Lesson Special - Up to 20% OFF! Get Started Now with a Risk-Free Trial!
I do not have a formal degree in music. I began working professionally at 15 and haven't stopped since, and I feel that what I have learned "on the job" and on my own is equivalent to at least one doctorate in music :) After a certain level of experience, there's really no difference that I see in my professional life between my peers who do have music degrees and those who don't.
I am an instrumentalist and composer/songwriter, with three decades of international professional performing, recording, and teaching experience. I have played in punk clubs, amphitheaters, jazz festivals, art galleries, country barn dances, basements, synagogues, buddhist temples, bookstores, major pop festivals and everywhere in between. Artists of note I work or have worked with include Nels Cline, Sharon Van Etten, Julia Holter, Yoko Ono, Cibo Matto, Joshua Redman, Marc Ribot, , Xiu Xiu, and many more. I have toured extensively both nationally and internationally, recorded on hundreds of albums and soundtracks, composed for stage and screen, written articles for national music publications, and taught private students and master classes throughout the U.S. and abroad.
As an instructor, I have taught at multiple music schools and conservatories internationally, including Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel de Falla (Buenos Aries, Argentina), Eagle Rock Music Academy (Los Angeles, California), The Jazz School (Berkeley, California) and others. I have also taught private lessons to people of varied backgrounds and musical interests. My education has mainly come from experience in playing thousands of concerts and on hundreds of recordings with a wide range or musical artists. As a teen I was fortunate to study with noted bassists and educators such as John Patitucci, Edgar Meyer, and others.
I like to first learn what music the student is most excited about, whether it's an artist, song or genre, and then teach the fundamentals of music as they apply to what the student likes. My theory is that there are universal principles of music (as opposed to "rules") that apply to all music, and that we can learn about from studying any and all music. That way the making of and learning about music happens at the same time and add to the depth and enjoyment of both. And sense every opened door just leads to new things to learn, this process can be renewing and rewarding for a lifetime!
My favorite thing to watch happen with a student is when they understand the concepts behind the notes. Playing music is so much more than just the mechanics of "this song goes like this"--what's more important is a deeper musicianship that understands how the whole thing fits together and why it works. That way we can both communicate better musically, but also learn how to teach ourselves. My goal as a teacher is to help every student learn how to learn on their own, by showing them the tools of music, which are the general underlying principles of all music.