Piano Lessons in Woodbridge, NJ

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Recorder

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
Practicing is an art form. You have to be organized with the approach every time you sit down to work on your craft. I suggest to have your practice time the same time of day. It can be right when you get home from school or right before dinner but have a time set aside. Depending on the age of the student that is how long a student should practice. if the student is 4 years old I suggest 5-10 minutes a day. An older student should practice 20-30 minuets a day. I break up the time so the student can know how to teach themselves.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
If your child is always singing or tapping or asking question upon music that is a sign. A good introduction to a small child is to have them in a group class for them to be able to work on rhythms. Each student is different in learning and of their concentration level. A student should know the difference between their right and left hand. Also, to work in the theory books a student should know how to write in capital letters. If a child wants to learn a woodwind instrument they should have their secondary teeth.

When will I start to see results?
Music is a craft. The more time you work on your craft the faster you will see results. Sometimes you can be working on the same things for weeks at a time or months and then one day it clicks you are able to do the passage or the song effortlessly. I say to be patient with yourself and love the process of just learning and creating. Remember you must crawl before you can run a marathon. Consistency will always pay for you to see results. It is the concept with anything else that you would want to accomplish. Remember if playing music was easy everyone would be a Rock Star!!

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
My band teacher from middle school and high school was very encouraging to me. I thanked him on my first CD "One Night". He encourage my parents for me to study with a great classical saxophone player in the same county of where I lived in PA. He encouraged me to play in county festivals. He placed me in the High School band when I was in sixth grade so i became a leader at a very young age. By the time I was in ninth grade I was playing in a Rock Band with other students. We played at school dances and other local events in which he helped us to get.

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 Bachelors in Performance from the University of the Arts. This was my dream college and the only one that I applied to. The school was like the show Fame. It was a completely performing arts school in Philadelphia. As I was at the school the school changed names to become the University and it is the only University dedicated to Performing arts and Visual arts. After 10 years of being in the work force performing, teaching and working in music retail, I decided to get my Masters Degree in Education. I got my degree at Queens College and it was such a blessing I was able to get my degree in two years and I was able to get back into performing groups so i could hone my talents again.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
I get my artistic side from my Mothers family. As i understand my grandfather played piano by ear. I never new him because he passed right after I was born. My mother played xylophone as a child but when I was growing up there was a piano in the house. She studied piano and was a pianist at her local church. So I was always hearing her practice hymns and sing songs in the kitchen while she was cooking dinner. I would always got to the piano and play Marsha's own compositions and finally when I was in kindergarten she had me study with her old piano teacher that she had as a teenager. The rest is now history.

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