Music Lessons in Bernardsville, NJ

Instruments: Voice

I would say that I am quite fungible when it comes to a particular style of teaching. I always try to bring a lot of energy and excitement to each individual student! I will teach my methods, but try to find the right language for the student to best understand. Every person is different in how they learn and I think it is important to be adaptable to see the best progress and success with students. Read More

Instruments: Flute

I started working as a music teacher when I was really young, during my second year in college. After all these years I've learnt how important is to connect with students to understand what motivates them, what their goals are, and what they need to achieve them. That's why I love teaching one-on-one private lessons, because I can give the students all my attention and adapt the teaching process according to their needs. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Drums Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginning students I would start off with form, posture, and technique. These point are extremely important and sometimes skipped over so developing good performance habits right away is essential. I would also start them with the basics of reading treble clef and learning where the notes on the staff translate to on the neck. They would be walking away from their first lesson with a one octave C major scale and some short, repetitive exercises to get them ready for their first song. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

In highschool I worked with a music mentoring program.  I would travel to local elementary schools and teach children from 2nd to 4th grade violin in small groups.  This cultivated my love of teaching.  Though in college I never had the opportunity to teach privately due to my busy schedule, during breaks I would often give masterclass style lessons to students of my former teacher Michael Bandimere when they were preparing for performances or auditions. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Banjo Ukulele Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

The first thing I ask a student is what kind of music they enjoy. What we love to hear is almost always what we want to play. As someone with ADHD I completely understand and empathize with students who have a difficult time focusing and a different way of understanding a concept. Taking a breath and a stretch can sometimes be the best cure for learner's block. Pointing out real progress is one of the best way to fuel the desire to learn more and is itself a reward! Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For younger students and all of my students who want to learn how to read music I start with the Mel Bay Guitar Method Vol. 1. As we progress through that I usually start giving out more reading that is complimentary to the direction that the student is going in. However, I know there are several guitar students who don't necessarily want to learn how to read music which I am fine with teaching. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Violin Saxophone Bassoon

I like my lessons to be fun! I like to start my lesson with a "music swap": we each play one minute of a song that we found that week from youtube or spotify and take 30-60 seconds to say why we found it interesting or inspiring (it can be any genre). We then aim to discuss and practice a new technical skill and use exercises to develop it, we work on a song from the method series or a song that the student wants to work on (I often transpose pop/rock songs for my students), and then rhythm training, ear training, and music theory concepts are interspersed throughout. Read More