Music Lessons
Personalized Music lessons for all ages. Sessions are designed for each individual student dependent on their goals to learn how to play Guitar, Bass or Saxophone. I also offer individual beginner Mandolin and Ukulele.
All of my current and past students have developed confidence and enthusiasm to learn all materials presented in an easy to comprehend format.
Each student learns at different levels so all lessons are customized to challenge them but also insure they learn and retain all materials presented created for their learning.
Guitar Lessons
Complete beginner, intermediate and advanced guitar lessons are tailored to each student. Standard lessons include chord shapes, songs, music or tabs materials, music formats for acoustic and/or electric guitars.
The core of guitar proficiency is to be able to perform duets with the teacher based on the style of music they enjoy most. Jazz, Classical, Rock, Reggae, Bluegrass or any other genres can be the main goals.
Advanced students will learn how to perform in various formats such as pit orchestra, big bands, ensemble, rock and jazz formats.
Bass Lessons
Bass students will have fun grooving out on different formats and learn from complete beginner to advanced techniques. Students have choice to learn fretted, fretless, or both electric bass instruments.
People are genuinely interested in learning bass since it is a very popular and a in demand role for various music projects. Once you become a proficient musician, you'll find plenty of opportunities to perform or rehearse with other musicians.
Saxophone Lessons
For beginning Saxophone students, you'll have the opportunity to start on Soprano, Alto, or Tenor.
Once you learn the basic fingerings and breathing techniques, we'll focus on your Saxophone choice and develop tone, alternate fingerings and perform easy songs.
For intermediate and advanced students, we will focus on developing site reading, advanced techniques and songs that are enjoyable to perform to backing tracks or as a solo instrument.
Beginner Mandolin or Ukulele Lessons
The Mandolin is a fun instrument to play and is often associated with folk and bluegrass formats. Other formats in Classic Rock and Modern Rock use the Mandolin for specific songs. Led Zeppelin, Heart and R.E.M. are examples.
Ukulele is also just as much fun and you'll be surprised how versatile it is.
We'll focus on developing proper right and left hand techniques, work on fun songs and also learn with tabs and/or standard music.
Music Theory
Music Theory has been described as "difficult to learn".
We'll review the 'mystery' of music and use analogies to explain how simple it can actually be to learn. Based on the instrument you already perform on, we'll work on understanding this language using songs and then develop the use of a Numeric system. assignment to further solidify the knowledge.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
What is your typical process for working with a new student?
Initially will setup lesson plans for first 3 monthly cycle's of instruction. Lessons are one hour in length, once a week.
Based on level of experience or if a complete beginner, will use simple songs to learn chords and develop left hand fingerings.
After the first lessons, then we will progress on another level where customized plans are developed.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
Sixteen straight years working with current students has allowed me to focus on patience and consistent lesson plans.
Also performing as a professional musician allows me to experiment with new opportunities that I pass unto my students.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your lessons?
Billing cycles are based on a standard 4 week interval. The monthly payment is required at the start of first lesson in each new cycle.
Standard hourly price is $45.00 per hour. In some cases I can adjust to insure everyone has the opportunity to enjoy learning music.
How did you get started teaching?
A friend at work asked if I could teach both him and his son. Once we started, all my additional students were referred word of mouth from other friends. Additional students reached out to me using online service recommendations.
What type of students have you worked with?
I've worked with people of all ages young to those with wisdom from life lessons. Work with beginner, intermediate and a few handful of advanced students.
Describe an event you were proud of.
My first student was interested in learning to read standard music notation for guitar. In a year's timeframe he was able to read the music to use in new lessons. The last cycle we were able to read through 15 Christmas songs in one evening. Then we used a fiddle book with 1,001 tunes and picked out songs randomly to play.
What advice would you give a student looking to hire a teacher in your area of expertise?
When selecting a teacher, make arrangements to meet in person to review short and long term goals of learning a musical instrument. Pricing should only be used as the last criteria before making any final decision. It's important to insure your instructor is patient and willing to challenge students to setup a practice routine that will fit their current schedule.
What questions should students think through before talking to teachers about their needs?
When a student needs an instrument, have instructor give recommendations based on the musical styles they are interested in learning.
Students often ask how long it will take to learn to play Guitar, Bass, Saxophone are any other instrument. What they should also reveal to the teacher are the three main reasons that excites them to learn to play.