Piano Lessons in Roanoke, VA

Instruments: Piano Guitar Trumpet Drums Bass Guitar Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

What advice do you have about practicing effectively?
The two key factors to efficient practice are self discipline, and maintaining a practice environment with minimal distractions. Avoid having things around you such as television, loud noises, electronics, cell phones, etc.

How do I know if my child is ready to start lessons?
Kids should be introduced to music as early as possible. The sooner they are introduced to it regularly, the sooner their brain starts to develop a sense of melody and pitch recognition. However, most students don’t have an attention span for music lesssons until around the age of 6-7. Lessons at an earlier age are definitely possible and can never hurt! The younger they start, the more “natural” most will be in the long run. For example, a person who learns rhythm at 5 years old will tend to have “naturally” better rhythm in the long run than that of somebody who doesn’t study it until they’re 13. But, the younger a child is, the less attention span they have for focused learning. In my personal experience, the best time to start kids in music lessons is after they have experienced one year in a social learning environment, such as kindergarten.

When will I start to see results?
This varies for all musicians. When it comes to seeing results, the number one thing to always remember is that the more you practice, the better you get and the quicker you get there. After all, practice makes perfect! If you stick to a strict practice schedule, for example 30 minutes of practice a day, you will begin seeing some results within the week. However, if you practice for thirty minutes twice a day, you'll see results even quicker! Another important thing to remember is that everybody learns at a different rate. Don't get discouraged if you're not seeing major results as quickly as you hope to. Music requires patience and work. If you have both of those, the results will happen!

Did you have a teacher that inspired you to go into music? How did they inspire you?
Every music teacher I have ever had inspired me to be a better musician. In my experience, nothing inspires a student more than a accomplished, enthusiastic instructor. My college instructors accompishments inspire me by showing that music is NOT a dead end road. It is an industry that 100% depends upon your work ethic. They have proven to me that you can make it anywhere you want in this industry, just depending on how much you’re willing to work for it! But most importantly, I’ve been inspired by their enthusiasm. Music is only a for the people who love every second of it. Being taught by somebody twice my age with an undying love for music has inspired me by knowing that as long as I love what I’m doing, I’ll never “work” a day or my life and I will always have the opportunity to spread the knowledge and love of music performance/education.

Why did you choose your primary instrument?
For my entire life, my dad has been a guitar player. My earliest memories consist of listening to my dad play over Van Halen and Ozzy Osborne albums. When I was fourteen years old, I fell in love with the catchy riffs and melodic, shredding guitar solos by Synyster Gates (lead guitar player for Avenged Sevenfold) and that’s when I decided to pick up the guitar. I instantly fell in love with playing. Living under the same roof as an accomplished player like my dad and constantly working on learning new A7X and GNR songs, I never wanted to put it down. As a classical music nerd as well,the guitar is the most versatile instrument for my taste. I can play anything from Bach and Mozart to Van Halen and Guns N Roses all on the same instrument.

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