Piano Lessons in Alexandria, VA

Instruments: Piano Trumpet Flute Clarinet Double Bass

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
I teach my students to practice in chunks. When they try to practice a song in it's entirety they tend to forget what mistakes they made and what to work on, but when they take a song and practice it line by line they know exactly what they played wrong and it allows repetition to make sure they get it correctly. Once they get down the lines separately you start adding them together and working on making sure the transitions are smoothed out. After that we put it all together and I encourage them to play it for their family and friends.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
I have taught students as young as 3 years old, as long as they can sit still for a half an hour and show an interest in music I think it's never to early to learn!

When will I start to see results?
This is a hard question because there are many different variables that go into it. It depends on how quickly they pick up on the material, how much they practice, how long their lesson time is, etc. Generally I have them reading music well within the first couple months and able to sight read with in a few months after that. I get them into a fundamental book usually after 3 or 4 months and start working on songs that they are interested in around the same time. If they practice everyday, and/or have a natural raw talent for music you can usually cut that time in half. After about a year they are ready to start more in depth theory and they start creating their own little tune if that is something they are interested in. We'll also start getting into more complicated pieces such as Fur Elise.

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
I have had a few music teachers that inspired my different interests, passions, and love for music. First of course was Ms. Maryanne. She was my first music teacher, she taught me piano from when I was 7 all through college! Next was my middle school band teachers, Ms. Grimes and Mr. Simpson. They taught me my love for trumpet and bass! Ms. Grimes was also my mentor when I teaching at flute and clarinet at her school. Ms. Napoli was the teacher who made me want to be a teacher myself. She is amazing and inspiring. I decided to go to Radford, because that was where she went and everyone there took me under their wing because a lot of the older students knew her. I had amazing experiences and learned so much from these people. I owe a lot of who I am to their guidance and shining examples!

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
Honestly, I have been playing piano so long I don't remember if I chose it or if my parents chose if for me. I just know that I loved it so much I've stayed with it and practice all the time. Trumpet is a different story, I actually didn't choose trumpet, trumpet chose me. My middles school had an instrument zoo where you got to come in and see if you had an affinity towards any of the instruments. Trumpet wasn't even on the list of instruments I wanted to try, but I had difficulties getting sound out of most of the instruments at the time, so they decided to hand me a trumpet and it sang! That feeling was very powerful and I keep it with me to this day.

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
I'd have to say going on tour in college with some of my jazz band friends was one of the most rewarding things I have done. We played at many different locations, and in between we stopped at some different schools that were running music programs and would preform for them as well. It was a good time, we made some good money, and we got to share our passion of jazz music with a younger generation. We would have little workshops with some of the more interested students after the performances to give them some tips and tricks for different jazz styles.

Have any of your students won awards or been selected for special honors? How have they succeeded?
I have helped my students audition for many different awards, honor bands, all state bands, and college programs. I've even had a student win an award for a composition that I helped her with. If they have something that they want to audition for or I hear about an award I think would be perfect for them I will help them in every way possible because I love seeing my students succeed!!

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
I play a good number of instruments, but I feel the hardest hurdle is learning the initial techniques. Once you have a strong basis to go from it makes the rest of the learning process much easier.

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