Joseph A
Instruments: Piano, Organ, Music, Keyboard
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Salsa, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova
Joseph A
Instruments: Piano, Organ, Music, Keyboard
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Blues, R&B, Gospel, Latin, Funk, Salsa, Reggae, Latin Jazz, Swing, New Age, Samba, Bossa Nova
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 8-80
President's List Scholarship
FAU BIG BAND PIANIST
Opened for acts like Randy Newman, The late Chick Berry and many more
Hello, I am a classically trained pianist who decided to pursue jazz and pop performance as a career. I have been playing music as a living since I was 17 years old. I have a Bachelor's degree from FAU, and finished the coursework for a Master's of Music in Jazz Studies at FIU. Before I finished the degree, I began to tour the US and the Caribbean Is. for the next decade. I have performed at Sunfest in West Palm Beach with the Joey Gilmore band, Chuck Berry, Randy Newman and many more. I feel that I can inspire my passion for music and performance to anyone willing to listen, and follow my lead.
I have taught private one on one lessons to children ranging from first grade, to seniors in their 70's and 80's. I have tremendous patience, and an ability to make every lesson a positive learning experience, which will have the student running home to their instrument to practice, and share in my love of music. I have also taught general music in groups of 15-20 students from Kindergarten to 8th grade for three years, as well as another three years at the American School of El Salvador as band and combo professor. At both schools, I created the curriculum, study guides and wrote most charts, with the end goal being an all inclusive end of the year musical with huge success.
I use the Hanon method for warm up exercises, also all scales in triplets (3 octaves), along with chord structures and basic accompaniment. I use two pianos side to side, in order to demonstrate proper technique, and to be able to play together to improvise, and or mimic. I have had success with the Faber & Faber piano series for younger students, and will use selected works from the following composers: J.S. Bach (Minuets, and Inventions), Beethoven Leitch Sonantas as well as some of the less complicated Chopin Waltzes.
My lessons will typically begin with a series of questions. Basically, what is the goal of the student. Whether it is to just relax at home after work, or school or perform solo piano at a coffee shop, or learn songs off of the internet or a method book of their preference, I encourage students to be patient, diligent and to never ever skip a day of practice. I believe in exercises (Hanon, Scales, Arpeggios) in order to strenghten the muscles of the hands, and develop a proper technique. As this progresses, I place a great deal of emphasis on understanding the keyboard, to be able to play like second nature, with and without sheet music. I believe that a well rounded music instructor will bring out the musician inside all of us, in my 8 years of teching, I have come across two students that genuinely lacked pitch, and or basic rhythm skills. From several hundred students, that means that pretty much everyone can learn to play an instrument, and be able to find a love for music that will last a lifetime.
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