Music Lessons in Ardsley, PA

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet

In 2014 I completed my Doctor of Musical Arts degree and moved to the Philadelphia area. I have been an active performer, composer, and educator for the last 15 years of my life recently serving as Artist in Residence at Penn State's Altoona campus. Alongside performing in the Philadelphia area I have been a guest lecturer and artist for The University of the Arts in 2014 and 2015. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I keep a "Piano Homework Assignment" Word document for each student on my laptop which I can then email to you after your lesson is over for reference during the week.  A usual assignment would consist of a "Warm Up" section where we focus on hand position or scales or technique, a "Lesson Book" or "Repertoire" section where we work on new pieces or songs, a "Theory" section for written assignments, a "Fun" list for pieces we are done with but want to keep playing just for fun and then a number of special sections depending on student interest.  Special sections might be things like - improvisation, composition, playing by ear, recital or competition prep, exam prep, sight reading, ear training, etc.  I'm comfortable in few method series but I prefer Faber Piano Adventures for typical beginning children and The Music Tree for very young beginners.  I try to make sure each student has a piece they love every week. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Euphonium

For beginning students, I typically start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements as well as my own individual exercises written specifically for each student's needs as they develop. After they have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce solo repertoire and etudes for their first recital performance. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in as well as where they are at in their musical development and proceed accordingly. Read More

Instruments: Drums

One of the cool things about teaching is that every student is different and learns differently! I am usually able to assess each students level and pace within the first couple lessons. At the end of each lesson I will give them a realistic goal to achieve for the next lesson. Any improvement is improvement and I try and always recognize that. I try to inspire by example as well, showing the student where their practicing and hard work can take them if they keep working at it diligently. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

For beginning students, I normally start with Alfred's Drum Method. This book works on the fundamentals of reading snare drum music and basic technique. Once the students grasps the basics on reading and playing with a metronome then we tend to move to Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials (while still working on the Alfred's Method). After the student has began to play with the audio tracks and have succesfully gone through a few lessons from Groove Essentials then we begin to work on some solo repertoire and personal favorites as well. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone

It is most important to me that my students become passionate about what they do! I realize that every student learns differently and has different interests than my own. Because of this, I like to cater my lessons to what they would like to do as often as possible and through this I find creative ways to incorporate fundemental technical elements into the lesson. This can be through creating patterns to practice using the material of a musical phrase from their favorite song or expanding their playing range on the instrument by playing it in different keys and octaves. Read More

Instruments: Piano

Student-teacher relationship is one of the most important aspects to my teaching style. It is very important that students feel safe and welcome in their learning environment, so I keep lessons relaxed yet on target with our goals. I believe that every student learns at his own pace, and I try to gauge that with realistic goals per lesson, per semester, and per year. I like to vary activities in lessons according to my student's preference. Read More