Sam A
Instruments: Guitar, Bass Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Funk, Soul, Punk
Sam A
Instruments: Guitar, Bass Guitar
Styles:
Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, R&B, Funk, Soul, Punk
Where I Teach:
Ages Taught: 5-80
Diploma, Berklee College of Music, Contemporary Writing & Production BA, Iowa State University, World Languages & Cultures
2013 - Dean's List, Berklee College of Music
2012 - Certificate of Merit, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
2011 - Best Original Score, Des Moines 48 Hour Film Festival
I’m a 25 year old graduate of Iowa State University, with a bachelor’s degree in World Languages and Cultures. From January 2012 until May 2013, I studied guitar and Contemporary Writing and Production at the Berklee College of Music. When I was 13 years old, I started taking weekly percussion lessons. Not long afterwards, I picked up the electric guitar, and was eager to teach myself. Since then, my musical interests have expanded to include arranging and production.
I've been teaching private lessons since 2010. I remember how excited my first student was during our first lesson, as he was learning the chords to his favorite Metallica song. The experience was profoundly motivating for both of us. As a teacher, there's nothing more enjoyable than watching students blossom into the musicians they've dreamed of becoming. During the summer of 2013, I worked as the musical director for a staging of "Waiting for Lefty" at Oracle Productions in Chicago. Many of the actors I worked with had little or no musical experience, but, together, we explored their strengths and weaknesses, and put on a very successful show.
The students’ long-term goals shape the curriculum. It’s important to keep them excited about the material, especially if they’re new to music. I’ve found the most effective way to do so is to show how good technique and basic theory apply to music they’re already listening to. Eventually, students see common threads between different styles and genres. Ideally, students will walk away with more eclectic musical preferences. Equally important is to trace a style back to its roots. To fully understand an idea, it’s crucial to understand where it comes from, such as the evolution of country blues to rock ‘n roll.
Learning to play an instrument can be extremely overwhelming, so it's important that the student sets his or her own pace. My role as a teacher is simply to guide students along paths they choose for themselves. At the same time, I push students to explore ideas that they may not have thought to explore for themselves. For example, as a predominantly rock and blues oriented musician, some of the most profound growth I've experienced has come from learning the basics of classical theory.
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