Music Lessons in West Mifflin, PA

Instruments: Saxophone Clarinet

I encourage progress. I love to see students become stronger and more confident musicians. I like to get students as much into "the real world" as possible, so I push for getting students performing as much as they are learning. I separate practice from performance, with an understanding that how a student sheds will be the core of what is possible in a performance setting.  Read More

Instruments: Drums

As far as my methods for teaching I want to learn a little bit about your background in music, what your influences are, what you would like to get out of this, and what you see yourself doing with these lessons in our first meeting(s). From there I will compose a lesson plan on what I think will best suit you to learn everything you need to know. My plan for you will consist of a background on music theory, a learning of rudiments that every drummer should know, as well as ear training. Read More

Instruments: Piano Music

I am a patient and empathetic teacher who puts students' needs first instead of enforcing my ideas on them. I am currently completing my PhD in Music Theory and Composition at the University of Pittsburgh, where I just defended my dissertation for graduation. I did my Masters at Manhattan School of Music in Music Composition. Prior to my PhD studies, I also taught piano and music theory at Brooklyn Musical Arts. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

For all beginning students who are children, but also adult beginners, I like to focus on vocal warm-ups and exercises to ensure that they develop the fundamentals of healthy singing. After getting to know the student's voice a bit, I believe that coaching solo vocal repertoire is essential to building vocal technique and confidence in performing ability for many different situations. When assigning vocal repertoire, I first like to find out what sort of music the student is interested in and also what their goals are in taking voice lessons and assign repertoire accordingly, but I also like to begin with songs from Schirmer's 24 Italian Songs and Arias book to strengthen basic breath support and a vocal line that is connected to good breath support. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar

He also served in the capacity of Director of Career Services, placing students in full-time audio positions. He exceeded government and state placement quotas of 70% in each graduating class. He was recently inducted into the board of directors for SPARS (Society of Professional Audio Recording Services) with Leslie Ann Jones, Audio Director at Skywalker Sound, Kevin Mills at Larrabee West Studios, Tim Butler at Chicago Recording (CRC), Jeff Greenberg at The Village Recorder and Steve Davis at Crawford Communications Atlanta. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Each student is unique, and my teaching style changes to accommodate differences in age, musical background, musical interests, and goals. For younger students, I recommend a shorter 30 minute session, often broken into segments to retain focus with a child's attention span Each lesson begins with review of assigned material and explanation of the next assignment. When a student has enough background to apply to songs / styles they'd like to learn, we move in that direction, usually with some back and forth with the text. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Voice Violin Flute Piccolo Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

My teaching methods are much different than what I grew up with. I remember at times being so worried to go to my lessons. I want my time with the students to be positive, open and understanding. In terms of books and repertoire, I do love using Hal Leonard for beginners. Once fundamentals are in place we can explore repertoire together so that the student is truly learning music they love and enjoy. Read More