Viola Lessons in Old Mill Creek, IL

Instruments: Violin Viola

I have over 12 years of teaching orchestra at a high school level and over 20 years of private lesson teaching instruction. I know that everyone has enough "talent" to play a musical instrument; I provide the precise instruction on how to approach violin/viola in order to grow your talent. I am comfortable communicating with children just learning to play and very much enjoy teaching adult beginners also. My joy is watching the eyes of a student as they realize that they are playing music... and it wasn't really all the hard, after all. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Violin Cello Viola Trumpet Trombone Saxophone Clarinet Bass Guitar Synthesizer French Horn

As a composer and multi-instrumentalist, I have put myself in a position that brings me across an extremely wide and dense variety of music that I've been only too happy to explore. In addition to my long-running classical training with piano, clarinet and composition, I've explored jazz, world, rock, fusion, electronic and avant-garde music through the acquisition of my composition degree and through extensive research and self-teaching with saxophone and guitar. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Viola Saxophone

For beginning voice students, I focus on opening and relaxing the throat by way of diaphragm support and healthy, strong breathing. These are the fundamentals of good singing, regardless of the style.We work on these techiniques with both vocal exercises and repertoire.From there, I focus on the student's quality of tone and helping them find their "natural voice." The best singers use their authentic sound, and are not a second-rate imitation of someone else. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

I always seek to cultivate a relationship and atmosphere of trust, and fun, while at the same time maintaining high expectations It's so important to make sure a student looks forward to lessons, and is inspired to practice and prepare. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

I tailor the lessons to students' unique goals. No matter the age or experience, I try to have a continuous dialogue between the student and myself about their progress and what direction they'd like to head in to make sure they are engaging with material that suits their needs and goals at the same time. As long as we are working toward a common goal together, I'm happy to accommodate any particular goals a student may have, as long as we are still working toward proper technique and expressivity. Read More

Instruments: Violin Viola

Nothing is more rewarding than when my students leave the lesson more motivated than when they came. I understand that it is a challenge for students to go home and practice, so I address this by setting goals for the student. I want the student to leave the lesson feeling proud of what they accomplished and motivated to continue learning. I want them to be able to apply the techniques they learn in music to other areas of study so that they can explore and be curious about everything. Read More

Instruments: Piano Violin Cello Viola Electric Violin Fiddle

With advancing students of any age, I start to slowly introduce scale and etude books, as well as solo repertoire by major composers, not found in their method books. String students: For both younger and adult beginners, I like to use a combination of the Suzuki books and the Essential Elements series. I do not teach the Suzuki method, but use the books for their staple and universally well-known repertoire. Read More