I have been playing guitar, singing, writing songs and making music for 30+ years. I am not ashamed to say that I am still learning! I have played in dozens of bands in a variety of styles all over the world. I bring a lot of real world experience to the table and can help you prepare to bring your voice and your music to the world. I am fluent in rock, folk, blues, fingerstyle, electric or acoustic, country, bluegrass, jazz and am comfortable working with people of all ages, ideas, backgrounds, cultures, etc.

No matter if you are brand new to the instrument or have been playing for some time, I am sure I can help point you in the direction that you want to go so you can make the music you want to hear coming from your fingers!

I started learning piano as a child, but it was in high school that I realized I really wanted to pursue playing keyboards, because it allowed me a way to express myself. I was hooked. Later on I attended Mt. Hood Community College, played keyboards and sang in choirs and vocal jazz. After graduating on the President's List with an Associates Degree in Special Studies Music, I directed the college Gospel Ensemble for two years before working full-time at a large local church, where I was a Music Director, Worship Leader, and keyboard player. In addition to vocal and keyboard work, I enjoyed directing large and small choirs and ensembles, band directing, orchestra conducting, and arranging many styles of music. It is exciting to experience what can happen when people work together musically--the whole becomes even greater than the sum of the parts!

I've been teaching piano for 20+ years now, and I love partnering with students to help them grow musically and realize their...

Everyone has the capacity to learn. With proper motivation anyone can succeed. This attitude made me a successful teacher at Sylvan Learning Center in Beaverton, where I taught math exclusively for over five years. This experience encouraged me to continue teaching.


Most recently before working with Take Lessons, I was teaching mathematics in a secondary school in Rwanda. I taught the academic years 2011 and 2012. I taught students of 7th and 8th grade age during this time. The topics I taught included set theory, inequalities, linear equations and statistics. In my lessons, I focused on my students' performance, critical thinking skills and test-taking abilities.


Before teaching in Rwanda, I taught English in Japan for three years from August 2006 to September 2009. I acquired additional teaching certification for this and approached my teaching with the attitude that every student has a great capacity to learn. This teaching opportunity complemented my earlier...

I have over 40 years of drum experience. I have studied Jazz and Rock under Steve Lawerence of the Oregon Symphony and with Dick Hall.
I played snare drum in the Spartans Drum Corps. I was the drummer for Cleveland High Schools stage band, choir and vocal ensemble the Clevelandaires.
I played and traveled with numerous bands with styles ranging from Jazz, Dixieland, Country, Rock, Waltz and Latin Rhythms.
Other groups I have played with/for are Youth for Christ, Plus 1 (not the Contemporary Christian group) Mt. Hood Concert Band and Up with People.
I have been teaching drums for 15 years.
My students have consistently placed among the top 3 of District competitions and have gone on to compete at the State level in Rudimental Snare.

I am an Special Education Teacher at the elementary level. My strengths are in reading and writing instruction, as well as teaching organizational and study skills; however, I also enjoy teaching other subject areas. I have learned that reading and writing are foundational to everything else, so becoming fluent in those subject areas and enjoying the learning process is key to success!

Don brings over 33 years of teaching experience in Piano, Voice, and Guitar. His relaxed and humorous approach to music encourages students to embrace a love for the musical art.

With 2 American Idol finalists to his credit, along with numerous students who have gone on to professional careers in theater, television, and film. He also has extensive experience as Musical Director for over 40 theatrical productions in the past 15 years.

He has received an award in Southern California for Outstanding Musical Direction in a theatrical production of The King and I. He is currently the vocal coach for Magenta Theater in Vancouver, WA.

He has traveled the US with an international singing group, been a choral director in various capacities for over 40 years, and worked as a recording studio engineer.

Don strives to bring out the best in each student. Whether a beginner, intermediate, or advanced student, Don will expand your musical horizon and styles to new levels.

My whole life has revolved around music from an early age. I started studying the violin at the age of five, in the classical tradition. I immediately took to the instrument, and by middle school I was winning district and state solo competitions in Oregon. In High School I played with the Oregon Pro Art Youth Chamber orchestra, holding the principal second violin position.

I then went on to study violin and viola performance at the University of Oregon, and Portland State University. I was able to study with some of the best teachers in the country and developed a working relationship with the Eugene ballet company, Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Opera Theater Oregon, and other professional groups in Oregon.

I am currently performing with many local orchestras and chamber groups, and also composing and creating new music. In addition to classical music, I am the lead violinist of a group called Lydian Conviction that plays shows...

Music has been part of my life since I was very young. Teaching piano and sharing music is something I am very passionate about. I am very active in the classical music scene in Portland as a board member of the Portland Piano Club.

Music is my life and my passion, and I truly enjoy sharing my knowledge with aspiring pianists. After starting with lessons 15 years ago, I've since been teaching students of all ages and skill level for the past 5 years. I can teach a variety of genres such as jazz, classical, and pop. For aspiring rock keyboardists, I also play and teach organ, electric piano, and clavinet.

Students take music lessons for a variety of reasons - professional aspirations, fun and larks, a desire to sing or read music better, a need to improve speaking voice or confidence, a hope to play that piano that's been sitting in the house for years - and these each come with a different level of commitment. I want all my students to enjoy their lessons and their practice time while gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of music and the basics of their chosen instrument: voice, piano, or flute. If you hear a song on the radio you want to learn, note it and bring it in to your next lesson. We'll talk about it and make a plan for learning about the song, and then learning to play the song.

Bachelor's of Music Degree, Willamette University, Salem, OR 2008
Private Music Teacher since 2006
Member of National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
Member of Oregon Music Education Association (OMEA)

My passion is teaching music to students of all ages and all levels; sharing with them the joy of music. Music has the capacity to open up our hearts and minds to unknown worlds and cultures; thereby enabling us to express ourselves in unique and individualized ways. Music is not solely about learning the notes, or conquering Rachmaninoff or Grieg; each song is a melody of the heart, and should be navigated as such. When I teach lessons my students learn technique, structure and theory, but also voicing, expression, and interpretation.

I graduated from Multnomah University in December 2011 with a Bachelors degree in Music. I specifically studied instrumentation (piano), vocalization, performance, conducting and composition.

I love music, I have since I was a little girl. From a very young age I loved that music took me and my imagination to worlds untold and it never mattered if I spoke German, Italian, French or Spanish, I could play the songs of those countries, and...

Nick S. has been a professional drummer/teacher for the last 40 years.
My musical roots are in New York City where I grew up and it is in NYC that I played and studied with Stanley Krel, principal percussionist with the New York Philharmonic. I worked as an on-call drummer for the William Morris Agency. I received my bachelor of music degree in Jazz Studies at NYU.

When I moved to San Francisco in 1975, I was playing with the Pickle Family Circus Jazz Band as well as other groups and studied with: George Marsh, Richie Goldberg, Anthony Cirone, the principal percussionist for the San Jose Symphony, and the legendary Chuck Brown.
Moving to Portland in 1990, playing with many trios in the Portland Metro area (Andre St James Trio, and Nick S.'s own trio, to name a few).

Nick also was the drum/percussionist teacher at Beaumont Middle School in NE Portland 2010 - 20111.

Teaching you the "METHOD", a uniquely simple approach, will help you concentrate on your...