Piano Lessons in Merrionette Park, IL

Instruments: Piano Voice Saxophone Clarinet

Young students love playing the pop tunes, so I whole-heartedly accept them finding a book of broadway or pop tunes and brining it to lessons. For the older students, I always go to the Rose 32 Etudes for Clarinet, focusing primarily on the slower etudes to continue developing tone. Scales are also a must for all ages - I stress the importance of tone with these exercises because it's not just about the fingers. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

I believe each person is uniquely different in this life and that goes for music too. For piano beginners, I like to use the standard Faber curriculum, if you're more advanced we can explore adding some more challenging books such as the Hanon scales, Junior Hanon for beginners, etc. I like to supplement core pieces with scales, technical books, and ad hoc assignments that I sometimes have students pick. For voice, it will very much depend on your goals and where you are at vocally, but my voice teaching style is very much grounded in healthy technique and learning about vocal pedagogy, no matter what genre of music you want to sing! 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 most important philosophical concept about private lessons is this: proceed in a way that will maximize your potential to achieve an excellent goal that you can call your own. Although I am not limited to one method book or another, I typically use Arban's for trumpet lessons - with other books and repertoire along with it. My background is Suzuki violin, followed by music literacy and transposition. So, whatever method book we select, we must consider basic furthering of direct musical perceptions, in addition to achievement of stated goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Keyboard

PIANO: For beginners who are children, I usually start with the Alfred's Music for Little Mozart's series of 4 levels. After that, students can graduate to the Alfred's upper level book series, which includes theory and practical playing books as well as fun solo and popular music books leveled specifically for them. I also find the Fingerpower series userful as a supplement, and I make sure to work on scales once students have attained a basic mastery of the keyboard and various hand positions. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums

I have loved music from a very early age and I have been fortunate to study a variety of instruments and musical styles. I grew up studying the drums, piano, guitar, voice, and songwriting. I have been in a cover bands, original bands, jazz bands, choirs, a country band, a steel drum band, marching band, opera, a pop orchestra, a hip hop ensemble, and musical theatre productions. In college I took my studies further by learning music theory and aural skills while still performing in ensembles and writing lots of music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Keyboard

For beginning students and youth, I typically start with music theory and proper positioning. I have found an easy method for playing songs almost immediately. For students that desire sight reading as a priority, I will start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements and walk them through exercises that will keep them sharp and focused. For adults, I want to learn their goal and their niche. I will structure my course around their needs. Read More