Music Lessons in Washington, DC

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

If you play more than one instrument, how did you decide to start playing the second? (Or 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc)!
I first learned how to play the guitar but, as often happens, there were 2 other guitar players wo were better than I was at the time, so I "became" the bass player. Over the years, I got better at bass and so that became my primary instrument. But I nver lost interest in guitar and still do most of my practicing on that. I learned the ukulele a few years ago because my daughter liked it and wanted to learn. I became enamored of the uke when I discovered its potential as an orchestral instrument.

If you have a Music Degree, what is it in (Performance, Education, Musicology, Theory, Composition, etc) and why did you choose that degree?
I don't have a music degree but I can help students in all of these areas.

When did you decide to become a professional musician? Was it a gradual decision or was there a defining moment for you?
It was gradual. I never stopped playing and wanting to play better. So, eventually, I got good enough to make some money at it and, then, to take on teaching as another way to apply what I knew.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
No one else in my family is a musician. My mother loved music and have played piano at one time. She encouraged me to take piano lessons when I was too young to make that sort of commitment, although I would sometimes try to play it and "compose" my own pieces just because I liked the sound of the piano and sort of dreamed of being a musician. Eventually this led me to want to play the trumpet, which got me started really learning music. I was influenced more by friends and the desire to play in a band.

What is your dream piece to perform and why?
I worked out an arrangement of "Black Orpheus" in classical guitar, which I love to play and dream about making it better and better, On bass, I've played for years and tried to master "Lopsey Lu" by Stanley Clarke.

If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
If I were not a musician, I would be a philospher and philosophy/humanities professor, as I am anyway. Without the musician part of my life, I would probably have pursued some other artistic avenue like poetry or literature. Of course, like many musicians, I have had other careers going on, too. I worked in business world for many years doing sales and hman resources.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
Most of my performing experience has been as a bass player and singer in rock and country bands. So I guess these are my favorite styles to play. However, I like playing jazz, blues, folk and classical styles on guitar, too.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
As I said above, I use the Berklee series for guitar because it not only offers a credible and practical method of learning both the guitar and music, generally, the duets and multi-part arrangements sound really good once the student has mastered them. They are designed so the student learns all of the parts, giving then experience playing the lead (melody) part as well as chord accompaniment, counter-melodies and bass parts. For teaching beginning bass I use one of the Hal Leonard methods best suited to the student interests and level. For more advanced students I have used methods by Chuck Rainey, Carol Kaye or Ray Brown. These are well-accepted methods, developed by very famous bass players. I also use "Scott's Bass Lessons", a whole website and Academy developed by Scott Devine.

What does a normal practice session look like for you?
I practice almost every day. Because of my changing schedule I don't always have a specific block of time set aside. Playing is almost like therapy for me, so I often will pick it up because I heard something or feel something that makes me want to express myself musically. Once started, I have a set of exercises or maybe just improvisations that I work through. One thing leads to another and I'll spend an hour or more practicing a song or embellishing it until I'm satisfied. Other times I will work on a specific piece that I am learning for a band or to support a student.

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