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Here are just a few of the many teachers offering Piano lessons in Libertyville . 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 Voice Viola Saxophone
My experience with teaching began in high school, when I taught piano and choir at the pre-k level with a local community group. It was there that I fell in love with helping students learn. Since then, I have privately coached voice and piano, and helped students prepare for auditions or solos. Nothing is more amazing than watching someone achieve their goals and loving every step of the process! Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar
My methods differ depending on a students age and experience level. For the younger students who are just beginning their journey we will learn out of Hal Leonard's books for guitar or Piano Adventures for piano students. As a student progresses we will begin to take the learning outside of these books and more to music theory, technique, and to the application of these practices onto the instrument. For younger students I will make the lesson more fun and interactive, keeping the lesson positive and not viewing it as a chore. Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Music Keyboard
I will then add more performance pieces that they can be proud of performing at recitals, for their friends, etc. I also play games with younger students like music reading flashcards, rhythm video games, and more. For adults, I put a lot of importance on whatever the student wants out of the lesson. If they dont want to learn to read music or want a less formal lesson, then thats okay! Read More
Instruments: Piano
I am flexible and I adapt my method to the student. I like to start students out with learning scales right away. If you can learn the scales, it makes learning new songs so much easier. Plus, they are great excercise for building agility. I also like to use a book called "A Dozen a Day" which includes more excercies for building agility and helping students master more difficult levels of music. Read More
Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Flute Clarinet Double Bass Euphonium French Horn Tuba Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Oboe Bassoon
For beginning students, I typically start with Hal Leanord's Essential Elements. Once the student has a grasp of their instrment and the fundamentals, I will begin to introduce solo repertoire and tecnique exercises. I will try to find out what the student is interested in to help guide my instruction and keep the lessons engaging and fun, no matter the age or ability level. Read More
Instruments: Piano
I typically begin by teaching students how to visiually identify the keys on the piano, as well as notes on sheet music. Then I like to begin to work on finger shape when playing, as well as basic scales. As we continue practicing with the fundamentals, I like to pick simple identifiable songs for students to move into next. Easily recognizable melodies make the learning process easier, more attainable to the student, and fun! Read More
Instruments: Piano Voice Keyboard
While instructing private voice students, I teach the functional approach to singing. This mindset allows the vocalist to focus on singing freely in all genres. I believe it is important to not only teach a wide variety of repertoire, but to also inform my students on vocal health. Along with a functional approach to the voice, I promote a safe and welcoming environment to make music in. If a student does not feel comfortable in the space they are in, then they will not perform to their fullest potential and I would not have completed my job. Read More
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.
25 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 Libertyville to students of all ages and abilities.
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