Guitar Lessons
Welcome future guitar players.The guitar is perhaps the most ubiquitous instrument of the present day. Guitars are of central importance in jazz, rock, folk, blues, and classical music just to name a few. As a guitar teacher, I try to introduce my students to as many different styles as possible without losing sight of the need for fundamentals. All my students are given a solid foundation in note reading, music theory, and ear training. That said, I am fully aware that people often want to learn to play the guitar just like their favorite musician. Bring in your favourite CD and we can listen to it together. Most likely I can show you how to play anything you want to learn!
Piano Lessons
Is there a more beautiful
instrument than
the piano? Ok, maybe I have a biased viewpoint. I have
been teaching
piano now
for
the last eighteen years
and I never get tired of hearing my students play. Listen to one of
my student CD's and you will understand why. All my piano students
receive a firm grounding in music theory,
note reading, and ear training.
I
offer
students a diversity of musical styles to
learn including jazz, blues,
classical, and popular music. Students are able to write
RCM examinations
if they so desire. I also
like to venture past the written note by
exploring concepts like chart reading and improvisation.
As a jazz
player, I am
constantly impressed
by how even my youngest students can improvise
over a
blues progression.
My Teaching Philosophy
How does that old saying go?
"You can lead a horse to water, but...". We all know the rest.
Music lessons can be like this. You cannot force someone to be a musician.
If it happens, it is a blessing. If not then that's OK too (I have enough
competition). Ultimately, my goal as a music teacher is to convince a
student that music is fun.Yes it is a large amount of work, but so is
anything worth while.
After fourteen years teaching music to people of
all ages, I can honestly say that the overwhelming majority of my students
actually love music.We explore the different styles and concepts together
like a team with a unified goal. The days are gone when I would have to
fight with students in order to get them to practice. Now they actually
want to practice!
This was not always the case. When I first started teaching,
I honestly had no idea how to motivate children. I taught music in order to survive
as a musician. Over the years, I developed ways to get students to
practice without hounding them to do so. (Probably out of a need to
keep my sanity). The payoff is an incredibly enjoyable workday where
I listen to and discuss wonderful music. I can think of no better occupation.
