Music Lessons in Leschi, WA

Instruments: Piano

I am easygoing to every student I meet. Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music! Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a student's desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn and practice more. By trying to find out what inspires the student, I can successfully tailor my instruction to their wants and needs. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion

Proficiency in reading music is a top goal for my new students and we start to read music within the first few lessons. I balance working out of a book with listening exercises, playing along to songs and the occasional game or two. A typical 60 minute lesson run down: 5 minutes - check in from previous lesson and a warm up 15 minutes - beat/groove workshop - digging into a style and working on various drum beats in that style 10 minutes - technical piece that relates to the beats/grooves weve been working on and some exercises to improve technique 5 minutes - game or improvisation break, something to give our brains a rest 20 minutes - working on a song. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

I first started teaching saxophone lessons while in high school in Ferndale, WA. I was still taking private lessons at the time; as my skill level advanced, my teacher saw my potential as a teacher and started referring some beginning students to me. Throughout college, I gained experience working with youth and adult students of all levels. As I gained more experience teaching and continued my own musical studies, I became a better, more confident teacher. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice

My teaching methods depend on the instrument, age and experience of the student, and the goals for the lessons. Every student will develop a solid base of fundamentals and music reading that grows into study of a variety of styles of music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Trombone

For beginning brass players I generally start out with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements series of books. After going through that, with some other material on the side, such as performance pieces, etc, they would progress to the Arban book (at around high school age for the student who began in sixth grade, as I did). For piano, I much prefer starting out with basic fundamentals, but not to any specific method, in contrast to brass. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music

I have taught in the classroom, small group settings as well as one on one in both piano and drumset. My favorite thing about music instruction is connecting with the students on a musical and personal level.  I started studying piano at the age of 5, making it my career as a teacher after college and into adult life. Choosing to focus more on drumset and percussion studies at the age of 11, I then studied Percussion Studies in College, playing in many bands and in multiple styles. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion

I have been playing drums since I was twelve years old and have performed in many rock and jazz bands. I studied music in college and graduated with a Master of Music Degree in Percussion Performance from San Francisco State University in 1992. Since then I have continued to perform in local rock, jazz and blues groups as well performing with the Berkeley Symphony, The Santa Rosa Symphony and others. Read More