Piano Lessons in Smithville, IN

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Clarinet

Age-friendly materials are my favorite to use. For very young pianists I often buy books with lots of color and large print like Kjos's Piano Party. Kjos and Alfred are two of my favorite publishers, but I am willing to work with materials your family may already own. Flashcards are an important tool for many children to become fluent at naming/reading notes. I also like to have students complete written theory assignments, and, to help students from getting bored, I often "reward" them with single pieces of fun sheet music that can be performed for recitals and competitions. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

I consider my piano performing career vital to my success as a teacher, and vice versa. An inspiring pianist is an inspiring piano teacher and I play all repertoire that I teach. As well as using my playing and teaching experience to guide their repertoire choices, I eventually get my students to choose their own repertoire so they fall in love with discovering music. I become an example to my students of a pianist who loves to discover new music, so I encourage their listening in many ways. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I started teaching lessons when I was 18 at a music business and taught there between 3 to 5 hours a week for about 5 years. For the past 5 years I have been teaching at IU. I have taught many different styles from classical to jazz to rock, etc. and have also watched many great teachers and tried to learn from their methods. I am currently working on a book to teach the notes and fretboard of the guitar that will hopefully be able to help students of any age or experience. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I believe the foundation of progress is consistency, so I try to establish routines with my students, spending part of each lesson on technical exercises, theory/aural skills training, and repertoire. I also set performance goals for students by organizing recitals *this has been more tricky during Covid, but I think it is important nonetheless to get students to perform from memory at least twice a year (once at the end of fall and spring terms). Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

In my time as an instructor, I have not used any particular method book in my lessons. I will buy a notebook for each student where all important information from the lesson will be recorded. I write charts and exercises myself using tablature or standard notion depending on the student. As music being such a cumulative concept, I like to not only focus on pedagogy, but music theory and aural skills as well. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar

My views on teaching or being an instructor are vast. I evaluate what stage one is at and focus on the easiest ways for a student to understand their instrument and approach the musical side of learning. Every individual is different and their understanding of rhythm, melodies, chord structure, and time signatures can vary even though the fundamental structure of music and theory is relatively the same. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

Some methods I would like to include in my teaching are introduction/development of IPA, which is International Phonetic Alphabet. The International Phonetic Alphabet is crucial for knowing how to sing correctly in a variety of langauges. I have experience singing in English, German, Latin, French, Italian and Spanish. Using IPA, it can give you the correct pronunciation of words in other languages. I have found IPA extremely helpful in my experience as a vocalist. Read More