Music Lessons in Nicolaus, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer Keyboard

If you’ve tried and failed, or even if you’ve never touched a piano, Smiley can teach you. And, you’ll have fun doing it because with my easy approach to learning, you will start playing the songs you like from day one, not practicing endless scales all the time, and boring music language that would be difficult to understand the first day. With my easy learning how to play approach, you would lean your first song and be able to play it, over and over until you learn a new song to share. Read More

Instruments: Piano Cello

I am originally from Guanajuato, Mexico and in my last year of high school, I decided to take private piano lessons with a local teacher and it was during this time period that I learned classical pieces by Beethoven and Mozart. I also took music notation and I tried a hand at composing, discovering a new way to communicate in terms of music.After moving to the USA, I resume my music education, learning new concepts on classical, blues and pop styles, as well as chord progression and accompaniment pieces. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion

i've been playing drums for 17 years. I am originally from New York where I worked as a drummer, educator, and then a professional in the music products industry. I graduated from Five Towns in 2009 with a bachelors degree in Jazz Commercial Music. Durning my time in college I expanded my musical palette adding swing, Latin, concert mallet percussion, drumline, and afro-cuban. I was also working with 3 original bands touring the trio-state area and releasing independent albums. Read More

Instruments: Piano

My goal is always to encourage students through their musical journey by honing in on their strengths while also addressing areas they can improve upon. At each lesson, I make very clear goals for each student to work on for their next meeting with me. I always like to supplement their lesson material with music that speaks to the student's interest, be that something more jazzy or from a pop artist. Read More

Instruments: Piano Flute

In addition to working with standard repertoire and method books, I devise my own exercises to help with breath control, tone production, rhythm, aural skills, and other topics. I dedicate particular time and attention to the areas where I believe each individual student can benefit the most (e.g., tone quality, counting, etc.). For young students, I like to incorporate music games and improvisation into my teaching, both of which help the student develop essential musical skills in a fun, relaxed way. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar

When it comes to teaching, I find the most important thing is that we work towards the goal of what the student wants to learn - in the case of their preferred styles/genres of music, and the songs that they really enjoy. Every student has their own individual skill level and pace that can be developed and worked around. First, I would find out the level of skill and musical interests of the student, then I would create a lesson plan utilizing all of the tools at my disposal - both from my personal experience and from other educational sources, such as: Blues books, Rock books, Classical guitar/piano books, theory books, and tablature books, or music from popular bands. Read More