Music Lessons in Arlington, WI

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

I have been teaching drums off and on while maintaining other work for almost 20 years. While other teachers may always say "Practice makes Perfect" I say something different. "Practice makes permanent". For me, this means that yes, if you practice something every day you will get better at it - but what if you practice it wrong! That is why I have an open call/door policy. I would much rather a student call me and say "I don't think I am doing this right" and let me re-explain something instead of them just to continue practicing it wrong - once you practice something 7 times it is usually in their for good. Read More

Instruments: Clarinet

When playing clarinet, the body is an important part of the music-making process, and so I encourage students to really pay attention and get in touch with their body. I teach with an understanding that every individual is different, and so what works for me may not work for someone else, and I have a wide variety of examples and experiences to draw on in order to make sure my students understand and internalize the concepts we talk about. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Djembe

I am a percussionist , drummer and beginning piano instruction. I have a music degree as well a master's degree in education. I have been teaching for the past 20 years with both school age student's as well as adults in individual and group settings. Did projects such as Music to My Ears project which won an international award. Did a presentation at the U.S. Music Therapy conference on this project that was done at Kindcare in Milwaukee while working with adults with severe developmental disabilities. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Keyboard Djembe Acoustic Guitar

As a member of an indie rock band, I understand the importance of being able to play songs on your instrument as quickly as possible! With this in mind, my lesson plan focuses primarily on breaking down songs that we want to learn how to play into their fundamental parts; the chords, the grooves, the fills, what-have-you, until we can put it all together. If there's a song that's particularly difficult and requires sound fundamentals, then we'll pound out those skills until we can get the results we want. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I have different methods for piano and voice: depending on the level of the piano student, I will use Faber method books and supplement performance pieces, technique lessons, games, theory discussions, etc. I do not use method books with voice students, although I do have a curriculum that I follow and adjust depending on the level and age of the voice student. I believe that while beginning and intermediate students continue to learn, it is important for them to practice different genres on their instrument -- this allows them to speak different musical languages, improves their understanding of style, and gives them a better context for their own gifts and interests. Read More

Instruments: Voice

My teaching is rooted in the philosophy of functional singing, which means everything I teach has a purpose rooted in the physiology of singing. We do a lot of different exercises and say a lot of funny sounding words, but each exercise is carefully crafted to maximize training your voice's flexibility, agility, or strength. Similar to how you might do a bicep curl to make your bicep stronger, vocal exercises are part of a broader "vocal workout" regimen based on what your voice needs on any given day. Read More

Instruments: Piano Djembe

I have been offering music education since 2009, where I have had the luxury to work, learn and play with students, other fellow musicians and experience music education in a variety of environments and platforms whether in person or via the internet. I am a self-taught musician, beginning at Edgewood College, where I served as the pianist in the Jazz Ensemble. After college, I had the opportunity to play professionally for several years; as the pianist in the Jeff Peronto Jazz Orchestra (Big Band) and also was the pianist for a period of time with Madison, WI Jazz Club "Cafe' Coda" owner, Hanah Jon Taylor in the Hanah Jon Taylor Artet (Jazz Combo). Read More