Piano Lessons in North Castle, NY

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer

I typically use the Alfred books for young beginning students. In these books, children learn the geography of the keyboard and learn about the contours of musical notation and by the end are using both hands. For adults, as well as intermediate children and up, I prefer the Michael Aaron series for intermediate and beyond. For beginning adults I use the Aaron Musical Primer. I also use the Aaron Technic for advanced performers. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Drums Recorder Keyboard

My career in Music Education began in elementary school when I accompanied my Sunday School holiday programs on the piano at age 10. During my teenage years, I accompanied my church and high school concert choir. After graduating from college, I became certified in music and decided to teach piano full-time. I wrote a curriculum and established my own music studio which has expanded into a music education program that provides music instruction to pre-school-12th grade students in state educational institutions, charter schools, churches and camps. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Ukulele

More than a decade ago I began giving music lessons in both private and group formats. It was an unexpected "diversion," but a very natural fit! It brings me great joy to see a student enjoying the guitar, advancing on the instrument, and entering into that "fellowship of guitarists," which means everything from jamming with their friends, to being able to learn any song they want, to understanding a meme about the G string always going out of tune. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Music

My teaching experience dates back to my undergraduate days, as I began teaching private lessons part-time 7 years ago, and have been consistently teaching students all across the globe in the US, Singapore, and Taiwan. I have worked with beginner, intermediate, and advanced players and adjusted to their needs accordingly, as well as gained valuable knowledge on how to efficiently resolve the difficulties encountered by the students. My own experience with how my teacher taught me also inspired me to have acquired many problem-solving skills and I aspire to pass down those abilities to my students. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

There’s a million different approaches, and we’ll find the one(s) that work best for you. Everyone (even more traditional classical players) tend to take their own path to guitar mastery. This is in part why new techniques and styles of playing are popping up all the time! When starting out, I like to lay a good foundation; teaching students proper hand positioning and posture first. I like to combine this with some single string exercises and some basic chords and strumming patterns that can be used musically, and applied to learning parts or simplified versions of songs the student is familiar with and enjoys listening to. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar

This will open doors down the road and will enhance his or her capacity for learning*, not just musically but in all areas of intellect. No singular student is typical. Therefore no teaching method is typical, nor is the approach to any given student. Technique, thought process, feel/emotion, pulse/rhythm,ear and theory are all explored to a degree that is comfortably absorbed by the individual. The degree of aptitude reflected by an individual student will commensurate to the challenge that I will offer in terms of a reasonable expectation for success or, more importantly, the great pleasure to be derived from making music, sharing that ability and the personal reward that comes with that sense of accomplishment in communicating with music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Trumpet

Here are the things that I want to impart to my piano students in their first 10 weeks of lessons: That I love music and I love teaching them That music lessons are creative and exploratory That creating music is fun and easy That music can tell stories That music is more than pushing down keys That music is art and involves dynamics, speed, feeling, etc. That singing and moving to music is just a part of how we do things in music education That playing the piano the right way (ie. with the right technique) is really important The importance of understanding, feeling and moving to meter (duple/triple) The concept of home, tonic/dominant tonalities and being able to hear and create bass lines That music is made up of chords, patterns, and melodies That they can transpose music into different keys I use Alfred Piano Method, it also dives into intervallic reading, as described above. Read More