Viola Lessons in Lakeland, FL

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Viola Flute Piccolo

My teaching style really focuses around developing a love for your instrument. If the student loves their instrument and the music that is written for their instrument, they will feel encouraged to practice. I try to pick up on the student's personality and learning styles and make each person's lesson a combination of my teaching styles and what works best for the student. Once we find the routine and groove that works for the both the student and myself, then the learning should come along easily and fun. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola

I use multiples methods. One of them is the Susuki method. I consider that is a good method for beginners with a lot of techniques exercises and also includes pieces. For me it is essential that a student learn first all the techniques exercises and then start to create music. After that I started to teach how to respect the essential aspects in a piece: the fingering, the bowing, the dynamics, the tempo and others. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Violin Viola Electric Violin Fiddle

When teaching strings to beginners I tend to teach out of a string methods book but I also offer stylistic direction outside of the book. I find this method helps the student with dependency of string books and helps to harbor curiosity to the vast world of music and methods beyond one book. I offer compositions fit to the level of the student and give them the opportunity to bring them up to performance standard. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Cello Viola

For beginning cello students of all ages, I normally use one of my teacher's method books: Cellocity by Helga Winold of Indiana University. As my cello students progress, I slowly introduce smaller pieces that can normally be found in Suzuki method books. After my cello students have advanced significantly, I begin to introduce more complex pieces that are found in the standard cello repertoire. Eventually, my students reach a level where they gain the ability to gauge their experience level and select their own pieces with my approval. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Fiddle Double Bass Music Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For violin, viola, cello and bass, I teach the Suzuki method. The Suzuki method is based strongly on memory and takes a systematic approach to introducing music of increasing difficulty. For classical guitar, I start off with the Frederick Noad system, "Solo Guitar Playing", and scales. As skill level increases, I assign more etudes and standard guitar repertoire. For acoustic guitar, I teach almost exclusively finger-picking. I teach the same high standard skills for acoustic guitar that I teach for classical, but concentrate on masterpieces of the repertoire. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

For beginner students, I start with Hal Leonard's "Essential Elements for Strings" Book 1. This book is not only great for learning the fundamentals of the instrument (such as the names of the parts of the instrument, how to hold the instrument, etc.) but it also the best book I have found to teach beginning students how to read music on the violin and viola. For more advanced students, I like to stick with a formula of three things: scales (two-three octaves), an etude (a piece used to focus on a specific technique), and solo repertoire. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Cello Viola Electric Violin Fiddle Double Bass

I have been teaching for about 10 years now, both privately and in various music lesson stores throughout the Tampa Bay area. I have taught students ranging from 5 to 60 years of age. My students have been accepted into Blake Performing Arts High School, All County Orchestras, Tampa Bay Youth Orchestras, Tampa Metropolitan Youth Orchestras, and even Florida's All State Orchestras. I have also been able to develop my students' abilities from being last in their orchestras to first chair in their music programs. Read More