Music Lessons in Alton, NY

Instruments: Drums Djembe

First and foremost my goal as an educator is to inspire students to have a love, passion and excitement for music by tailoring my lessons toward each student's unique goals and interests. I aim to prepare students for any situation they may encounter by providing them with a strong basis in the fundamentals of music and drumming, along with improvisational techniques, skills for ensemble playing, sight reading skills, soloing, developing excellent tone, and proper technique to play with ease. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

The first thing a teacher must do is figure out how to motivate a student to practice. This can be done differently for different students. I will list some things that I have found that work. 1) Set a practice schedule/timer/alarm 2) I work on mindset and practice techniques to reduce practice session frustration/anxiety and increase positivity and feel good emotions 3) The student selects songs to practice in addition to scales, lesson book or repertoire 4) Parental support and priority 5) Listening to music outside of lesson 6) Practice one concept at a time 7) Limit faster passages to smaller groups of notes, practice slow with different patterns. 8) more in lesson!....... Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Flute Clarinet Bass Guitar Banjo Ukulele Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Again, music is a deeply personal subject and I want to encourage every student to find their unique voice and love for music. My goal is to develop strong all-around music skills along with learning the technique of the instrument they chose. Every student works at a different pace, and I plan accordingly. I like to set reachable, realistic goals for students each week to develop a strong sense of accomplishment and hunger to learn more the following week. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Saxophone Flute

I will work with each student to help them understand the fundamentals of jazz, for example, knowing major scales, minor scales, and all of the modes that we typically see in most jazz repertoire. For students that are more advanced we will work on learning how to play over common chord progressions and learn how to play songs found in the Great American Songbook. For students at a higher level, we can work on cementing more advanced techniques such as how to play over chord substitutions. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Bass Guitar Mandolin Recorder Euphonium Tuba Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Oboe Conga Latin Percussion

I have had a desire to play and perform music since I was six years old. This interest was sparked by the wonderfully scored film: Tarzan (Disney). The African percussion that Phil Collins incorporated into this movie's score was enough to send me on the path to fulfill a college-level education in music. Initially beginning with percussion, I have expanded my horizons to piano, guitar, and after a degree in music education: every well-known band and orchestra instrument (with the exception of the harp). Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Synthesizer Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Music Keyboard

I plan every lesson differently based on the student. I first like to see what the students interests are as well as what goals they have in mind that they would like to achieve. For drummers and percussionists, I like to work out of the books, Stick Control and the Alfred method books because I believe that they develop the best technique. For mallet players, I like to work out of the Charlie Parker Omnibook as well as Bach's Partitas and Sonatas book. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I can't wait to build a list of testimonials with this organization @ Musika Lessons! Here's the thing, everyone is unique. It's really hard to say any one method is best for everybody. Once I figure out how old you are, what your interests really are, and what current degree of mastery you possess and where you want to take them to, I will be able to custom tailor a formidable method directly for them. Read More