Voice Lessons in Newcastle, CA

Instruments: Piano Voice

For children, I begin with Donald Waxman's Pageant for Piano series. The pieces are quite fun, and also good for technique. The illustrations also offer many opportunities for story-making and engagement. For adults, I begin with James Bastien's The Older Beginner Piano course, and for intermediate learners, supplement it with pieces from Bartok's Mikrokosmos, Czerny, Kabalevsky, Burgmuller's 24 Etudes, duets and various other literature as appropriate. Improvisational skills may also be taught. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I started teaching in college when my current voice coach suggested it. The best way to learn material is to teach it, because in order to teach it you must know it inside and out. I can tell you that this lesson was one of the most rewarding discoveries of my career. I sincerely enjoy sharing my knowledge and love watching the development of a new singers. Building a strong voice gives confidence and power. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Organ Synthesizer Keyboard

If you’ve tried and failed, or even if you’ve never touched a piano, Smiley can teach you. And, you’ll have fun doing it because with my easy approach to learning, you will start playing the songs you like from day one, not practicing endless scales all the time, and boring music language that would be difficult to understand the first day. With my easy learning how to play approach, you would lean your first song and be able to play it, over and over until you learn a new song to share. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Drums Bass Guitar Conga Electric Guitar Djembe Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

No matter the skill level, I like to keep my curriculum concise, applicable, and easy for all students to understand. I begin with a crash course in music fundamentals to give students a classical understanding of their playing, reading, and writing techniques. Next, I teach them scales, chords, and playing techniques that correlate with their level of playing and music comprehension. Once they have mastered said curriculum I teach them songs that they are genuinely interested in. Read More

Instruments: Piano Guitar Voice Bass Guitar Synthesizer Ukulele Keyboard Electric Guitar Classical Guitar Acoustic Guitar

Music Instruction Expertise in teaching modern guitar performance, music technology, songwriting, audio engineering, and music production. Music Instruction Employers 2007-present Takelessons.com (Shingle Springs, CA) Community School of Music and Arts (Menlo Park, CA) Sierra Music Academy (Rocklin, CA) Newton Center (Foster City, CA) DJ Buddy Holly DJ Buddy Holly is a company I began in 2009 as a sole proprietorship. The company focuses on DJing at parties, clubs, and corporate events. Read More

Instruments: Voice

I tailor my lessons to the student and their goals. I pull my methods and practices from experience and A Spectrum of Voices by Elizabeth Blades-Zeller. I also like to teach my students basic music theory to give them a better understanding of how music is structured and to deepen their overall musicianship. For that, I pull from Music in Theory and Practice Volume 1 by Bruce Benward and Marilyn Saker. Read More

Instruments: Piano Voice Trombone

For three years I was a camp counselor in the La Honda Music Camp (Hayward, CA). As a counselor, I looked after 10-12 middle school-aged girls, oversaw brass sectionals, coached trombone, and assisted in the junior wind ensemble. In high school I used to coach my classmates in the trombone section. In my grad school years I began to teach beginning piano and trombone. My hope when teaching music is that the kids have a lot of fun learning their instrument, so I always encourage them to learn songs they'd like to sing/play along to. Read More