Music Lessons in Indian Head, MD

Instruments: Piano

I've been playing piano since age 7. I started playing with a promise to my parents, they would never have to tell me to practice in turn they brought a piano for. I still have and practice on. I have taken lessons up until College, where I graduated from Bennett College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. I play on a regular basis at the Greater First Baptist Church of Washington DC. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I have been playing drums for 14 years and started when I was 10. The influence I had from other drummers that I saw was what sparked my interest in playing them. Seeing the greats like Roger Taylor of Queen, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, or even now Matt Greiner of August Burns Red, I wanted that, but I knew I couldn't get there without practice. After taking up lessons myself, and I continue to do so even after all those years, I have learned what it takes to be a great drummer. Read More

Instruments: Voice Flute

For young children (ages 4-10), I focus primarily on building a foundation in rhythm, pitch matching, and vocal warm ups (wolf howls, lip trills, tongue trills, etc.). I also encourage young children to bring in songs they enjoy singing, and use those songs to help build their understanding of musical structure. For slightly more experienced children (those who already can read music) I teach using the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) guidelines. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet

For young beginners, I start off with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements, as they are probably already working in this book if they are in bad at school.  Outside of that, I'll typically incorporate key beginning excercises from the Arban's Book to help develop the students sound and chops.  This was how my first teacher taught me, and I found his methods extremely helpful in my early years.  Once they're fundamentals are developed, I will begin to work on the students first recital. Read More

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: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Oboe

I have been a musician for over fifteen years, and there is nothing quite as exciting to me as the opportunity to share my love of music with new people. Music has been such an important part of my life, the idea that I could contribute to someone else's passion is very important to me. I spent four proud years as a member of the Oklahoma State University Cowboy Marching Band, where I acted not only as a student myself, but also as a performer and a teacher. Read More

Instruments: Cello

I am a recent conservatory graduate with a sincere love for both classical music and teaching. I spent much of my childhood and adolescence learning cello and piano, went into electrical engineering out of high school, and ended up somewhere in the middle studying audio engineering and cello performance. During my college years, I was given the opportunity to share my passion for cello with some children from my church, and after discovering how much I loved teaching music, I knew I had to enroll in some pedagogy classes. Read More