Music Lessons in Park City, IL

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

I really enjoy watching the week to week progress of a motivated student and sharing in their passion for the wonderful art of music! I remember when I was a young student and didn't understand why my teacher was having me prepare all those scales and arpeggios? Why couldn't he just make me play better. Well I realized many years later that it just didn't work that way. I had to practice the scales because just like professional sports teams work on fundamentals all the time to keep playing well, so do musicians need to work on fundamentals. Read More

Instruments: Piano

My teaching dates back to my high school days, as I began teaching private lessons in my students' homes. I learned as I went along the different ways to engage different types of students, and I loved seeing the growth from week to week. I've found that my students took a lot of pride in learning to play a song they thought was too difficult for them, or in overcoming a specific hurdle. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Drums Bass Guitar

I adjust my teaching based on the particular student. For adults I take the lessons in whatever direction they like. Subjects covered are more often than not dictated by the student's interest. For children I do take their interests into account but also guide them towards getting better at their instrument. Reading music is an important thing for all my students. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I have a very hands-on teaching style. My style is very "goal-oriented," and I will teach students to set short-term goals, medium goals, and then demonstrate to them how reaching the short and medium-term goals leads to accomplishing long-term goals. This system allows students to remain motivated and track their progress as efficiently as possible. As a visual learner, I find it's extremely beneficial to teach shapes and how they can be manipulated to better serve a musical purpose along with the theory behind the shapes themselves. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer Keyboard

I combine the technique, expression, and performance practices from my teaching line of musical masters with more modern teaching methods to give students a well-rounded music education. I cater each lesson to the individual needs and interests of the student, while giving them a strong technical foundation and fostering their love of music. I use scales, arpeggios, and other methods to help build technique. I also want the student to enjoy what they are performing, so I often ask the student if there are pieces they would like to learn and do my best to find an arrangement suitable to their level of difficulty. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Ukulele Mandolin Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Music is not a sport. Learning music takes patience, from the student and the teacher, and time. The joy of music comes from continually moving forward, and ever closer, to the ultimate goal of learning a song or piece and having the confidence to perform in front of family, friends, and even fans. No two students learn the same way, and will never sound alike, no matter how hard they try. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For my beginner students who are children I typically start out with either Hal Leonard or Fabre lesson books to learn all the very important foundational keys in music. As I notice they are grasping the concepts and able to apply them I then like to find outside resources such as sheet music, classical, pop to allow them to enjoy and discover what they love most. When it comes to my beginner adult students I usually start them off in the Fabre adult beginner book. Read More