Piano Lessons in Clay Center, OH

Instruments: Piano Oboe Bassoon

I come from a family of teachers, and I started sharing my love of music with family and friends at a very early age. I was section leader in high school and assistant concert master at a local church orchestra. During and after college, I worked with a company that provided group piano lessons at Detroit Public Schools. A nearby high school band recruited me to tutor their double reeds section. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Viola Bass Guitar Synthesizer Banjo Ukulele Mandolin Lute Electric Violin Fiddle Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

I take the great things about the Suzuki Method and use them (fun, creativity, by-ear learning, group jams). Then I take the things I don't like about the method and disregard them (pre-established repetoire, no composition or improv). I teach kids how to concentrate, how to teach themselves, how to ignore distractions, and the philosophy for joyful performance without nervousness. The result has been that I have trained hundreds of children to have fun playing music well, plus four of my child students have become national acts. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For very young beginning students, I typically start with Faber Piano Adventures, and for older beginners, the Faber Accelerated Piano Adventures or Hal Leonard Adult Learner Series. Once the student has shown an understanding of basic theory and technique, classical repertoire will be introduced, along with level appropriate arrangements of the student's choice music. It's important that the student is taught how to practice a piece effectively to continue growing musically in between lessons, so that lessons can be used to find areas for improvement, and to learn new concepts and material. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

Anyone can learn to sing through persistence, hard work, and healthy practice. Singing helps improve lung capacity, diaphragm muscles, immune system strength, and relieves stress. Reading and performing music also exercises the same areas of the brain that handle math, language, and critical thinking. For my younger students, I focus on breathing, proper posture, and the fundamentals of music. For my older students, I work on correct technique, languages, musical analysis, advanced repertoire, as well as appropriate repertoire they want to work on. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Music

My methods are adaptable based on the student's previous or current instruction with private teachers or their school teachers. For all students I love to play along and model concepts for them. I involve a lot of kinesthetic movement based lessons along with visual and aural aids. I get to know the type of learner my student is and then plan my instruction to fit their learning style. I am a fan of etudes and short technical exercises as well as long tones for intermediate to advanced students. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I also am a strong believer in technique. All of my vocal students will be working on breathing technique. When you are a vocalist, your body is your instrument, and you must know how to produce sound correctly and healthily in order to be as successful as possible. As for pianists, my teaching ability is for beginner and intermediate students only. I truly believe that theory is a very important aspect of piano playing, and I will probably begin with a book that has a theory aspect to match the playing assignments, as I did with my past piano students. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Banjo 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. I am able to teach any genre at any level. Read More