Music Lessons in Ogden, PA

Instruments: Piano Organ Keyboard

I am a piano/music teacher with extensive experience of over 45 years. I have been trained as a concert pianist and teacher in Europe and the USA, and graduated with a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Temple University in Philadelphia.  I have over 40 years’ experience as a concert pianist with orchestras, solo recitals, chamber music, and accompaniment, and my extensive training both as a pianist and teacher enables me to teach my students the piano music from Bach to the present.  In my teaching, I focus on the student's needs, ability, talent, and personality and strive to develop his/her potential for excellence.  Also, I emphasize the enjoyment of music and share the beautiful richness of the great music composed in different periods. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

As a beginner, nothing is more satisfying than being able to play recognizable tunes as soon as possible. I typically lay out apatterned tier of simple and well knownmusical phrasesfor a student to gain initial confidence with while introducing basic performance principles. Once the the fundamentals of playingare beginning to click, we will start to customize our approach based on the student's particular goals. Not to worry, many students have a loose idea of what they are striving for at first and their curriculum develops naturally as they master certain skills and knowledge. Read More

Instruments: Trombone

For beginner students, I typically start with the Hal Leonard Essential Elements book. For more advanced students I love using Rochut Melodious Etudes and Arban's Method book. For all students, learning and being comfortable with all scales and keys is an essential fundamental skill I teach. In general, I am open to students bringing material they wish to work on, as long as they are progressing with fundamentals at an appropriate level. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I find teaching only to be effective if the student is intrinsically motivated to learn more: I like to find a groove or pace that the student feels confident and motivated to practice, and I tailor the lessons to address any problem areas without losing their attention. I find short excerpts of lesson material to be the best way to teach. Short and sweet! For example, for a 30-minute class, three 10-minute exercises made up of: a lesson or two from Mel Bay; 1 new chord; and a pop song that combines the two. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginners I like to start with note identification, octaves, and basic open CAGED chords then move to the open minor chords, pentatonic, and major scales next . As students understanding of the fret board develops I try to move these concepts into other position by highlighting relativity and connecting chord shapes as they're highlighted in different scale patterns. In the meanwhile I like to offer students song material relevant to these concepts for practice. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

Michael W. is a violinist whose approach to technical growth is built from the Juilliard school of Ivan Galamian and Dorothy DeLay, combined with the Russian school of Mikhail Kopelman. Michael has won numerous awards and performed in many renowned locations including the Mann Center as well as the Kimmel Center. He has won or placed in several competitions, including the Voorhees Concerto Competition, the Schadt Summer Strings Competition, and The Young Classical Virtuosos of Tomorrow Competition. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

It is important for both me and my student to have long-term and short-term goals. Long-term goals may have to do with technique--for voice, examples may be releasing tension or singing with proper breath support. Short term goals are more linked to repertoire and can be technical or musical. An example on the piano may be playing through a piece with a particular metronome marking. I have each of my students use a practice log so both the student and I can keep track of short-term goals. Read More