Piano Lessons in Mount Vernon, NY

Instruments: Piano Organ Accordion Keyboard

It is important to me that I pay attention to a student during a lesson to see what confuses them, what excites them and what frustrates them. I go at their pace. When a student shows a lot of interest and is practicing regularly I will try and challenge them as much as I think they can handle. Children and adult students need to know they are making progress. And I am a great encourager. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I believe strongly in approaching each student with a blank slate. This means that, before even considering a workbook or a songbook, I take the time to learn from my student about what makes him or her most excited about music. If I find out that my student loves the theme song from La La Land, we're going to learn that! If he or she wants to understand how it's possible for a major scale and a natural minor scale to share the exact same notes, then we'll explore it, not only theoretically, but practically. Read More

Instruments: Piano

Simply I make it as interesting, as it was for me in my childhood. Which means not only playing, but listening the recordings of the famous musicians, reading the stories behind the compositions, making the piano study larger than only skills, but learning how to understand and interpret music. We will use some poetry to compose a simple songs, student will have assignment not only to practice piano, but while listening music at home, to find a recordings (youtube) that would be a strong attraction for student to learn a certain music or certain styles . Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

I'm a passionate coach who loves to work with students on expanding their craft and love for music. A 2009 graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in Composition and Vocal Pedagogy, I've worked in musical theatre for the past 15 years. Notable credits include MJ:The Musical (Broadway - Winner of 4 Tonys and nominated for a Grammy), Knoxville (Asolo Rep - with Ahrens Flaherty/Frank Galati - Nominated for a Grammy), Passing Through, Cyrano (Goodspeed Musicals), 42nd Street (Riverside theatre), In The Heights, Man of La Mancha (PCPA in California), Sweeney Todd (Ensemble Theatre - Santa Barbara, CA) among many others. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass Music Keyboard

It is very important to set a high standard of playing and technique, so that learning is constantly happening. That said, that standard should be approached with compassion and humor, casting the lifelong pursuit of virtuosity an exciting challenge even when it's frustrating. Especially with youth, cultivating a positive attitude and discipline is a key to success. This can be done through musical study. It is important to me to keep the student engaged, and be clear about their motivations for studying: their parents and their own unique drive. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Trumpet Trombone Clarinet Euphonium Tuba

For beginning students, I always start by learning the notes on the staff that corresponds with their specific instrument. Knowledge and confidence of this is crucial to the learning process. Next, I pick a method book to work through to learn the fundamentals. For trombone, I use Rubank's "Elementary Method." It is a great progressive studies that has great explanations, exercises, etudes, duets, mini-solos, scales studies, and more for young students. Read More

Instruments: Piano

It also renders the process of initial keyboard orientation, the learning of musical notation, and the gradual understanding of their their body and hand movement during performance become a fun experience. For younger beginners I usually use books that feature simple arrangements of children songs and folk tunes as the basic musical material. For teenagers and adult beginners I use classical piano methods such as Beyer, Bach's Anna Magdalena Notebook, easy pieces by Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, and Bela Bartok's Mikrokosmos. Read More