Music Lessons in Aiea, HI

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

I am a passionate piano teacher based in Central Oahu. I've taught over a hundred students in different studios across the island, in places like Nobu Sakurai Piano Studio, Chuck James Music Studio, Emily Lee's Music Studio, Musikgarten, and more. I believe a well-rounded and practical approach to teaching music-- where students learn to not only read music, but also play freely with chords and scales to create their own music, learn by ear, and improvise. Read More

Instruments: Cello

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music. Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I feel that it is very important to be supportive and encouraging to each student and to verbally acknowledge their accomplishments. If a student expresses a desire to learn a certain technique or style of music, I will support that desire with my best effort and within my abilities. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I start with each new student by getting to know what music styles they like, what songs they want to learn, what their goals are. I work with the students to select specific songs they want to learn NOW and then I build my entire lesson plan and approach around those. Rather than start them off with drills and exercises, we immediately begin learning content that the students actually care about. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I like to make sure that my students are organized. I encourage them to bring a notebook to class to write down what they are supposed to practice. It helps them to stay on task on set goals. I love to see a student who comes in prepared. We usually will start off with some warm up exercise and then get to working on the music. I like to teach musicality so I encourage improvisation, singing, clapping, tapping feet, and other physical body movements to help internalize the beat. Read More

Instruments: Drums

When teaching children or beginners I like to start out by introducing the 26 drum rudiments. I'll then introduce beginner drum books such as Joel Rothman's Basic Drumming. These important tools will set the stage for success in drumming. I'll also introduce music styles and beats they might not be familiar with. The goal is to introduce as many different music styles and beats as possible. For adults and intermediate to advanced players, we will work out of Charlie Wilcoxon's "The All-American Drummer" for snare drum solo's and Gary Chester's "The New Breed" for challenging drum beat exercises. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For beginning students, I like to start with John Thompson piano serios to build a solid fundation in both technique and music theory. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I use a variety of methods for young beginners (depending on their age) - Faber Faber, Alfred, Alfred Premiere, Bastien, and Hal Leonard. For beginning adult students, I find Faber Faber for the older beginner to well paced to teach fundamentals. My digital piano has engaging learning games to reinforce fundamental note reading and rhythm, as well as aural training, chord recognition, and sight reading play along songs. My students love to see their play along music scores, and are always challenging themselves to improve. Read More