Clarence M
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Music, Keyboard, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Funk, Electronic, Flamenco, Swing, Soul, Punk, Avant-garde
Clarence M
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Music, Keyboard, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, R&B, Funk, Electronic, Flamenco, Swing, Soul, Punk, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 4-80
I'm a passionate and engaging music instructor who loves working with students and sharing my love of music. I've been teaching guitar, as well as beginner, piano and bass guitar lessons to students of all ages and skill levels for over a decade. I try to focus on teaching my students proper technique, knowledge of music theory, improvisation, and reading and writing skills. I like to give students the tools required to follow their own musical aspirations. The most important thing to me, is fostering a lasting relationship between the student and their instrument.
I've been teaching on and off over the past 10+ years. My first experience teaching in a professional setting was at the Royal Academy of Music in Shrewsbury Massachusetts while taking some time off from college. There I taught up to 30 students in any given week. It's also where I branched out and began teaching beginner to intermediate bass guitar, piano, and drums. Since returning to New York I have taught a number of private students throughout the Hudson Valley. Currently I have a number of students in the area and looking to increase my roster.
There’s a million different approaches, and we’ll find the one(s) that work best for you. Everyone (even more traditional classical players) tend to take their own path to guitar mastery. This is in part why new techniques and styles of playing are popping up all the time! When starting out, I like to lay a good foundation; teaching students proper hand positioning and posture first. I like to combine this with some single string exercises and some basic chords and strumming patterns that can be used musically, and applied to learning parts or simplified versions of songs the student is familiar with and enjoys listening to. Depending on the students goals, current aptitude, and innate abilities I'll select exercises, etudes, and methodologies from a variety of materials. I work from Hal Leonard's, and Berklee's libraries primarily, but most often use a smattering of tools, exercises, and excerpts that have worked for me and past students; creating a lesson plan over time that is better tailored to the student as an individual. One of the major obstacles when learning the guitar versus, say, the piano, are the immediate physical demands. The guitarist must grow calluses, alter the way their hands naturally move and stretch. They must also muster up impressive right and left hand coordination just to play a single note.
The most important thing to me as an instructor is that the student is enjoying their journey as the progress; the challenges and rewards equally. Part of this, I believe, is achieved by always striving to keep the exercises and practices as musical as possible. One of the major obstacles when learning the guitar versus, say, the piano, are the immediate physical demands. The guitarist must grow calluses, alter the way their hands naturally move and stretch. They must also muster up impressive right and left hand coordination just to play a single note. Because of this I give students a lot of room to play around and just enjoy holding the guitar and making any appreciable sound with it. Especially with very young children, I find this is key to keeping them engaged and curious about the instrument at first. I learned early on that many students get discouraged if they don't quickly enjoy the sounds that they are making. Which is certainly reasonable! Others don't mind just plugging away at an exercise just for the pleasure performing it perfectly. But, it's certainly not the majority. Every lesson is taught with the students musicality in mind. Simply taking an exercise on one string and playing it over a beat and a chord can take that exercise from "the most boring thing in the world" to "I'm doing it! I'm playing the guitar and making music!"
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