Piano Lessons in Oakdale, NY

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet Recorder Keyboard

I'm a composer and musician based in NYC who loves to share my passion for the arts with others. I graduated from the College of William and Mary with a double major in music and physics. During my studies there, I played clarinet in the music department. Additionally, I played both clarinet and alto saxophone in the theater department. During my master's degree at the University of Chicago, I played clarinet in the university symphony orchestra. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Ukulele Double Bass Music Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My lesson plans are devised around each student's individual goals. Do you have a favorite musician that you want to sound like? Is there an ensemble that you are dying to play in? Through a combination of effective methods and specific structuring to your needs, I can help you achieve those goals! For double bass, I find F. Simandl's "New Method for the Double Bass" and "30 Etudes for the String Bass" to be extremely useful. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Bass Guitar Double Bass Keyboard Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Sharing the joy of music is what it's all about, but at the same time, everyone is different, so it's vital to nurture and encourage each student's natural abilities and inclinations, while showing them the way to new and wonderful worlds, and skills they didn't know they could master. As a teacher, two of the greatest joys are helping a student discover some of the beautiful magic of music that's already familiar to me, on the one hand, and learning from the student a new way of thinking about or hearing music, on the other. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Clarinet

My relationship with music making began at the age of 7 when I begrudgingly agreed to take piano lessons at the nudging of my parents. In the first lesson, my teacher taught me the theme from The Simpsons, and I was sold. It would be years before I would actually become competent at turning notes on a page into something musically expressive, but that day I went home knowing I had found something special, and that inertia has carried me to where I am today. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Acoustic Guitar

My teaching experience dates back from high school days teaching church, college, university choirs, and eventually soloists or ensemble group. I have had groups who become champions in multiple competitions, I have had students who became queens of jazz vocal competitions, I have students who eventually became professional musicians and vocal artists, and I coach too while they are in a recording studio especially with first timers. Some of my students love to write their own original songs and I help them be able to choose the right vocabulary, rhymes, rhythm, melody and all. Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Conga Latin Percussion Keyboard Djembe

For beginners I usually start them off with two books, Stick Control and Funky Primer. I then pair what they learn from those with real world examples and try to incorporate that into songs that they want to play. For more intermediate students we focus more on developing their musical vocabulary and all around versatility. We go more in depth on rudiments and using them around the kit. We also start covering music industry fundamentals and the skills they need to market themselves as a musician and how to put together or find a band to start gigging with! Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums

I approach teaching as a means to help the student develop their own relationship with music development. I firmly believe that all music students are their own best teachers, and a great teacher helps the student learn to discover themselves. With that in mind, I aim to help the student learn the fundamentals of their instrument, expose the student to new musical avenues and ideas that inspire them to work further, and challenge them to reach for new heights in their understanding and proficiency. Read More