Music Lessons in St Paul, MN

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I have great joy in seeing my students succeed! When you succeed, I succeed. Together we are a team! I will correct you on the spot when there is an error, so you don't keep doing an incorrect guitar hand gesture. Skills my students learn with me include sight-reading, discovering new genres and improvisation. The sky is the limit! I will work on your songs (orginal or covers) with you to develop your skills. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

For beginning students, I like to focus for the first few weeks on playing scales and songs without written music, and I continue to incorporate learning by at any level. When I begin using written music I use the Accent on Achievement or Essential Elements method (I am also comfortable with other standard elementary methods and would be happy to use whatever method a student's band director is using), which is a good place to start whether or not the student already reads music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

Throughout the past 10 years, I have taught neighborhood kids and friends how to play the piano both beginning and intermediately. I like to encourage everybody that consistency is the key to learning (for beginners). Not necessarily practicing for long periods of time, but frequently. Better to practice for 10-15 minutes three to five times per day than for an hour or two all at once. I've found that the best foundation comes from scales. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

It is vital to show every student how talented they are. I set students up for success by giving them goals that are objective, acheivable, and flexible. Students should know exactly what I expect for the next lesson, so they can be be prepared. My goals for students are never to frustrate them, but challenge them to be better than they thought they could be. I like to leave each lesson with specific goals, but these goals have lots of room for "extra credit," meaning that students can experiment on thier own time with the exercises, allowing them to develope thier own unique musical style. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I teach students technique, theory, Classical repertoire, and also whichever contemporary pieces they would like to learn. I can learn almost any style and teach it by ear. So in a typical lesson we will start with some scales or technique, move on to some Bach or Mozart, and then try something by ear. Some examples of songs I’ve been working on with students lately are: Chopin c minor Waltz, Sibelius opus 76 Etude, Prince purple rain, Motley Crew home sweet home, Duke Ellington A train, and La Nieve-which my own composition- But classical training is the basis where it all starts Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard

Methods change depending on a student's level.  I want a beginner to feel completely comfortable being a beginner.  We start with the basics and I adjust material to personal levels of development.  If you have previous experience, we will use the first lesson to assess technique and repetorie and advance from there.  I am aware of several piano workbooks that take you from beginner to level four, these are not always the best for every student. Read More

Instruments: Trumpet

For the first couple lessons I try to gauge how advanced students are in their studies. From then on, I choose material that is feasible and challenging so that students grow accordingly. A lot of learning comes from persistence and practice, so that is a must when it comes to learning with me! I try to find out what motivates the student and what makes them so interested in trumpet and go off of that. Read More