Cello Lessons Butler County, PA

Instruments: Cello

For younger beginners, I like to start with a method book such as Essential Elements to build the foundations of music and the instruments. After students have worked through this, we begin working on solo repertoire to get students excited to perform songs at their first recital! This is also a great time to begin learning about improvisation and creative playing, something that we all already have within us. Students learn the basics of improv through fun games, songs, and duets to build their confidence and hone their voice. Read More

Instruments: Cello

My teaching experience began while studying at Indiana University, as I had the incredible opportunity to study pedagogy under Susan Moses and Mimi Zweig. There I was able to develop my skills as a teacher, and nurture my passion for education. I am a firm believer that given an encouraging environment and repetitions, any student can succeed in anything! From the beginning, I instill an awareness that cello playing must incorporate the most natural physical motions to play with beautiful tone and ease. Read More

Instruments: Violin, Cello, Viola, Double Bass

For beginners, I typically start with Suzuki and/or Strictly Strings, though for bass players I tend to move towards Vance/SS instead. Once the fundamentals are understood, then we begin to start more technical exercises and start to prepare solo repertoire. For students who are more experienced or older, I try to see what specifically they are interested in and incorporate that into our work. I emphasize how important proper posture and playing position is, as more advanced techniques would be hard to do without proper posture and could even cause pain later on. Read More

Instruments: Cello

As someone who's played cello for the past 2 decades, I can say with certainty through my own experience, that the most effective teachers are the ones who adapt to each student. When a teacher uses sort of a "cookie cutter" teaching method and applies the same lessons to each and every student, students often don't get the proper attention they need for for specific aspects of their playing. Thus, I believe in tailoring my teaching methods for each student, as each student is vastly different in so many ways. Read More

Instruments: Violin, Cello, Viola

I started teaching while I was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University.  I taught part time private lessons and worked for a Saturday Morning music program teaching Strings and Music Theory.  I have taught in public schools for 12 years teaching strings/orchestra to elementary, middle and high school students.  I have taught students individually, in small groups and in large groups and orchestras.  I have adjudicated at competitions and festivals and taught private lessons in violin, cello and viola over the last 30 years. Read More