Music Lessons in Mickleton, NJ

Instruments: Drums

For me, the biggest thrill as a teacher comes from watching the enthusiasm on the face of my student who is having fun during their lesson. Creating a positive environment, where the student can learn at a pace that will suit their needs, experience, and goals is one of my highest priorities. Providing each student with a step-by-step curriculum that will give them the necessary skills to develop into a proficient musician is key to keeping the student motivated. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I knew that I wanted to be a teacher before I ever touched a guitar. Growing up in a family of school teachers allowed me to see the broad spectrum of the educaGonal process, from designing lesson plans to filing report cards, and I quickly realized that a teacher doesn’t stop working when the bell rings. Teaching history out of a textbook is one thing...teaching a student to hear the color of an altered dominant chord is a totally different beast. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I keep a "Piano Homework Assignment" Word document for each student on my laptop which I can then email to you after your lesson is over for reference during the week.  A usual assignment would consist of a "Warm Up" section where we focus on hand position or scales or technique, a "Lesson Book" or "Repertoire" section where we work on new pieces or songs, a "Theory" section for written assignments, a "Fun" list for pieces we are done with but want to keep playing just for fun and then a number of special sections depending on student interest.  Special sections might be things like - improvisation, composition, playing by ear, recital or competition prep, exam prep, sight reading, ear training, etc.  I'm comfortable in few method series but I prefer Faber Piano Adventures for typical beginning children and The Music Tree for very young beginners.  I try to make sure each student has a piece they love every week. Read More

Instruments: Cello

As a young child, I was a music nerd, practicing all the time, listening all the time... until practicing started to feel like work and music got competitive. I stopped playing for several years and even when I returned to cello, studying music in college made it feel like I was doing it for all the wrong reasons. Now as I'm healing my relationship with music and building my curiosity and excitement about my instrument, I aim to center joy and enjoyment of music in all of my lessons. Read More

Instruments: Piano Flute

I use the following method books, depending on the age and ability of the student: Alfred, Bastian and John Thompson. For younger students (under eight years old) I usually use the Alfred all in one book.. for older children, I use the Bastian set of four books: piano performance, technic and theory. For adults and teenagers, I use the Alfred all in one adult method book. For gifted students, I use the John Thompson book (the one I learned from). Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Vocal lessons are a bit different, as everyone has sung to some degree, even it's just to themselves! For beginning vocal students, I start by simply teaching a student how to warm up; from there, we work together to determine what a student's natural strengths and weaknesses are and select repertoire that the student is personally interested in that is also appropriate to their level of proficiency. Either way, expect to learn a bit of music theory along the way and to gain an appreciation for both how and why we do what we do. Read More

Instruments: Piano

The methods vary depending on the student. The intent is to find the student's learning style and to teach to the student in whichever way he or she is best able to absorb the material. Read More