Mel E  
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Voice, Violin, Cello, Viola, Drums, Bass Guitar, Organ, Accordion, Harmonica, Banjo, Ukulele, Mandolin, Fiddle, Keyboard, Electric Guitar, Classical Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country, Gospel, Spirituals, Reggae

I've been in the role of a teacher for most of my adult life. Before turning to full-time music instruction in the late 1990s, I worked as a trainer and curriculum developer for a number of computer software companies. Those experiences have greatly contributed to my comfort and confidence in teaching others. I've taught music privately for decades, beginning in the 1960s. With some interruptions here and there, I've continued on from then, teaching children as young as four and seniors as old as ninety-two. I would say that I've logged well over 30,000 lessons by now. I've also taught steadily at a number of retail music stores, over the period of around 20 years. Those lessons exposed me to all ages, personality types and skill levels.

Here is a summary of my teaching principles, which I give to each of my new students when we begin lessons together. 1. The instruction process can only work well when the student is personally involved in improvement in their musical skills. If this involvement truly ends, so should the instruction. 2. Learning to play a musical instrument is comprised of many individual steps. Results typically appear gradually and periodically, and only after much specific practice. Regularity of lessons and practice sessions significantly contribute to bringing about these results. 3. Practice between lessons is essential to advancing, as gaining musical skill requires a continuous effort. The student must clearly understand this and commit to it. See my “Practice Tips” for helpful tips and techniques towards this end. 4. Responsibility for getting down to actual practice ultimately rests with the student. Developing a practice plan at the start of this venture is a good way to help ensure that routine practice actually takes place. 5. I will always try, in each lesson, to assign just the correct amount of material to be practiced for the next lesson. Sometimes, I will note that items are optional. Optional items should be worked on, if the prior material is all pretty well in hand. If the assigned material altogether is more than can be handled before the next scheduled lesson, the student should work hard on what he/she can in the available time. 6. I will determine the selection of materials and their order of inclusion in each student’s learning program. This means as well that I reserve the right to exclude suggested materials. So, a parent wanting to implement his or her own music education plan needs to understand and accept this. Please inform me of any manual, emotional, cognitive or learning exceptions that apply to yourself. Knowing this information will help immensely in my working with you. 7. If the lesson is being delivered at your home, please arrange for the environment to be relatively quiet throughout the course of the lesson. 8. No alcohol may be consumed during the lesson. 9. Try to be well rested at the time of each lesson. 10. I will be as imaginative and appropriate a music instructor for each of my students as possible.