Maurice H
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Keyboard
Styles: Gospel, Spirituals
Maurice H
Instruments: Piano, Voice, Keyboard
Styles:
Gospel, Spirituals
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 10-80
- No formal Degree
- Studied in a private studio for 5 years
- Self taught for 20+ years
- Mentored at Church for 5 years
1999-2004 - Minister of Music at Power House Church in Charleston, SC
2004-2006 - Music Director and Pianist at Potter's Hand Church in Huntsville, AL
2006-2015 - Music Director and Pianist at Kingdom Christian Fellowship in Madison, AL
2015-2018 - Pianist and Worship Leader at Building Church in Madison, AL
I made a promise to God. When I was living in Fort Stewart, GA, I attended a fairly small church. Even though our congregation was small, we had a choir that was filled with very talented and gifted singers that I truly enjoyed serving with. However, we could never seem to keep a faithful keyboard player that we could rely on for weekly rehearsals and Sunday morning worship. Finally, we found a magnificent keyboard player that we loved. He could play anything by ear and he was very skilled. He did really good for the first few weeks and then he eventually started hitting and missing on Sunday mornings and we would have to sing without a keyboard. One Sunday morning he didn't show up and I said a silent prayer with a promise to God. I said, "God, if you show me how to play the keyboard, I will be faithful and I will show others how to play as well." Well, to make my testimony short, He kept His end of the bargain and I am passionate and motivated to keep my promise to Him.
My teaching experience dates back to my days in High School, as I quickly became the section leader in the tuba section in band and I was responsible for tutoring and assisting the band director with training the other tuba players. I really enjoyed teaching parts on and off the field and I really excelled.
After High School, I joined the military and while I was in the Army, I joined a gospel acapella singing group and I was one of the guys responsible for teaching all of the vocal parts. This experience really helped me to hone my music teaching skills. A year later, I joined the choir at a small church in Fort Stewart, GA and I began to teach soprano, alto and tenor parts in our rehearsals. As I continued to teach in choir, I soon realized that learning about the keyboard would assist me in teaching vocals better so I began to teach myself the basics. Around that same time frame, I made a promise to God that if He showed me how to play the piano/keyboard, I would be faithful to teach others as well. Since then, I have had the privilege to learn how to play the keyboard and teach hundreds of private lessons in my home, at my church, and at a private music studio that I was part owner. I get so excited when my students feel called by God to play the piano or sing in church or in a praise band! I truly believe that God directs people to me because of the promise that I made to Him! Because of my background, I am very disciplined and I expect the same from my students, however, I am very encouraging, patient and understanding as well. If you feel called or a strong desire to play the keyboard or sing in your church or a praise band, then I would love to be your teacher, mentor, and coach!
For young beginning piano students, I typically start with Alfred's Basic Piano Library for the classical approach or my own Christian Music Piano Library for a Christian or Gospel music approach. Once the student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce a solo repertoire appropriate for their age and skill level. For an adult beginner, I try to find out exactly what the student wants to be able to do and then guide my instructions accordingly in order to keep lessons relevant to the end goal. For voice students, I typically like to start around age 10 and up. I always begin with proper technique and then I move into a tailored repertoire and ear training.
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a hunger and thirst for mastering the skill of playing the piano or singing in a worship setting! Therefore, it's very important to me to not only teach the WHAT to play or sing but to also coach and mentor and HOW to play or sing with humility, WHEN to play/sing with creativity, and WHERE to flow in the Spirit in worship sets as well. Also, pianist need to know how to play with other musicians and to be familiar with modern technology that churches are using in worship sets today.
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