Piano Lessons in Rhododendron, OR

Instruments: Piano

I am a motivated music professional with experience in piano performance and teaching. I am interested in teaching piano to various students of all ages and abilities. I have a BA in piano performance from Mills College in 2007. I have been learning the piano since I was six years old with various teachers from all over the world. I have a great love of music of all types from Classical to Pop to Rock. Read More

Instruments: Piano

I love to see my students accomplish their goals. Therefore I always assign a piece easily within their reach. However, I believe it is important to have higher goals. In keeping with that, once the student is at an appropriate level, I assign a piece that will take a bit more work to master. I find that this motivates most of my students to really shine and to see the rewards of consistent and effective practice. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Violin Cello Viola Ukulele Electric Violin Fiddle Acoustic Guitar

I give Suzuki violin, viola and cello lessons. I also use classical method with scales, etudes and solo pieces in my teaching as another option. With fiddle students I use Ann Wheeler method books. My piano students use Faber piano series. My Guitar students use Hal Leonard guitar method and guitar song collections. Ukulele students start with Alfred's ukulele method and more advanced students use Greg Horne and Shana Aisenberg Books 1-3. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

My students describe me as patient, fun, understanding, and challenging. :) For the shy ones, I like to get to know them, and see what I can do to get through to them and get them to open up to music. For the adventurous one, I dare them to go on adventures with me. For the self-critical ones, I become their voice of encouragement and love. For the over-confident ones, I open their eyes to more challenges that will demand more of themselves. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice

Each student is at a different level, and therefore requires different teaching methods. I like to implement the Hanon exercises for scales and warm-ups, also focusing on things like scales and arpeggios. For the guitar, I like to incorporate these concepts with chordal exercises as well, such as playing progressions to let the student's fingers grow accustomed to their forms. I then let the student tell me what his or her focus is, such as theoretical, classical, or popular. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Saxophone Clarinet Bass Guitar Synthesizer Ukulele Music Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

For kids I find that having a large quantity of music to learn at each level gives more variety and sense of achievement, so I usually recommend beginning students have multiple books to aid in learning. For example a young piano student will study from lesson, theory, performance, and technique books each week. This yields a well-rounded student who is proud of their achievements and eager to move forward. For adults I recommend a lesson/theory combination book at least to help with reading music. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Viola Fiddle

Festivals include International Celtic Colours Festival, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia;International Festival-Institute at Round Top, Texas; Aspen Music Festival and School, Colorado. Performance experience includes: Miami Symphony Orchestra, Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, Chehalem Symphony Orchestra, Cape Breton Chamber Orchestra, Lafayette Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Richmond Indiana Symphony Orchestra, Reno Symphony Orchestra, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Newport Oregon Chamber Orchestra. Teaching experience includes: Miami Dade College, George Fox University, Davis & Elkins College, Indiana University, University of Nevada. Read More