Piano Lessons in Azusa, CA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Ukulele Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

One of the first questions I ask a new student is what music they are currently listening to and what piece they would like to learn. Sometimes they are shy and I don't really get an answer out of them but after they become comfortable with me I get an idea of what they want to learn. To my shocking surprise many kids from this modern era have no clue who John Lennon or Bob Dylan are and it is essential for me to expose them to all sorts of music from Bach to The Beatles to Chopin and The Cure! Read More

Instruments: Piano Cello

I hold various Principal 'cello positions, co-founded the Polish Music Reference Center at USC with Wanda Wilk, in the 1980's; co-founded Symphony 47 with Floyd Clark and had my New American Quartet for over 18 years, which also toured England, in 1997. I performed many overseas concerts; was Yo Yo Ma's pre-concert lecturer at the Wadsworth in 1994; coached Samuel L. Jackson for his movie role as a 'cello playing cop in 2000, and performed with Herbie Hancock in a World Peace concert in 2008, with my quartet. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

To be honest, I didn't become serious about teaching in the arts until I went to graduate school from 2019 - 2022. There, I co-taught a class in the winter 2022 to undergraduates and realized I enjoyed teaching a variety of artists and helping them to feel more open in sharing their art and artistic practices. When I graduated, I knew that the next logical and intuitive step for me was teaching. Not only do I want to help others achieve their goals, I also feel that teaching pays homage to all of the mentors and teachers I've had throughout my life. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola Saxophone Flute Clarinet Oboe English Horn Acoustic Guitar

Music is experienced ears-first, and that's how I prefer to teach. I certainly teach everyone to read music if they don't already know how, but I really like to help people hear the music they want to make. This is done through listening assignments, playing with my students during lessons, some music memorization, and singing. I also incorporate a lot of improvisation games to get students making sounds pressure-free and help them access their inner expressive voice. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet

Jazz, Improvisation, Musicianship, Technique, Functional Piano. Topics also included are 1) Breathing 2) Phrasing 3) Articulations 4) Scale Studies 5) understanding Chord Symbols 6) Chord Symbols and there related chord scales 7) Harmonic and Melodic anaylsis. For more advance players I like to introduce them to Aebersol play-along, Berklee method books and lennies Nehaus to work on phrasing and articulation for the student that plans on playing in a jazz band at school. For beginner students who usually are Children or sometimes adults who have maybe never played a musical instrument I will typically start with Hal leonard or Rubank method and once the student has grasp some of the fundamentals I will begin to either introduce Solo material ( Classical) or if thier interest is in Popular Music-Jazz start learning to play either some Blues and Standards depening upon the path the student is interested in. Read More

Instruments: Piano

Music as always been part of my life from an early age. My journey began when I started playing the violin in band. That soon transition into the alto saxophone, which I played for a few years, and then the guitar. I settled on the piano during my days in high school. I learned self-taught, but quickly fell in love with music theory, which has guided me to where I am today. Read More

Instruments: Piano Keyboard

I have been playing the piano since the age of 8. I always loved learning new music and I try to pass that love on to my students. I work with them to practice efficiently and to bring out the best in them. I love working with adults as well as children and about half of my class are adults. I try to have a good sense of humor with all my students. Read More