Guitar with Jesse W.

I began playing guitar at age twelve when I asked my dad to start showing me a few chords. It didn't take long before I came to my own and began practicing many hours a day. As I got more and more serious about music throughout high school I wanted to take my experience to the next level and so I auditioned for and was accepted to Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. While there I performed with the school’s Small Group Combo and Big Band. After high school I wanted to go to the next level once again and auditioned for and was accepted to a few different music colleges but decided that Boston’s New England Conservatory was the best fit for me. Here, I had the opportunity to study and perform with some of the world’s best jazz performers and composers. As a sophomore I was a part of a group who received the Honors Jazz Ensemble award and as a senior I was awarded a scholarship for composition. Every summer since the age of thirteen I have toured the country with a band to play music in juvenile prisons. Music is such a powerful thing and it is great to be able to use it as a vehicle for helping and serving others. This is why I have chosen to make teaching music a part of my life. I am really looking forward to helping my students discover music and discover themselves through music. *** Lesson Details *** My goal is to be able to relate to my students as much as possible. In some ways I want to be able to get into the head of the student so that we can learn and grow together. As a teacher I like to walk beside the student as much as possible as if we are both on a journey together to discover music. In this sense, I tried to be as laid back as possible. I like to take plenty of time when teaching things. Quality is so much more important than quantity. As far as curriculum goes, I would like to bring half of it to the table and allow the student to bring the other half. I would probably pick a book that I feel fits where the student is that would help him/her learn more of the technical things (notes chords, rhythms, scales, etc). Then I would want the student to bring to the table the things that they are wanting to learn, the things that excite them about music. Preferably some kind of song. The goal of learning music is to be able to play and perform songs or musical pieces. So learning songs is an important part of my teaching process. After six months or so it would be great to be able to build a repertoire of songs that the student can play proficiently on the instrument and then find some outlet where they would be able to perform those songs. *** Studio Equipment *** LivingRoom: couches and chairs and small table, parents can sit in on lesson *** Specialties *** I specialize in improvisation. That would include all styles of music. My improvisation education is jazz-based.