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24 Years
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41,456+
Happy Customers
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Cities with Students
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Teachers in Network
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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Avondale . Whether you are looking for beginner guitar lessons for your kids, or are an adult wanting to improve your skills, the instructors in our network are ready to help you now!
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Synthesizer Harmonica Lap Steel Guitar Banjo Ukulele Mandolin Recorder Conga Latin Percussion
I started playing acoustic folk styles in 1962 and added 60's rock and more as time went on. I joined my first rock band in 1965 and have now played all styles of rock, blues, folk, country, bluegrass, jazz, and contemporary Christian and worship music. I also play and teach bass and other stringed fretted instruments, keyboards, and drums and percussion. I began teaching private music lessons in 1968 and began teaching professionally in 1989 at AZ Bible College. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Classical Guitar
I can help you overcome the obstacles of the fret board and keyboard. I plan to support you and find creative ways to help you learn. I will help you read and write music, as it is a language which conveys emotion and energy. I will help you organize your practice approach so you can be efficient and maximize your gains. I have a wide variety of experience learning from top professionals within classical guitar, classical piano, jazz studies, and composition. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard
I have taught in the Mesa Public School District as an Accompanist/Vocal Coach since 1996. I currently work at Mountain View High School and teach Extensive Sight-reading, Vocal Training and Accompany all eight choirs on the piano/keyboard. I am also on staff as a Music Literacy Instructor/Accompanist for the Phoenix Children's Chorus since 1996 and have had the opportunity to direct and accompany our choirs on 21 tours to date within the US and Internationally. Read More
Instruments: Piano
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing one of my students develop a passion for music! Therefore, it's important that each student progresses at his or her own pace. I encourage this by setting realistic goals for my students at each lesson. Acknowledging accomplishments helps fuel a students desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. By trying to find out what inspires the student, I can successfully tailor my instruction to their wants and needs.. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice
I have been teaching music since 1984, from private piano lessons for people of all ages to coaching voice and teaching beginning violin to college classes in piano and music theory. In the past two years, I have had the opportunity to present music clinics to elementary age children at the Tempe Public Schools through Kid Zone, the City of Tempe's enrichment program as a specialty instructor. I am currently in the teaching certificate program for Elementary Education through Rio Salado College. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Cello Drums Bass Guitar Ukulele Mandolin Double Bass Music Keyboard Djembe
I have worked with students aging from 6 with no training to 55 with 30 years of training. Every student is different and presents unique challenges. I find that the less a student know the easier it is to see improvement. Often with older players there are fundamental basics that are working against them that need correction. You can not unlearn something, only learn something knew. The most important thing in music education is starting them right because muscle memory is extremly hard to change. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin
For piano beginners I use the Faber book series. I prefer these books because it gives a mixture of theory and technique that I think is essential to learn at an early stage. For violin beginners I prefer to use the Suzuki Method books. These books are great because they get the student playing quickly, while still introducing the foundations of basic theory for reading music. Beginning guitar is a little more flexible depending on the students goals and the style they would like to learn. Read More
Instruments: Voice
What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
1) Repetition, repetition, repetition. Break apart the piece into its individual components (rhythm, notes, words) and only start assembling it when each element is solidly and independently learned. Can you self-conduct the rhythms? Can you speak the rhythms on words? It's easier for the brain to process simpler tasks, and approaching the music from many different directions helps memory. 2) Distributed practicing. Practice for 15 minutes here and there throughout each day, with the intent of accomplishing a specific task or goal. If you have this kind of focus, it's easier to actually get things done, and you won't get bored and tired cramming music for 4 or 5 hours, once a week, which is horrible for memory and technique.
How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
A child can start learning about the voice at anytime, however it takes the vocal folds a while to mature. To avoid serious injury or longterm vocal health issues, it's best to wait to begin formal lessons until the student is 13 or older. Sometimes, if the student is younger than 14, people recommend learning the basics of music and performance through another instrument, like the saxophone or piano. This helps the child become a good musician before their voice is ready to take voice lessons in the studio. If the passion is there in high school, there's no reason they shouldn't pursue lessons.
When will I start to see results?
Lessons develop voices, but they also develop confidence, musicianship, and responsibility in the student. Results are determined by the effort expressed in lessons and when practicing at home. Students obtain new ways to use and think about their voice during the first lesson, and results could theoretically begin to manifest from this first hour or half hour in the studio. However, real and longterm change takes time, and every learns at different paces. There shouldn't be pressure to be perfect right away--there's a lot to learn!
Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
The methods of my lessons are lightly adapted from the teachings of my own instructor and mentor, W. Stephen Smith. He has had tremendous success with his students, who have gone onto garner some of the biggest professional careers in opera and musical theater today. He developed several "inventions" that work to disentangle the vocal apparatus and, in doing so, help to free the voice and musical expression behind it. His methods are universal, easily adjustable for each student, proven to work, and fun.
If you weren't a musician what do you think you'd be doing instead?
I have always had a passion for writing, and if I didn't choose to be a musician, I may have studied to become and author of fiction. Even now, it's a hobby of mine to read and write. This is an asset in the studio and practice room, because singing is a language art. The biggest difference between the voice and any other instrument is, of course, the ability to use words. An easy and clear delivery of text is a goal of mine every time I sing, because, without words, I might as well be playing any other instrument! I indulge in the luxury.
24 Years
Since We Started
41,456+
Happy Customers
10,769
Cities with Students
3,123
Teachers in Network
Trusted as the industry leader, for over 21 years the teachers in our network have been providing Piano lessons in Avondale to students of all ages and abilities.
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