Piano Lessons in Noe Valley, CA

Instruments: Piano

I cannot emphasize how much I enjoy the process of creating and reinventing activities, which requires close observation and deep understanding and familiarity of the student's personality, background, attitude and aptitude, preferences, learning style, and communication style. The activities are designed to help students to develop a sense of musicality and rhythm, build techniques, learn about all sorts of musical knowledge, and achieve internal goals like confidence building, improving consistency and practice quality. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Drums Music Keyboard

For most of my beginning piano students, I use the piano adventures series. They offer a clear and well paced curriculum with numerous supplemental resources in a variety of styles. For beginning music theory, I use the Berklee School of Music texts or the Benward and Saker textbooks as well as many videos and other resources to explore musical concepts. For singing, I use a variety of sight singing books, all depending on the age and experience of the student. Read More

Instruments: Piano Organ

I try my very best to avoid criticism, encourage curiosity, and open doors at every lesson. Constant criticism can put a permanent damper on a student's love of music. Exploration can lead to a lifetime of enjoyment! In the Photo Gallery above, the first pic is of David, age 6-1/2, playing organ for the first time. He has been watching me play during a church service, so I offered to show him a few things. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trombone

Trombone - I utilize the books Abrams and Rochut-Melodious Etudes. I develop custom curriculum for each students level and learning style. At the first lesson, I evaluate what the student wants to get out of the lessons, what sparks their interests in music, and skill level. From there, I share exercises from the books, exercises I create for developing certain skills, and later on, creation or exercises by the student. Read More

Instruments: Piano Flute Music

I have been given so many opportunities to teach students of various ages. I was an assistant instructor for San Jose State's Summer Flute Institute, which involved giving private lessons, teaching beginner-level flute classes, coaching an intermediate chamber group, and judging a advanced-level performance competition. I've also had the chance to travel to Tijuana, Mexico as an assistant instructor for a summer Festival called Opera de Tijuana's Opera en la Calle. Read More

Instruments: Piano Ukulele Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

I'd say my teaching style is first tailored to each individual student- their learning style, their genre interest, and their goals. Some student respond to more traditional classical structure, and some respond to improvisation as a way of learning musical concepts. What's exciting is finding out which style each student has, and always come back to the joy keeps them motivated. While I am flexible in this regard, I do have specific practice assignments and repetition exercises that are the work of learning an instrument. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Bass Guitar Organ Ukulele Electric Violin Music Keyboard Electric Guitar

I eventually earned a degree in Fine Arts and German language from the University of Texas at Austin. To this day, I use what I have learned to teach the future generations how to make beautiful music. Back in Texas I ran a private music studio where I would take on students in the San Antonio area. As I accumulated more and more students, I noticed most suffered from some sort of mental disability. Read More