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24 Years
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Teachers in Network
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Pacifica . 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 Voice
My teaching experience began in undergrad, our teachers started a vocal pedagogy class in which we were required to have a student. Also in undergrad we participated in a studio repertoire class where we would sing for one another. We watched our teacher give constructive criticism and participated in giving compliments and criticism as well. Read More
Instruments: Piano Drums Organ Synthesizer
I have no hard strict rules when it comes to teaching, because every student is different and they all learn at different speeds in different ways. I've taught out of the following books: Bastien Piano Basics Alfred Piano Method Faber Method John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers to Play For more advanced students, I'm open to spending on time on whatever concepts they most want to cover. I also have a broad repetoire of jazz and classical as well as modern pop, rock, and even country and TV Themes to select from if the student has a specific style or song in mind. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Bass Guitar Organ Ukulele Electric Violin Music Keyboard Electric Guitar
I always start a lesson with a new student by assessing their current skill level. If the student already has a certain curriculum they are working on, I usually have them pick up from where they left off so I can see where we're at. Taking things into consideration like intonation, posture, dynamics, form etc., I either assign a new curriculum or continue on. My lessons usually consist of 3 books: a scale book, an etude book, and a leveled song book like the Suzuki method. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar
I have been teaching privately since undergraduate college days. In addition to private lessons on guitar and piano, I have facilitated group workshops, directed ensembles, and tutored reading comprehension in some Oakland public schools. It's a profound joy to see young children have their first musical experiences as well as to see the fire of music be rekindled in those who have put an instrument down and have decided to pick it up once again. Read More
Instruments: Piano Keyboard
Throughout my years in Colorado, I worked several years as a volunteer music teacher assistant. During this time, I worked with children from as little as preschool all the way up to 7th graders and got them engaged in a musical environment. After this, I began teaching private piano lessons to close individuals who wanted to introduced to the instrument. I find so much joy in engaging and motivating the students and I am very excited to continue teaching more students in the bay area. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Keyboard Acoustic Guitar
For voice, I will typically start with technique and breath. The first lesson is heavy in feeling the anatomy of the body to cultivate a coordinated breath for the most optimal and healthy singing. From there, we move into warm-ups, and will adjust vowels to find resonant spaces. Generally, with the voice, after the initial work with anatomy there is an improvisatory style of teaching that I develop, catered to the individual. 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: Drums Conga Latin Percussion Djembe
What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I tend to start with warm-up exercises on a practice pad with a metronome, starting slow and speeding up. Then I get into the "work out" portion, where I push into faster tempos to test and improve my technique. After practice pad work, I'll move to the drumset. This is where my routine is more flexible. I generally pick one or two things to practice, which could be playing beats in a certain style, practicing different sticking patterns and fills, or playing along to either songs or backing tracks. Again, I make sure to use a metronome and practice these things at various tempos.
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 Bachelor of Music in Music Composition from the University of Kansas. Ever since I was in high school, I loved writing music for bands I was in. I had an understanding of basic theory concepts, but I wanted to greatly expand my knowledge of theory and compositional concepts so I could write better music in more diverse styles. This is why I chose to pursue a degree in composition, and I'm so glad I did! Because of my education, I am now able to write for many types of instruments and expand upon simple ideas in any way I see fit.
If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
If I weren't a musician, I would probably be a programmer. When I started college, I was actually dual majoring in Music Composition and Computer Science! I quickly became overwhelmed with my coursework and ultimately decided to pursue music alone, but I still find programming interesting. However, even if I did end up pursuing Computer Science instead, I would almost certainly still be playing music. It's too important to me to give up completely! In that case, I'd most likely go to jam sessions and try to be in a band so I could play shows on weekends.
What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
I love playing in almost any style, but some of my favorite stuff to play is in the neo-soul/hip-hop genre. Specifically, beat styles inspired by J Dilla, Erykah Badu, and D'Angelo. There's a certain swagger to the style that is an absolute joy to play on the drums. Ultimately though, I think everything I play is informed by jazz. I have studied jazz for years, and it has given me the ability to improvise and communicate musically in basically any style. Even when playing in the aforementioned neo-soul/hip-hop, my musical choices are informed by jazz improvisation.
24 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 Pacifica to students of all ages and abilities.
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