Austin H  
Instruments: Cello
Styles: Classical, Pop, Rock, Musical Theater, Showtunes, Avant-garde

I have been teaching cello lessons for seven years, and have found a lot of success in helping students learn a new instrument! Whether they are very young or getting a later start, I love seeing the excitement as they begin to figure things out. A regular practice schedule is extremely important, and I work with the student (and parent, depending on age) on figuring out what works best for them for practicing. As a composer, I’m also very interested in helping students begin to compose their own music, as well as bring songs or pieces to me that they are interested to learn.

For all beginning students, I start with the Suzuki books. They introduce new techniques in a comprehensible way that helps build upon fundamentals before progressing to more advanced techniques. After a bit with Suzuki, I like to add the Dotzauer etude book, which helps to focus on one technique per etude, building on what we learned earlier in Suzuki. Then, once the student’s musicality has developed a bit more, I add the first Bach Cello Suite: something recognizable, yet challenging and engaging. I also love to see what the student is interested in learning, whatever the genre, to keep them engaged and having fun.