through my senior year of highschool, and into college. I find that each teacher had something to give, so I tried to learn a little from each. One taught the importance of slow metronome practice, while another emphasized musicallity, another improvization, and so much more!
Why did you choose your primary instrument?
My older brother started playing the piano when I was 6, and so of course I wanted to play as well! I was so excited to start music lessons while I was 8 years old! I enjoyed it at first, but there were several bumps along the way once the music started getting hard. I'm so thankful that my parents encouraged me to stick with playing the piano, as I eventually majored in it in college. But, my favourite instrument during my childhood was the flute. I enjoyed the pretty sound, but there is nothing like the thrill of playing in a band or orchestra, with all the instruments around you, while you make music together!
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 Lakewood to students of all ages and abilities.
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