Flute Lessons in Mountainside, NJ

Instruments: Piano Voice Flute Ukulele

I first and foremost love meeting new people and helping them to enjoy music. My background is in opera and musical theatre, but I have been playing piano for twenty-six years and also teach ukulele and flute. I have been studying music for twenty-six years, including Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where I graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree in classical vocal performance. It was there where I learned to sing in seven languages. Read More

Instruments: Flute Piccolo

Dedication and consistency are crucial in order to build confidence as a performer and I am a big advocate of inspiring students to be curious about music. Knowledge is power and therefore I encourage students to look up information about the composer whose piece we are learning, listen to many recordings, find out information related to the period of time in which the piece we are working on was composed etc. Read More

Instruments: Flute

My overarching goal in my teaching is to instill a passion for music. Every student is different and has there own unique learning style, and I like to be able to structure each lesson to best fit the learning styles of the student. Every student learns and progresses at there own pace, and will adjust to the pace of every individual student. I like to set specific and accomplishable goals with each student, so that they can see their progression and accomplishments for themselves right away. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Recorder

I want students to learn what they're most interested in, with the caveat that I can teacg them a "song" or I can teach them the instrument and they can play any song. Whenever I can I play duets with the students. It makes what they're doing sound more like music. And I make mistakes. That shows that mistakes are no big deal (1 wrong note is a mistake. Make the same mistake repeatedly, you're doing it wrong). Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Flute Clarinet Bass Guitar Recorder

I use what some have called the target approach. With this method you are working on one concept at a time, and you should always have one concept in mind while you practice. Some examples of beginning concepts are 1) keeping a steady beat, 2) sound quality, or 3) smooth finger technique. In one practice session using the target approach you may spend 10 minutes on target 1) and 15 minutes on target 2). What is important, however, is that you continue to work on a target every day until you find yourself performing that single concept flawlessly and effortlessly. Read More

Instruments: Flute

For beginning students, I like to focus and builds traditional "executive skills" such as embochure, posture, hand position, ear training, and articulation. Once the student has a grasp of fundamentals, I introduce scales and solo repertoire appropriate to their development. For advanced students, I focus on building upon their knowledge of scales, etude methods, harmony and chordal progressions, as well as solo repertoire--while incorporating elements of improvisation, extended techniques, and electronics.  I play duets with each of my students regularly! Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet Accordion

My approach varied from student to student. I decide about it after the first lesson where I can determine what kind of steps will take. I have my own music books with songs and exercises that I have developed over last twenty years of teaching I try to find out what the student is interested in, and guide my instruction accordingly to keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter their ability level. Read More