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Master Degree: University of Kansas, Bachelor Degree: North Central College
Hello! My name is Tia J. and I am a professional music educator. I first discovered my passion for music when I started playing the harp at 7 years old and fell in love with teaching in 2006 when I first started teaching private music lessons. My priorities as a teacher revolve around tailoring instruction to help students achieve their individual goals, whether they are personal goals and/or closely tied to educational/ career goals. I think that music has the power to enhance anybody's quality of life, both directly and indirectly through the practice of a vast array of transferable skills while also building character and perspective. I am very excited to hear from you and be a part of your musical journey!
I have been a private lessons instructor since 2006. The instruments I have taught include: piano, harp, saxophone, and clarinet with an emphasis on classical music. I have also worked as an elementary general music teacher since 2014. Our curriculum includes developing knowledge and skills in performance (vocal/ instrumental), literacy, history, composition, appreciation and evaluation. In addition to my teaching experience, I also have many years worth of performance experience in both classical and jazz settings, which has greatly helped me in being able to provide instruction and direction to students seeking to pursue music performance as a career.
I strive to tailor instruction to meet the needs of the individual student. For students who are at a beginning level, I often start with a reliable methods book (i.e. Piano Adventures) to lay a foundation. From there, I like to explore a range of supplementary materials that can help students work toward their personal goals and interests, such as modern/ other genres of music, composition material, technique-specific exercises, etc. As lessons progress, I continually evaluate the effectiveness of provided materials and adjust accordingly as ability and interests over time are subject to change.
Understanding that every student has unique experiences, interests, strengths and weaknesses, I always work to ensure that lessons are to the benefit of the student. Instead of thinking of my role as a director who prescribes a set path, I like to think of private lessons as an opportunity for partnership, where I play the role of facilitator. To do so, I regularly check-in with students to build a lesson structure that works for them. This includes conversation about their overall goals, self-assessment of how lessons and desired skill development are progressing, new interests, building practice schedules and routines that function within their weekly schedule, etc.