Jorge S  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Violin, Cello, Viola, Bass Guitar, Organ, Ukulele, Electric Violin, Music, Keyboard, Electric Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Country, R&B, Latin, Funk, Hip Hop, Electronic, Reggae, New Age, Punk, Avant-garde

I have been teaching since High School, but it wasn't until my first year of college that I started teaching music. After 6+ years of teaching in my home studios in both Austin and San Antonio, I enjoy a variety of students learning violin, viola, cello, piano, guitar, and even certain music software. My greatest lesson in teaching is that no two students are alike; one student may be more traditional and focused and have no problem learning to read music, for example, while another student may have little to no attention span, making it impossible to learn consistently. Throughout years of teaching I began making every lesson unique in a way that would benefit the student the most. The number one goal is for the student to have fun and learn at the same time. I was taught in a very rigorous fashion by high level teachers. I know what it means to look forward to coming to class. I love teaching because it lets me avoid the mistakes my teachers made in the past when it came my time to learn music. New students should be motivated and reinforced with positivity instead of being met with criticism and harshness. Sometimes all the student needs to move on from a tricky subject is a simple smile and a "good job!". I welcome all students of any age.

I always start a lesson with a new student by assessing their current skill level. If the student already has a certain curriculum they are working on, I usually have them pick up from where they left off so I can see where we're at. Taking things into consideration like intonation, posture, dynamics, form etc., I either assign a new curriculum or continue on. My lessons usually consist of 3 books: a scale book, an etude book, and a leveled song book like the Suzuki method. From experience, these are all the basic tools a student needs to work on their fundamentals before diving into full fledged solo pieces for competitions. Beginning students have to start from the bottom. These students will start by learning how to hold the violin and the bow, for example, and slowly but surely get into reading music and eventually playing simple scales and melodies from an elementary book. Some adults, however, may be interested in learning an instrument because they want to play a song they love. In that case, the main focus will be on playing the song instead of setting the fundamentals, so the curriculum is adaptable to the goals of each individual student.