Music Lessons in Winchester Center, CT

Instruments: Guitar Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Melody (lead) playing is not essential, but encouraged, as I believe it is a viable and gratifying skill. Supplemental books are helpful and encouraged, but not required, as is music theory and sight reading (standard notation). Many books will include technical studies such as theory, which can certainly be helpful. Playing by ear is very helpful and useful, and I do utilize that. The abundance of online instructional videos can also be a supplement, as are other websites that use tablature (tab) notation, which I also use. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola

I teach students of all levels including adult students. I am a traditional teacher in that I focus on laying a secure foundation to prevent any unnatural habits from blocking the students progress in the future and helping the student become completely independent of the teacher. The student learns the skills necessary to teach themselves. I use a structured approach that involves a set of criteria that the student memorizes and is able to use as a checklist of issues to watch out for when practicing. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I have been teaching for 10 years, both privately and in schools. I have taught voice, piano, acting, general music education and directed choirs. I emphasize a performance based approach to music. I believe that communication is the essence and purpose of music, and good technique cannot be divorced from performance. I find that creating an warm, open, non-judgmental environment in lessons allows my students to get in touch with the meaning of the music and allows them to add their own personality to their piece to create a truly individual interpretation and performance. Read More

Instruments: Piano Organ Accordion Keyboard

My basic teaching philosophy is "If a student can't learn the way I teach I will teach the way they learn". It's a personalized approach. For children I typically start with John Thompson's Teaching Little Fingers To Play as a basic piano lesson book. When the student starts progressing to the point where they can play fairly well I try to explore others books and songs that may interest them and keep them motivated. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I have been teaching piano lessons since I was in middle school and now have built 10 years of experience in piano instruction. Encouraging regular practice and a consistent schedule is one of the key points I like to emphasize in all students; as it leads to steady, tangible progress visible to both the students and the parents. During my time at Central Michigan University, I was employed by the school's Community Music School where I would teach five students a semester through the university. Read More

Instruments: Guitar

I like the Hal Leonard Guitar Method series, for guitar. I also use scales, picks, fingerstyle methods, and backing tracks to help get the students up to speed on a song or a riff they'd like to learn. It's important to understand the background of music, so I tend to also teach students the structure of a 12-bar blues progression and relate it to songs of yesterday and today. This enables students to get a well-rounded introduction to understanding timing, tempo, basic theory/progressions, improvisational ideas, and more! Read More

Instruments: Cello

I have been teaching private lessons since my undergraduate days, working in public schools in private studios and independently. I offer lessons to cello students of all ages in and around Red Hook. I have extensive experience teaching students ranging elementary school-aged to retired. My priority is to keep in mind that each student has different needs and strengths. Students can expect that I will find ways of teaching that work for them, challenging them while showing them the beauty and fun of playing the cello. Read More