Music Lessons in Winters, CA

Instruments: Guitar Ukulele Music Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For beginning students who are children, I typically start with Hal Leonard's Essential Elements. Once the student has progressed to have a grasp of the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce solo repertoire appropriate for their first recital performance. For adults, I try to find out what the student is interested in, and guide my instruction accordingly to keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter their ability level. Read More

Instruments: Violin

I teach mainly out of the string builder series. After the student shows some progress I will introduce some solo pieces and maybe some studies to practice. My method really revolves around the student since everyone advances at their own pace. Some other method books could be Kreutzer, Sevcik, and wohlfhart. Some early pieces I could introduce would be Arcangelos Corelli's violin sonatas. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I love to see my students realize their growth as they work on their singing. The way their faces light up or the way they grow an extra inch with pride simply fills me with joy. I tailor each of my lessons around the student that I am teaching because no two voices are alike. I look for their strengths and help them showcase those and I discover their weaknesses so we can strengthen those. Read More

Instruments: Piano Flute Music

Learning about music involves so much more than technique or scales, but also relies so much on their emotions and mindset. I want to prioritize their own independence within these lessons in regards to choosing their own repertoire or experimenting with their own compositional style so that they can embrace how liberating and fun learning about music and being creative can be, rather than seeing it as a chore! I also want to make sure that their musical journey is built with the right mindset - a lot of the time there is unnecessary toxic, competitive energy within other musicians which defeats the whole purpose of inspirational collaboration that can come from playing music with others. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I've also found that a combination of classical and modern music can go a long way in helping students enjoy the singing and acting and motivate them to practice and continue to learn. If a student isn't having fun in their lessons, then I'm not doing my job! My students are encouraged to enter competitions and recitals, as well as work on composing their own original material, so they can feel good about their accomplishments and stay motivated to learn. Read More

Instruments: Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My teaching style is tailored to however the student learns best. I am very adaptive to the student's focus and will constantly check to see if the current topic we're going over makes sense or if they'd like to move on to something else. I also believe that positive reinforcement is very important and that one should always think positively about every accomplishment big or small. My philosophy is that you are only competing against yourself and that if you are better than you were yesterday, then it is a success. Read More

Instruments: Saxophone Flute Clarinet Synthesizer Music

I also discovered that I had a talent for making my students feel very relaxed during their lessons. I began to go beyond just teaching from one page to the next and started to explore the creative process of creating interesting lessons that would challenge, encourage, and engage, as my teaching style would always be adjusted and adapted to perfectly fit my students' individual learning styles. Since relocating to Northern California in 1999, I have continued to work with a diverse range of ensembles and am currently teaching at two music studios, conducting clinics at local schools, and running a number of small and large group ensembles, including woodwind quintets, sax quartets, jazz combos, and experimental music groups. Read More