Music Lessons in De Forest, WI

Instruments: Guitar Trumpet

For all beginning students, I usually will take a lesson or two to assess where the student is at regarding music, depending on (if any) previous experience with music, e.g. piano lessons, etc. For trumpet students, I am not beholden to any one instructional method book. Usually, I will select whichever one I feel the student will be most successful utilizing. A couple of examples of method books I use are Standards of Excellence and Student Instructional Course. 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 Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Keyboard Djembe Acoustic Guitar

My teaching style is very simple. With the fundamentals in place, it's possible to learn any song you want to. If there's a song that goes beyond a student's fundamentals, then that's what we'll learn next. As my music teachers told me, if you listen to a record and you find something on it that you don't know how to play, go back and learn how to do it! Listening and learning is essential to playing the music that you want to be able to play as quickly as possible. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Bass Guitar Synthesizer Recorder Electric Violin Double Bass Conga Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe

For beginning students, I usually start by creating a strong foundation in the student's mind of why they want to learn how to play an instrument and what goals, if any, they initially have for themselves. I then utilize this to help create individual based lesson plans that are driven by the inner workings of the student's mind. I incorporate music theory into every instrument at every skill level because I believe it to be something that is extremely important to understand and that not a lot of students are exposed to before they get to college. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

As our time together continues, my goal for the student is that they become more self-sufficient (as is age-appropriate). For example, a teenage/adult student who has been taking lessons for a year will lead the lesson more than a beginner student; they will understand my warm up system and will arrive at the lesson warmed up and arrive with goals and questions prepared. This is because my goals for each student surpass their ability on their instrument: being a good musician means taking responsibility for one's practice. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I began teaching voice during my undergraduate college years. Since then, I have taught both in-studio and in-home lessons. My students have consistently received high honors in solo and ensemble performances, as well as singing, leads in school and area productions. My piano students develop good beginning technique and theory skills that help prepare them as they move into the advanced repertoire. Both my piano and voice students perform in competitions regularly. 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