Jim H
Instruments: Piano
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Funk, Hip Hop, Showtunes, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Avant-garde
Jim H
Instruments: Piano
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Gospel, Musical Theater, Funk, Hip Hop, Showtunes, Swing, Bossa Nova, Soul, Avant-garde
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
MA, Jazz Performance, DePaul,
BA, Music, University of Pittsburgh
BNY-Mellon Jazz Scholarship while earning BA at Pitt
Merit Scholarship DePaul, 2015-2017
two recordings on Delmark Records Label, Featuring Ira Sullivan, Richie Cole, and Frank Catalano
My goal is to cultivate a relationship with music that will enrich the life of the student--of any level! I studied under two Jazz Messenger Alumni at Pitt, Leon Lee Dorsey, and Nathan Davis. In Chicago I got my MA at DePaul studying under Ron Perrillo, Dennis Carroll, and Dana Hall. I have blessed to perform with many important figures in jazz. Although jazz is my main focus, I truly love all forms of music and want to help the student mature their own taste and proficiency in whatever musical vain they desire.
I have been a full time musician on graduating from undergrad in 2010, since then I have played the most prestigious clubs in Chicago as a leader and as a sideman, The Jazz Showcase, Andy's, and the Green Mill. I have two albums under Chicago's premier record label, Delmark, and received extensive international airplay. I continue to perform all around Chicago playing jazz, Hip-hop, pop, rock, and funk. I perform in solo piano style as well as with bands. I compose and also have a musical repertoire that spans the great American songbook and, Elton John, Stevie wonder, the Beatles, bebop, and post-bop, and Fusion.
An important component in my teaching process is assessment. First I need to understand long-term goals of the student. What does "taking piano lessons" mean to you. If you want to learn piano and go through Bach preludes and Brahms reductions great! But that is not the entire scope of what private lessons can offer an individual. Often the student doesn't know what specifically excites him/her. For younger students especially, broadening horizons is important. If a youngster is enamored with the Mario Bros theme song, lets learn it together and then notice parallels between that and piano rags of Scott Joplin; or the harmonic conventions that Nintendo's composers borrow from early to late romantic music in the classical realm. Scales, theory, technique and aural analysis and training are fundamental skill is make sure every student touches on.
The more a student feels like he/she has accomplished, the more patience and dedication the student acquires. After a student has established that piano is fun/rewarding, I like to slowly incorporate the study of music theory. With music theory a student can begin to codify and understand where these sounds come from. This greater understanding and insight empowers the student to play more musically, or creatively--whether in performing notes written, or improvisationally/compositionally. Most important however is that a deepening in the understanding of music should activate a deeper love of music.
TO PARENTS: please understand that my goal is to help train your child to be able to see the world through an artistic lens. This is not too lofty a goal, it just takes a lot of patience and a respect for the child's personal intellect. Music great for its own sake, sure; but it is a greater prize that a child should learn how to see life through a spiritually rich perspective. This is the greater gift music has to offer.
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