Piano Lessons in Baldwin Park, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice

What musical accomplishments are you most proud of?
Music has taken me to Canada, Mexico, Holland, France, Ireland, Costa Rica and every state in America except Hawaii. I've toured with Reggae legends, Culture and The Itals, have played with The Slackers and Frankie Paul. I've recorded at Daptone Records in Brooklyn, where Amy Winehouse and Sharon Jones made their mark, and at Westlake studios in Hollywood where Thriller and Off The Wall and many other hit records were recorded, as well as at Arlyn Studios in Austin. It has also been my distinct pleasure to be a founding member of The Man Man Chaplains, an Austin institution in which many great local musicians have performed. We have held the longest standing residency in Austin as the house band at Flamingo Cantina since 2007.

What do you think is the hardest thing to master on your instrument?
Rhythmic independence is probably the most difficult skill to master on piano. The best feeling and greatest sign of mastery on a keyboard, at least for me, is the ability to play 2 rhythmically independent parts while singing. The piano is the greatest instrument for expressing a complete composition without accompaniment. It takes clarity of mind, familiarity with the instrument, a natural feel for time in order to accomplish it, but the feeling is remarkably rewarding. Only the piano allows this sort of rhythmic independence. All other instruments are either monophonic or require both hands to play a single rhythm part.

Do you use specific teaching methods or books? (Ex: Alfred, Bastion, Suzuki, Hal Leonard) Why did you choose them if you did?
For very young children I recommend The Yamaha method. Its the method I used to learn at age 5 and it inspired me to play each day from the age of 5 until I was 13 years old, at which point The Yamaha method facilitated my easily moving from piano to saxophone. For teaching adults and working professionals I prefer less strict, more fluid methodology. I would be more inclined to skip the strict teachings of theory and focus more on the verbal and written shorthand more commonly employed by working musicians today.

What is your favorite style/genre of music to play and why?
While I'm grateful for my classical music education, I am a student of contemporary American music and the building blocks of American music are The Blues. The blues inform our chord progressions, melodies, scales, solos and improvisational themes. Jazz, Pop, Swing, Soul, R&B, Rock n' Roll, Country and even Roots Reggae are made up entirely of the music brought from the rural American Southeast to New Orleans and Chicago by Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee, Woody Guthrie, Jimmie Rogers and others. The most useful tools with which one can equip an American musician today are the tools taught to us by the blues.

Does music run in your family? Tell us a little about your musical family members.
My mother played piano and taught ballet when I was a child. She made sure I took up piano and practice daily. My Father played clarinet as a child, then became a guitarist. In college he and his lifelong musical collaborator performed as a blues and folk duo in New York and Massachusetts before returning to Texas. After moving to Austin in the 70s, hehad the House Band at The Armadillos, Balcones Fault. They performed each night that there was no touring headliner and opened for headliners of all kinds, including Jerry Garcia Band, Jimmy Cliff, Frank Zappa and many more.

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