Jackie B  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Violin, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Country

I started teaching violin and guitar lessons in high school and was fortunate enough to have had students throughout college on a much wider array of instruments. Lately, since I’ve begun teaching from my home studio in Leicester, NC, I’ve also been able to hone my skills as a performer in the diverse music scene that flourishes in these mountains. Because of this my teaching has grown to embrace and celebrate the improvisational and communal aspects of folk music as well as the rigorous, methodical approach to technique and theory that I learned as a classically trained violinist.

Depending on the instrument, I like to start working from a variety of traditional methods to get started. In the past, I’ve preferred the Hal Leonard and Mel Bay series as a basis for learning piano, guitar, and banjo and for violin students- the Suzuki method (although I am not specifically a Suzuki teacher) followed by a prescribed series of etude books. Of course, this is helpful stuff for building a good, universal technical ability but I believe it is also important for a student to multi-task learning music that personally inspires them and that they can eventually perform with others. For many students this has meant delving into the Jazz real book repertoire or learning fiddle tunes.