Steven B
Instruments: Piano, Guitar, Voice
Styles: Classical, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Blues, Folk, Country

My teaching experience dates back 35 years. Soon after I started taking piano lessons, I began teaching piano. I went into students homes and taught the classics. Since those early years of teaching piano, I have expanded and gradually started teaching guitar to a few students, and then later on I started teaching voice to a few students. In the last 15 years, I have been teaching full time on the three instruments piano, guitar, and voice. I've been teaching students from age 5 to age 85. With my younger students, when they arrive at lessons, I asked them for their numbers. The numbers are the amount of minutes each younger student practices per day. I tell all of my students you should target a minimum of 35 minutes per day, per instrument. It has been my experience over 35 years of teaching, you always improve and enjoy music with the 35 minute minimum. It becomes really easy when you use a timer. As a matter of fact, I use timers with my practice. I practice a minimum of seven hours and 45 minutes per day, six days a week. Music is really fun as you get more more comfortable with it, putting the work in, and feeling a mastery with your instrument. If a student is and having fun in their lessons, then I am not doing my job! My students are encouraged to enter compositions and recitals, as well as work on composing their own original material, so they can feel good about their accomplishments and stay motivated to learn. I'm always looking to bring on new students of all ages!

PIANO / KEYBOARD For beginning students who are children, for piano I typically set out with Hal Leonard's PIANO Adventures of Nancy and Randall Faber.  I've invariably found it easy in teaching a new student how to read music and learn the language of music. Reading music is important and relatively easy to teach. Playing by ear is also very important, and I make it easy to learn for my students. I have my own ProTools recording studio, and I record 10 songs from each book for students to learn to play by ear. I make a CD and give it to the student.  The CD holds about 30 tracks on it, the piano tracks and my speaking voice on each track.  I speak on the CD gently underneath the piano playing, for example, when there is an interval, I slow things down and the student will hear my voice in the background saying Interval, then the student will hear me play each note of the interval separately. The same thing applies when a chord comes up. It becomes a perfect world for the student because the answers in playing by ear are in the book. The student can take a peek. Then get back to listening to the CD and learn to play by ear. Along with reading music and learning to play by ear, my students also learn to improvise. My lesson materials include different books from Hal Leonard and Alfred publishing. I also have created various one-sheet hand outs I give my students to assist in the learning process.  I send online students printed music through electronic mail, audio music (mp3) through email, and music books and CDs through the postal service. GUITAR / ACOUSTIC / ELECTRIC For guitar, I also use the Hal Leonard guitar instruction books and are very helpful for the student, depending upon what the student wants to learn.  Also, I have amassed hundreds of guitar songs, both in TAB and notation.  These songs are in the popular and classical genres and are great for all grades, from beginner through advanced. I also map out popular guitar songs. This mapping out procedure means my guitar students get the sheet music with just the lyrics, no chords...  However, I write in dots above the lyrics as to where the chord changes are settled.  Additionally, I have produced a handout I give my guitar students, which show chord families from different keys.  I teach my students how to cipher out the key of a guitar song.  Once the key is correct, the student looks at the chords within that key structure and goes more or less figuring out by ear the chord changes.  The student writes in the chord over the dot above the words.  Along with each guitar song mapping, my student receives the correct connection of the audio (song) from YouTube for the respective guitar chord mapping. The student writes in the number of the chord, example, I - IV - VI - V (One Four six Five chord progression) and sometimes the letter of the chord, from the previous example, let's say key of A (A - D - F#m - E) This method I have created, allows my guitar students to learn theory, play by ear, learn great guitar songs, and feel comfortable playing in front of an audience.  VOICE / SINGING In teaching voice and singing, my voice students receive a CD with vocal exercises that build up a singer's technique.  I also hold one sheet handouts I give my voice students.  Each sheet has a particular vocal skill to train. Also in teaching the voice, I use my recording studio.  Sometimes a voice student can develop their vowels better if the song is in different paces, I use my recording studio and give the voice student a CD of the different tempos of the song.