Music Lessons in Hagerstown, DC

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Saxophone Flute Clarinet French Horn Oboe Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginning students I start with basics: learning how to hold the instrument, put it together, etc. Then when that is solid we learn a few notes. From there we go to the Rubank books. At the same time, we start reading music that I find appropriate for them. For adults, it depends on what they want to learn. Popular songs or songs they request. But I also push for technical mastery of the instrument so I push for knowledge of scales and then keep pushing with more challenging/fun pieces. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Music

In addition to performing, my love for music extends into the classroom and private studio as well.  I began teaching individual and group lessons 8 years ago, and I love finding new and exciting ways to expose my students to the latest methods and techniques to better their playing and musicality.  I find that no matter what genre of music my students are interested in learning, consistent exposure to all styles is an invaluable tool in advancing ones abilities.  I am always interested in taking on new students no matter their goals or experience level. Read More

Instruments: Drums

Nothing is more important to me than seeing my students develop their passion for drums and music in general.I think its essentially to go at his/hers own pace. And encounrage each to reach their goal for that lesson. Acknowledging when the student is progressing, attentive and eager to keep on learning. I can successfully accommodate to each of the students wants and needs and vice versa their desire to learn the most of what I can teach them and the rest is learned along the way by practice, listening to music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I see myself as a facilitator, helping students discover new elements of music and music theory and building upon those to create a greater understanding of reading and playing music both for piano and voice. Often i will model by playing a song first so that the student cannot not only hear what is sounds like but observe my technique, finger changes, dynamic ranges, tempo and so on. There are many elements to performing a piece besides just playing the correct notes! Read More

Instruments: Voice

For first time students, I immediately begin focusing on the aspect of breath related to the voice. I achieve this by utilizing exercises such as Lip Trills, Tongue rolling, and belly laughs. The is a fun, interesting, and above all effective way to show the student what muscles are working and where. From there, I begin to build upon warmups starting from the simple (e.g. 3-5 note scales) eventually leading to more difficult (e.g. octave runs with triplet passages). Read More

Instruments: Piano

I have been teaching for about 10 years, both privately and in schools. When I was at Indiana University, I tutored fellow music students who wanted to study piano, and I also began teaching privately. Since then, I have adjunct faculty at Seton Hall University, and I have taught privately. My students have ranged in age from 5 through adult, and I've taught all levels of experience. I've prepped students for auditions, entrance to music schools, college-level, and I've taught complete beginners. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Saxophone Flute Clarinet Acoustic Guitar

First I like to get a snap shot of the student's goals and sources of inspiration, once I figure that out I can tailor my instruction around their wants and needs. I see myself as an accountability partner with my students and so I help my students set goals for their progress, celebrate their successes, and evaluate the shortfalls. I encourage loved ones to be a supportive and active part of the process as that encouragement can fuel a student's desire to grow. Read More