Music Lessons in Kaimuki, HI

Instruments: Piano

I use a variety of methods for young beginners (depending on their age) - Faber Faber, Alfred, Alfred Premiere, Bastien, and Hal Leonard. For beginning adult students, I find Faber Faber for the older beginner to well paced to teach fundamentals. My digital piano has engaging learning games to reinforce fundamental note reading and rhythm, as well as aural training, chord recognition, and sight reading play along songs. My students love to see their play along music scores, and are always challenging themselves to improve. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Acoustic Guitar

As I may have mentioned once or twice... Students are at the heart of my teaching process. Everyone has their own goals, their own tastes, their own learning process, their own challenges. If a teacher does not tailor his/her approach to the student in front of them, then an opportunity is being missed. Students should feel involved and invested in the process, and feel that it is serving them. Read More

Instruments: Piano

My teaching experience dates back to my high school days, as I began teaching private lessons since 1981, and I have been consistently teaching students in my home studio. I taught kindergarden and elementary school in Sacred Heart Academy from 2002 - 2004 in a classroom setting. I believed that learning music improves the brain's ability to process timing, pitch and timbre. which helps kids pick up language, too. Brain can make sense of vowels, consonants quickly. Read More

Instruments: Drums

When teaching children or beginners I like to start out by introducing the 26 drum rudiments. I'll then introduce beginner drum books such as Joel Rothman's Basic Drumming. These important tools will set the stage for success in drumming. I'll also introduce music styles and beats they might not be familiar with. The goal is to introduce as many different music styles and beats as possible. For adults and intermediate to advanced players, we will work out of Charlie Wilcoxon's "The All-American Drummer" for snare drum solo's and Gary Chester's "The New Breed" for challenging drum beat exercises. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet

I found my love of teaching music early, while I was still in high school I volunteered my time at my old middle school. Since then I have been teaching music privately and in public schools for the last 9 years. I have helped students of all levels and had private students win auditions in county and district events on the Trumpet. Time with students is the most precious resource you get with them as a teacher so my philosophy is to always be prepared and maximize the time I get with students. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

I believe a well-rounded and practical approach to teaching music-- where students learn to not only read music, but also play freely with chords and scales to create their own music, learn by ear, and improvise. My goal is to help students grow so that they can play music in a personal and rewarding way, and develop the skills they need to play the songs that they love. I use both Piano Adventures and Alfred Premier method book series in my lessons. Read More

Instruments: Cello

For beginning students who are children, I typically start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements for Strings. Once the student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will initiate the practice of beginning scales and arpeggios (Klengel method) to familiarize the student with major and minor scales, different scale modalities, and different key signatures. I will also start them on a progressive melodic musical method book, such as The Art of Cello Playing (Louis Potter), so that they can enjoy playing nice music pieces that could be played later in a recital. Read More