Piano Lessons in Montara, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice Drums Music Keyboard

For most of my beginning piano students, I use the piano adventures series. They offer a clear and well paced curriculum with numerous supplemental resources in a variety of styles. For beginning music theory, I use the Berklee School of Music texts or the Benward and Saker textbooks as well as many videos and other resources to explore musical concepts. For singing, I use a variety of sight singing books, all depending on the age and experience of the student. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I began instructing young adults in harmony, theory and piano when I was nineteen in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. After high school, I began putting my poetry to music and this led to a move to California to try and make it as a songwriter. I played with several music acts in the Bay Area, toured the east coast and Midwest, and wrote music for the theater, notably an original score for Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For beginning students I start with breathing. I ask the student if there's anything they're interested in learning and by the third lesson have chosen something for them to sing. In an hour long lesson there is typically a half hour warm up to introduce new concepts and reinforce old ones. The second half is spent working on music and utilizing the concepts we have just discussed. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

All of my lessons are built around songs to teach technique and I add materials to teach theory and musicianship if the student wants and needs it. I always interview each student to find out their interests and desires and and build a custom curriculum eight lessons at a time to insure satisfaction and success on the students terms. I have student assessments at the end of each eight lessons block to make sure that the student knows how they have improved and where they need more work. 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 Keyboard

I set goals and targets for my students every lesson, and design assessments to determine wether they have met those goals and what they need further to succeed. At the end of each lesson, I give the student my notes for things to remember as they continue practicing throughout the week. I design my plans to be flexible with the students goal and pace, but also designed to ensure the student is getting their necessary practice time and musical training each and every week. Read More

Instruments: Piano Cello Keyboard

I try to balance the needs of my students and work to strengthen their musical weaknesses for example working on Vibrato or bow distribution. Usually, I like to spend 10 minutes warming up both hands with long tones, scales, arpeggios, and other fun exercises. During the next 30 minutes, we tend to focus on fixing issues relating to the music such as rhythms or intonation issues. In the last 20 minutes of the lesson I tend to focus on musicality and finding inspiration to give to my students so they can exploit their potential. Read More