Alvin A  
Instruments: Piano, Keyboard
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Folk, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, Electronic, Spirituals, New Age, Soul, Avant-garde

My musical journey began when I was 12. I fell in love with the piano immediately. 3 years later I was working on my first instrumental album. My second piano teacher, Joan Gilbert, from Julliard School of Music helped me really uncover my raw talent in high school. This is the first time I trully was inspired and effectively motivated by a piano teacher. I had two teachers before that. I continued to write music, perform at recitals and provid music for church and school events. I entered Berklee College of Music (Boston, Massachusettes) in 1996. I studied composition for motion picture and video games. I met many great musicians there and shifted from classical to contemporary music such as Jazz. The classical training helpeed me develp piano technique and finger strength anddexterity. The contemporary shift allowed me to apply my classical training into my degree work. After colleg I worked in Seattle, Los Angeles, Nashville, and now Memphis holding various positions in the music industry. I like to see my student as an apprentice. I want the student to develop their own goals and directions and I desire to help uncover what sometimes is a myster on how to get from point a to b. I am a heartelt person who loves people of all walks of life. We all have a musical history to bring to the table that is unique to our experiences. These experiences can fuel are passoin as we practice, perform, compose music. To me, music is an important language and if you're interested in developing your own connection to music I am hear to help. I teach students age 12 and up from just beginnning to advanced. *(videos and other media will be uploaded soon)

I draw from a wide range of supportive materials and repertoire. I develop each students lesson plans based on their aspirations or goals and each plan is tailored to meet them where they're at in their musical journey. I develp instructions and plans that keep their goals in mind while making sure they receive a full education during the lesson. This includes discussion of techniques and habits the lend themselves to healthy and productive growth for a musician. It also includes a period of focussin on the current piece (REPERTOIRE), proejct, or composition that the student might be working on.