Piano Lessons in Southside, NC

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion

In college have had the opportunity to work as a music instructor to a studio with over 20 students on a weekly basis. The students ranged in age from 5 to 70. This gave me a good perspective on how to directly connect with each student to ensure that we are exploring the best concept of learning for the individual. Drum set lessons are always more groove oriented first and I do encourage becoming comfortable learning from an aural perspective before tackling reading music and understanding theory. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Saxophone Drums Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music Djembe

I create my own lesson plans (and some materials) specific to each student. Some standard books I use are Alfred's Drum Method book 1, The New Breed, Portraits in Rhythm, The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary to name a few. The books are necessary for developing music literacy, however I remind students that the pages don't make sound!!! Developing a discerning ear is paramount in my approach. Therefore we do a lot of listening and I engage students in dialogue for them to develop a personalized mental image of what they are trying to play. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Ukulele Music

I am a passionate music educator who believes every person can thrive through music. There is an instrument, style and technique for each learner. My journey in music began at the young age of 3, singing along with the sounds of live guitar and Classic Rock tunes on the radio in my home. Since then I have participated in vocal/choral ensembles for over ten years, and was honored with the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall with an ensemble in February of 2020. Read More

Instruments: Piano

What drives my passion for teaching is the collaborative atmosphere and those "a-ha!" moments when a lightbulb goes off. Learning is all about the act of discovery, and I facilitate students in finding their natural love of music. I challenge students to approach problems from all angles to help them understand music on a deeper level. Recognizing and rewarding every small improvement helps the student gain confidence, which in the long run makes for better musicianship. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Acoustic Guitar

For beginning students I typically start with sound development and articulation for the brass instruments starting with armband studies and schlosburg studies. For the intermediate students I work on Clark studies and intersperse getchel etudes for artistic development. Advanced students work on major recital works for brass that help their development for performance. Guitar students learn chordal techniques with rythem patterns and a blend of classical playing finger picking for individual technique for fingers. Read More

Instruments: Piano Music

Schwartz has served on the faculties of New York University, Hunter College, the Lucy Moses Music School, and most recently the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and is the artistic director of the Winston-Salem, NC based experimental music group Forecast Music. He was formerly a Resident Composer for the Los Angeles based Tonoi contemporary music ensemble, the Minnesota based Renegade Ensemble, and NYC’s Vox Novus. His debut CD 24 Ways of Looking at a Piano, named one of the top classical CDs of 2005 by All Music Guide, is available from Centaur Records. Read More

Instruments: Piano

Every student is a snowflake, meaning everyone has their own unique preferences and dislikes. I customize my teaching style depending on the student and allow them to progress at their own pace. I like to first introduce students to basics and learn their tastes so I can modify their teaching regimen. I assign students "homework" or practice songs each week to ensure they are maintaining their routine, and if they deviate from this for some reason for more than two weeks, I immediately tune my teaching style to best motivate my students to want to practice. Read More