Piano Lessons in Opal, VA

Instruments: Piano Voice

I believe making music fun can keep students motivated and improve their skills. When you love music, you are more motivated to improve. I also believe music is based on a lot of techniques. In order to express your feeling through music and have more fun, you will need to practice to mature the technique. Practice makes perfect!!! I believe that everyone is unique. I encourage my students, but insist that they need to learn something new every lesson so they can get closer to their goals. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For beginning students who are children, I usually use the Alfred Music Piano Methods series, and include music theory and ear training as a part of the curriculum. Once students have grasped the fundamentals, I will introduce solo repertoire appropriate for receital performances to encourage and motivate their learning. For adult students, I love to spend time to figure out the students musical interests, and use the types of music they enjoy to guide my instruction so the lessons can be engaging and fun. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I am an active teacher, concert artist, church pianist, and accompanist in the metropolitan DC area. I am a member of the Piano Faculty at the Montgomery College and perform regularly through the Friday Morning Music Club. After earning a Doctorate degree in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, I founded my piano teaching studio in Gaithersburg, MD, where I have guided many pianists along their musical paths. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Keyboard Acoustic Guitar

For beginner students I will utilize either the "Alfred's Basic Piano Library" or "Faber - Hal Leonard's Piano Adventures" with the particular books selected to fit the student's age and skill level. I also enhance lessons by integrating scale pattern practice as well as exploration with simple boogie-woogie bass patterns; encouragement to sing and play where the lessons provide such an arrangement; and tinkering creating very simple melody lines and lyrics. Read More

Instruments: Piano Saxophone Flute Clarinet

It is very important for the music instructor to learn the nature and characteristics of his/her students. It is crucial that the teacher can make adjustments to teach according to the nature of their students, some students can learn really fast and may have a desire to be pushed harder, but many students are either normal or may require a longer time to digest the material. I encourage students to practice in order to help their progress and I always model for students in the lesson. Read More

Instruments: Piano

For the youngest students, I begin with Music for Little Mozarts or John Thompson method books and a lot of music related games. Flash cards assist with retention of musical terms and notes. I also provide worksheets to help reinforce what the students learn. Later I add exercises to help with rhythm and agility. Older students I begin with John Thompson method books or Bastien method books, theory books, and exercises. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Drums Bass Guitar Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar

My background is partly as a local performer, and partly as a long-time music teacher. Teaching has allowed me to make thousands of meaningful connections with my students, both as a mentor and instructor, and has given my life purpose and meaning for over 15 years. Music in general has also allowed me to travel across the country, and given me the opportunity to experience the wonderful music of talented musicians both young and old, and has instilled in me a passion to put as much of that into the world as possible. Read More