Music Lessons in Port Gamble, WA

Instruments: Voice Music

My mission statement is To teach with encouragement, humor, patience, and simple terminology, using applied science and body-awareness, all with the goal of vocal expressiveness. I always create a safe, supportive environment where my students can learn to express themselves through singing effectively. I use the McClosky Technique that employs applied science to help my students to sing with complete relaxation and freedom applied to any style of singing. My philosophy of teaching is based on the fact that working on voice technique is really an athletic process, and follows these principles: o A good voice teacher will let your true voice reveal itself, then follow it wherever it goes with encouragement and well-informed instruction. o A good voice teacher wont jump to conclusions about your voice but listen to how you describe your own experience and take it from there. o A good voice teacher will engage in deep listening with the goal of achieving complete relaxation when singing and speaking. o A good voice teacher will help you learn how to feel your body guiding you. Read More

Instruments: Piano

As a teacher, I will also be a coach to encourage the student to learn rudimentary and theory basics. These will be foundational for development as the student matures. Tactically, lessons will consist of playing for understanding. I look forward to a student questions as it is key for the overall learning process. In some cases, I will have to do some homework for the student!   I believe this combination of style and method provides a strong format to give the student a satisfying and confident background a music career as a soloist or to jump in on jam sessions and perform with others. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion

Most of my students have never played drums before studying with me. With beginners I believe it's most important to learn a good technique for striking the drums as well as introducing the student to fundamental rhythms and musical practices. Many students want to learn to jam immediately and that's great. I suggest learning some basic reading as well as playing by memory and improvising. It is also fun and beneficial for beginners or advanced players to play drums to recorded music. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone

Tracy Knoop, Kareem Kandi, Steve Treseler, Dr. Bob Miller as well as NYC based saxophonist Braxton Cook. I am fortunate enough to have been able to play on live radio for a total of 5x as a student at PLU with the Faculty Jazz group and alongside my band 322 which is still going strong. Along with playing in 322, I do work with some producers diving into more genres that incorporate jazz such as some lofi hip-hop and funk. 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: Guitar Voice Trumpet Harmonica Ukulele Recorder Acoustic Guitar

I taught high school band and choir as well as K-5 music education for 35 years. In the public school I have directed musical dramas and up to 4 concerts a year with students of all ages. In the classroom, I taught group piano, recorder, voice, group guitar, many different types of dances and ear training. I did my best to make the lessons fun and my students always looked forward to their weekly music class. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet

I'm a gentle person who believes in exposing my students to the best music, and bringing out of them the music they have within. The idea is to ease their frustrations, not add to them. As long as the student actually tries, I feel confident they will enjoy the wxperience and learn a great deal. Music is one of life's greaat pleasures and worth every bit of the effort required to do it well. Read More