Private Music Lessons
Music lessons for children
Music lessons for teenagers
Music lessons for adults
An individualized approach to lesssons
Debbie M – 70-year-old / guitar
Debbie has been playing guitar for about 20 years. She loves writing songs and learned the guitar so she could perform solo. Although she has picked up quite a bit here and there from friends and videos, she feels that her playing is generic. She feels all her songs sound the same. She wants to learn more about chord progressions and music theory.
During our first lessons, we addressed some bad habits with her picking hand. She learned to play some well-known songs that were outside of her basic open chord style. We went on to build finger strength and flexibility so she could make clean barre chords effectively.
Ted R – 8-year-old / ukulele
Ted has been showing interest in music for a few months. Ted is very interested in guitar. The family isn’t particularly musical. The parents are wary about a big financial investment for someone so young. Ted can focus for a few minutes at a time.
During our first lesson, we determined that the ukulele was a better fit for Ted. The small size was more accessible to him. The parents were happy with the reduced cost. Ted was happy that what he learns on the ukulele will be readily transferrable to the guitar when he’s a bit bigger.
Maggie F – 15-year-old / guitar
Maggie wanted to learn to play guitar for as long as she can remember. For her 14th birthday her grandparents bought her an acoustic guitar. She tried to learn to play using online lessons but became frustrated. Her parents signed her up for lessons right away. Her favorite musician is Taylor Swift but couldn’t play any of her songs.
During our first lesson, we decided to use a method book because she was missing so many music fundamentals. The first few weeks were spent focusing on basics and developing good habits. Then we began learning Taylor Swift songs. After a few months, she could play just about any Taylor Swift song with minimal difficulty.
Andrew M – 16-year-old / guitar
Andrew has been playing guitar for about 3 years. He is in love with the instrument and practices about 10 hours a week. He loves hard rock. He knows many song intros and can do some basic solo work. He doesn’t know many complete songs. He spends much of his practice time noodling on the guitar and learning little snippets of songs he finds interesting. He really wants to play in bands.
During our first lesson, we addressed technical and knowledge gaps. Although Andrew had some lessons previously, he felt like he never had a practice routine. We spent the following weeks working together to learn full songs while focusing on some of the more technical aspects of guitar.
Daniel T – 9-year-old / drums
Dan’s parents wanted him to have some musical education. He really wanted to learn drums. However, they wanted to ensure that he was going to stick with it (pun intended) before spending the money on drums. Dan can focus for 3 minutes at a time on a drill.
Dan started on drumming fundamentals using a practice pad and set of sticks and his hands. This let him practice at home (and in the car.. and at school… to drummers, everything is a drum). During lessons, he enjoyed using the studio drum kit. After a few weeks, he can play basic beats to music. His parents bought him an electric drum kit a few weeks after taking lessons.
Samuel R – 11-year-old / guitar & drums
Samuel started out playing guitar. His younger brother took piano lessons and was doing very well. His parents liked that the brother spent less time on the games and screen. They wanted the same for Samuel. After talking with Samuel, they decided to sign him up for guitar lessons. He took guitar lessons for about two months but was never really committed to the practice necessary to progress on the guitar.
During one of the lessons, it was clear he wasn't interested in practicing the guitar. For fun, I suggested we "try" drums for fun. He found it so much easier than guitar. We had a great time playing simple beats to AC/DC songs. They were wary about having a drummer in the house. Acoustic drums can be loud, take up quite a bit of space, and be expensive. I gave them suggestions on an electric drum kit that addressed their concerns. They purchased an electric drum kit once they saw the commitment for Samuel. He showed amazing progression very rapidly! His parents love that he spends less time on the screens and more time playing music with his brother.
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