David H
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk
David H
Instruments: Piano
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
Master Degree: National University, Bachelor Degree: U.C. Santa Barbara
My name is David Herscowitz, and I've been playing the piano since 1985 and teaching since 2005. I grew up in Los Angeles and moved to Oakland in 2012. I attended the Alexander Hamilton High School Academy of Music in Los Angeles and received my BA in Music from U.C. Santa Barbara. Making music (especially with other musicians) is my favorite thing to do, and teaching others the gift of music comes in a close second! I live with my wife and three children in Walnut Creek, where you'll find me sometimes rocking out with my little ones in our family band!
I began my musical journey with piano lessons at the age of six. In 2003 I received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from U.C. Santa Barbara and received of Master of Arts in Teaching from National University in 2012. My pedagogical experience includes teaching piano performance in my private studio as well as at the Crowden Music Center in Berkeley and at the French American International Music Conservatory in San Francisco. Types of lessons taught include individual and class piano instruction for children and adults at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels, all with an emphasis on literature, technique and interpretation. I have implemented instruction in sight reading and sight singing, aural analysis and rhythmic studies, all designed to assist students in developing skills essential to good musicianship.
My students are provided with a solid musical and technical foundation that allows them to feel comfortable in any of the countless musical contexts they will encounter as they embark on a life-long musical journey! Most piano methods books are "C and G-centric," causing students to learn to only feel comfortable playing on the white keys and then become either terrified or bewildered any time there is more than one sharp or flat in the key signature. Because my students learn to be comfortable playing in all twelve keys (yes... even F# Major!) right from the start, within weeks of starting they are utilizing all different combinations of white keys and black keys with ease. This sets a foundation to play more difficult classical pieces as well as jazz at a much earlier phase than most beginners.
As a musician, I believe that performers must convey not only the logic, but the artistic and emotional warmth inherent in the music. As a teacher, I emphasize that one utilizes technique for the purpose of communication, and I know that this is a truth at all levels, whether in a Class Piano situation or with very advanced talents. I feel it is also vital for students (again, at all levels) to gain experience with literature from a variety of musical periods, so as to develop a diversity of taste and interpretive style. To these ends, I give my students precise instruction in practice techniques and what to expect at every stage of their growth: they thus learn to work with confidence, to monitor their own progress, and ultimately feel comfortable with the art of performing.
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