Music Lessons in Ray, MI

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums

My diverse teaching experience has made me very sensitive to the different needs and interests that students bring to the table. To watch students' musical growth both on a broad scale and in small increments - the excitement of finally executing an exercise, piece, or idea that they have been working through, for instance - is something that brings me great joy and inspires me to motivate them to develop further still. Read More

Instruments: Trombone Euphonium Tuba

At the age of ten, I began my musical adventures with a trombone in my hand. During my primary school days, I was active in music, picking up a number of different instruments, and playing in every ensemble imaginable- from symphony band to brass quintet to big band. After high school I traveled to Western Michigan University, where I began studying bass trombone full time, under the tutelage of Dr. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Synthesizer Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion

I try to cater my lessons to the interest of my students. If a pupil’s passion for music can be harnessed, then developing musical skills can be a simple process. I have a wide variety of material I teach from, including Ted Reed’s syncopation, George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control for the Snare Drummer and basic piano literature. I also use music selected by the student to create custom lessons. Read More

Instruments: Drums

I take everything in steps with students no matter what the age. My biggest approach I take to lessons is figuring out what the student wants to learn. If someone comes to me wanting to dive deeper into the styles of bands like Rush, we might not focus much time on snare solos (for example) because thats not what the student is interested in learning. I'm not saying that snare solos are not important, but I've come to realize that people will work harder at the things they're PASSIONATE about learning and not just the things they "should" learn. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I have been a high school and middle school teacher of the humanities for a couple of years now, which I have greatly enjoyed. In addition to this, I have a couple of piano students, which I taught for a while now. I encourage them to practice consistently at least for a half an hour a day so that they progress faster. In my lessons, I assign a classical piece, scale exercises, and even a pop piece to motivate them so that they not only continue to improve, but also implement what they learned in the pop piece itself. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Trumpet Drums Electric Guitar

My name is Gary and teaching and performing music is my life! I have a wonderful family that loans me out for my music. My wife's name is Sandy and she works for a vet and I have three great children. Read More

Instruments: Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion

For beginner students of any age, I would normally recommend Alfred's Drum Method Book 1, or Joel Rothman's Basic Drumming as they both cover a great intro to reading rythmic notation, proper grip forms, and snare drum method as they also start to incorporate rudiments. It often surprises people that the only purchases REQUIRED for starting to learn drums is: a practice pad, a book, and a pair of sticks (maybe a music stand). Read More