Piano Lessons in Walnut, CA

Instruments: Piano Drums Organ Synthesizer Mallet Percussion Orchestral Percussion Latin Percussion Music Keyboard Djembe

I am a drummer and pianist with experience at all levels and styles of music performance and education. I am an educator in the music communities of Washington D.C., Nashville, New York City, Los Angeles and around the world. I was the Advanced Music Theory tutor with the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Program Administrator with the W.O. Smith Music School in Nashville, TN and Music Director with the National Dance Institute in New York, NY. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

My Methods: Fundamentals of breath work - incorporating several physical exercises and methods of showing the coordination until it is ingrained Focus on the use of the resonators - projecting the sound to the different cavities where sound resonates before leaving your body and into the room (i.e. 'the mask', mouth resonance, chest resonance, etc) Reducing tongue tension - a common issue is root of the tongue tension and I have several exercises to address this Improving range - most of my students gain notes in their belt range and their head range, and often in their low range as well Increasing the legato vocal line - here we focus on linking the vowels properly supported by the breath Jaw tension - similar to tongue we have evercises for this Style - different approaches such as riffing, back phrasing, using a glottal attack, using a breathy attack - creating colorful expressive phrases that link to the emotion of the song and the style desired Musicality - learning to read music, counting tempo, sustaining pitch, syncopation, dynamics, etc Diction - correct vowel shapes and enunciation + awareness of when tension closes down the vocal line if diction is carried over from speaking habits Performance - using tools from acting training to perform a song effectively and believably Career consultation - when appropriate, also offered Read More

Instruments: Piano Drums

My teaching style is very Freddie Gruber, if you don't know who that is I recommend you look him up on youtube! I believe in motion. In understanding the motions your body has to make and repeating them like an athlete to get the same sound on the drum every time you hit a drum. In sitting down to play and not be nervous you will mess up, but love the fact that you will mess up and it's okay and part of this process. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice

For beginner students, I start with the fundamentals of music and we work our way up to integrating repertoire that they will eventually be able to perform in recitals and shows! I am a very flexible teacher and I understand firsthand that to remain interested in learning music, a student needs to feel included in the choices regarding what they are working on. With that in mind, I like to use both repertoire that a student has brought in, and repertoire that I choose very carefully to suit a particular student's strengths and challenges. Read More

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

I believe in getting the student interested in the concepts and styles themselves, i like to introduce them to different ways of playing and my main method is to show them how it can be exciting to play/learn. For eg, for someone who loves games, I would show them how to play chords and melody ( on a piano ) at the same time by using the Minecraft theme song as an example, or any game that they might know and enjoy so it gets them interested to want to play and learn, through that i will show them dfferent techniques and concepts, this way they are already enjoying what they are learning and at no point will not want to practice it on their own. Read More

Instruments: Piano

David Raintree was a featured artist on the domestic flights of United Airlines. In ten years in New York City, I had four of my musicals produced. I also conducted Broadway shows including the original Broadway productions of LES MISERABLES and SONG AND DANCE. Upon returning to Los Angeles, I played the 1st Keyboard position in the Los Angeles production of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA starring Michael Crawford at the Ahmanson Theatre. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar

I've been a passionate musician all my life. Ever since my Nana bought me a mini electric piano when I was 3 ears old, it's been a staple of my life ever since. I studied guitar and piano all through out grade school and high school and continued my music education into college. I studied production, jazz, and theory at JJC of Illinois before transferring to DePaul University. I moved to L.A to perform and have been here for the past year teaching music at the West Coast Music Academy of Santa Clarita. Read More