Music Lessons in Smithville, TX

Instruments: Piano Voice

For Piano students: I teach from Faber and Faber (age appropriate volumes) and encourage a disciplined home practice routine that includes a practice log and weekly goals. Solo pieces added over time. Performances - even if only an in home recital for a few family members and friends - are encouraged about once a semester. For voice students: I teach very tailored lessons to suit individual goals, even if the goal is just to sing better in the shower. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Chris was a member of UNT's A Capella Choir, ranked among the top five undergraduate choirs in the nation. He has worked with numerous acclaimed performers and voice teachers including Laurel Miller, Lella Cuberli, Richard Croft, Dr. Stephen Morscheck and Dr. Stephen Austin. He has led, taught and performed in small singing ensembles that performed vocal music from a variety of genres including 16th-Century Madrigals, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Barbershop. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet Trombone Euphonium French Horn Tuba Music

For older students, especially high schoolers, I like to use a blue book called Foundations for Superior Performance (Warm-Ups and Technique for Band) by Richard Williams and Jeff King as the techniques in that book are more suited for what a high school-level player should be expected to play. As for adults, I recommend Brass Gym as well as books from made by university professors and other professional instrumentalists. Moving beyond warm-ups and technique mastery, I like to find different solos that appropriately challenge and help hone on a skill that my student is focusing on working on. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Saxophone Flute Clarinet Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I usually balances the time by working first on fundamental/technical aspects of the instrument: intonation, articulation, rhythm, and tone; followed by study of the particular student's chosen repertoire, whether it be jazz standards, rock/pop/blues tunes, classical literature or etudes. I believe in teaching students to organize their practice time wisely, isolating specific issues on the instrument. Cultivating personal musical goals with each student is also very important, in order to maximize the student's enjoyment of the time they spend playing. Read More

Instruments: Flute

I have 20 years experience performing and boast a wide variety of musical styles including classical, scottish, rock, and pop. I have been teaching privately for 8 years, beginners through adults. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I believe that as an instructor, it is my goal to take a student who has a general interest in music and develop that interest into a life long passion for being creative with his or her instrument. That being the case, I have found that there is not a one size fits all approach to teaching guitar lessons. I have found that teaching a student successfully has come through analyzing the individual students' interests, goals and skill level and coming up with realistic expectations that can be achieved from one lesson to the next. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Most of my professional tutoring experience has been in mathematics! I tutored in high school, college, and over a year at various agencies. I find the experience has helped me teach my band mates music over the years. There are many transferable skills. I've played in numerous bands over the years ranging from soft indie rock to heavy metal. My catalog of original music is extensive and there are frequently written parts for many instruments. Read More