215-600-3556
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Philadelphia . 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 Saxophone Clarinet Drums Ukulele Mandolin Recorder Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar
I have been an band and orchestra director for several decades and was director of the brooklyn college big band for 4 years as a grad student.I am quite familiar with concert band, jazz orchestra & symphonic as well as pop music repertoire . I have a background of 8 years in percussion ensembles as well as having studied afro cuban, caribbean and indian music. I currently teach guitar, piano, saxaphone, clarinet, drum and percussion classes to children from 5-17 years olden have also taught a few children with autism and ADHD. I can teach general music appreciation, history, theory, ear training, and courses re: american music. I can conduct jazz band, symphonic, orchestra, rock band, pit orchestra or percussion ensemble classes as wells perform in musicals as pit drummer. I have had 40 years experience performing and directing orchestras in many music genres from broadway pit orchestra, big band jazz, pop,rock, latin, symphonic, military, percussion ensemble and more. I love music and have performed in all kinds of music events from pop, symphony, opera, rock, big bands, broadway shows and national tours. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
I love seeing my students succeed! One of my favorite things about teaching is watching the students eyes light up when they achieve their current goal! To achieve this, I like to teach at the students own pace and with their chosen material. While it is very important to practice, I do not want to make music seem like a chore. By allowing the students to choose their own material, they are much more likely to self motivate! Read More
Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Keyboard
While my lessons are catered to each individual student, each follows a general curriculum that I have developed over the years through teaching. Method books are a great structured way to quickly get confident on an instrument, however they don't often encourage listening skills or creativity. This is why I structure my lessons around particular method books like Rubank or Faber while providing additional pieces, exercises, and improvising to supplement the book. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Mandolin Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar
I have also done some recording at Sigma Sound in the 70's with a group that wrote its own material. I am currently playing Guitar and Mandolin in a Christian Rock band. My first love has always been teaching. I'm a people person and enjoy the one on one with a student and enjoy watching their progress and helping them grow into an accomplished musician. I have always put my students first and treated playing as a second preference. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
For piano students ages 5-9, I generally use the Faber and Faber Piano Adventures series. For piano ages 10-12 I use the Older Beginner series. My teen and adult students normally work out of and Adult All in One series. For more advanced piano students Ill work repertoire, theory and scales/technique as needed/desired by the student. For voice, I tailor the lessons to the students age, interest and ability. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
My general rule of thumb is, the younger the student, the less technique I will teach. Although I do not necessarily consider there to be a minimum age requirement for pursuing voice lessons, I do copiously encourage parents to be astutely aware of the potential risks encountered when young students are taught vocal and breathing techniques which should be reserved for intermediate or advanced students. My focus with younger students is to instill a passion and excitement for music while developing fundamental techniques. Read More
Instruments: Piano Organ Keyboard
Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
My students have won awards given by the New Jersey Music Teachers' Association, Arts 4 Teens, and the Haddonfield School of Performing Arts Students Competitions.
My students have received full music scholarships to Peabody Conservatory, Northwestern University, and NYU. Have been accepted to Princeton University as a music minor, and have received a grant for music study at Chicago University. Other students have been accepted as piano oerformance majors to Rowan University, Temple University, and the Berklee School of Music for jazz studies.
While not all my students entered the field of music, some have become teachers in their own right, a film score composer, and a well-known television performer as jazz pianist.
Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
John Thompson - it is comprehensive, address the basic issues of piano technique, and
helps greatly to instill a love of music in the student
Bastien - contains attractive music that students enjoy, teaches chords and theory as well
basic techniques
Hal Leonard - has a fine adult course that includes techniques, a sophisticated approach to
musicality, and progresses in simple but effective steps.
I will emphasize, however, that if a student has had some lessons and is already into a particular book, I generally encourage the student to continue in that particular method until it is finished. I then shift the student over to one of the above methods.
If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
My degrees, Bachelor of Music and Master of Science, are both in piano performance.
I chose the music degrees because piano performance was my strong suit. I was fascinated by the piano from an early age, and was playing piano be ear long before I took formal lessons. I also composed many small pieces for the piano before taking lessons.
My degrees included extensive study of music education practices, and a thorough groundwork in music theory.
I also have 40 credits toward a DMA in music composition from Temple University.
I also studied the organ at the Eastman School of Music and play professionally at a Roman Catholic church.
If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
Even while I was still starting piano I was always fascinated by the organ. I suppose I enjoyed the variety of sounds the organ could produce. When my parents took me to visit
a friend of theirs who owned an organ I would sit down at the instrument and stay there until the visit was over! Later, in high school, I taught myself the instrument, even landing
a job at our local church. I taught myself to use the pedals and learned Bach's Toccata and
Fugue in D minor on my own. It wasn't very good but later, at Eastman, I took formal lessons and within a short time was playing all the virtuoso pieces fluently. I still play the organ at a Catholic Church and enjoy it very much as my second instrument.
When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
I decided to become a professional musician when I was a sophomore in High School. This was when I discovered that playing the piano could be a form of expression. I also realized the value of being able to hear a piece of music and then, with practice, be able to render it on the piano and enjoy the music as played by myself instead of someone else. I would ask my teacher if I could play, for example, Copland's El Salon Mexico, to which he replied I was not yet ready, yet, I went ahead and learned it on my own! I always enjoyed playing music that I already knew and I always try to afford my students the opportunity to play music that is familiar to them.
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 Philadelphia to students of all ages and abilities.
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