Piano Lessons in Ellsworth, PA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Drums Ukulele Recorder French Horn Piccolo Orchestral Percussion Keyboard Electric Guitar Djembe

My students describe me as passionate, creative, interesting, and fun! After getting my bachelor's degree in music education from University of Maryland, I taught general, band, and strings in Montgomery County in Maryland. Then I taught ukulele, keyboard, drums, guitar, band, and choir in Dayton, Ohio. Now I am excited to teach lessons in Pittsburgh. While my main instrument is saxophone, where I teach all levels, I love to teach beginners on a variety of instruments, from voice and piano to keyboard and djembe! Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard

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 Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Ukulele Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My lessons are relaxed, and very informative. I want students to look forward to lessons every week! I want to know what inspires each student and cultivate their strengths and allow them to progress at a pace that is comfortable for them. I approach my lessons with a positive attitude, and I like to approach each student with an open mind, and to create an environment that lets them know it's OK to make mistakes and to struggle. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For young beginners, I like to use the Faber and Faber series. They do a wonderful job incorporating reading, listening, and writing into the curriculum. I also think creativity is a huge part of music. I love asking students to write their own songs. When I play their compositions on the piano, their reactions are priceless! For older beginners, advanced students, and voice students I use a similar approach but with supplemental materials. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Music

For all beginning students who are children, but also adult beginners, I like to focus on vocal warm-ups and exercises to ensure that they develop the fundamentals of healthy singing. After getting to know the student's voice a bit, I believe that coaching solo vocal repertoire is essential to building vocal technique and confidence in performing ability for many different situations. When assigning vocal repertoire, I first like to find out what sort of music the student is interested in and also what their goals are in taking voice lessons and assign repertoire accordingly, but I also like to begin with songs from Schirmer's 24 Italian Songs and Arias book to strengthen basic breath support and a vocal line that is connected to good breath support. Read More

Instruments: Piano Music

Over the past 13 years, I have taught piano, music theory, and music composition to a diverse group of learners, including school-age children, college students, and adults of distinct backgrounds. From 2014-2018 I received the Graduate Teaching Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, where I led piano courses for non-Music majors, and held weekly recitations and office hours for required courses for Music majors. This encompassed instruction in counterpoint, musical form, harmonic analysis, training students on dictation and sight-singing, as well as providing help with digital audio software. Read More

Instruments: Piano Music Keyboard

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing 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 students desire to progress, and makes students eager to learn more. By trying to find out what inspires the student, I can successfully customized my instruction to their interest and needs. Read More