Cotati, CA Music Theory Lessons

ng for parents.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I bring my bass, iPod, tuner, drum machine,manuscript paper,etc. The student needs to provide adequate space and amplification.

*** Specialties ***
Theory, fingerstyle, thumb, reading notation & chord symbols, blues, country, funk, jazz, rock, soul.

Yoshi's SF, the Regency, Bimbo's & the Sweetwater.
My teaching experience goes back over twenty years and I relocated to Marin County in the Bay Area in 1995 where I've been teaching extensively since 2002. Since then I have helped hundreds of students realize their dream of learning to play piano and keyboards as well as read music, play perfectly in time and learn songwriting skills. Playing music is fun & easy......I can show you just how easy it is!!

*** Lesson Details ***
My style is laid back with a large supply of patience and devotion to my students. I teach beginning , intermediate & advanced piano and keyboards (including organ). For adult beginning piano students I use the John Thompson Modern Course for the Piano Grade One along with Thompson's Note, Scale & Chord Speller books and flash cards for a quick and easy route to learning how to read music and basic music theory. For kids (5-7) I like Thompson's "Teaching Little Fingers to Play" along with the kid's music theory books by Linda Ng.
In the first six months students can expect to study basic finger exercises and scales, how to read music easily and quickly, how to play perfectly in time & develop a repertoire of songs to play. Once students have learned basic skills it is possible to explore many different genres including classical, jazz, blues, rock, reggae and much more. I customize the lessons to fit each student's needs and desires and can also help the students with songwriting and learning from the recorded works of great artists!

*** Studio Equipment ***
Beautiful 1884 carved English maplewood Estey upright piano!

*** Travel Equipment ***
I provide the books and supplies at cost...students should have some kind of keyboard to practice on...preferably a real piano although I have taught many students initially on electric keyboards.

*** Specialties ***
I teach beginning, intermediate & advanced piano in the styles of classical, jazz, blues, rock, r&b, pop, country, etc. ages 5-105! Usually I start beginners in the John Thompson method & speller books along with music flash cards and then am willing to shift into different styles as the students gain basic skills.

eet music and written materials.

*** Travel Equipment ***
Sheet music and other written materials.

*** Specialties ***
I play a lot of Irish fiddle tunes and also know a lot of American Folk styles,popular music and some jazz. I play some classical pieces on the mandolin and some bluegrass. I consider improvisation one of my strengths.

we can proceed to plan our path to the stated goals. This plan will of necessity be unique to each student.

Obviously, expectations for the lessons would depend on the student’s starting point but I would say that for a child piano student who is just beginning, it would be reasonable to expect that within 3-6 months they would be able to play songs by reading the music. These would include some songs of their own choosing as well as some that I might recommend. For adult piano students, although reading is highly encouraged, our goals might take us in a different direction.

For songwriting students, we might choose to forego working at the piano entirely and instead take our lessons into my recording studio. It all depends on our goals and the path that we choose to get there. We might spend an entire lesson on lyrics. But I really like to see a student leave each lesson with some concrete progress on their song, and preferably with it documented on a recording. Depending on the level of the student, after 3-6 months I anticipate that we would have at least a few songs written and demoed.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Music Room: 2 vertical pianos

*** Travel Equipment ***
I expect the student to provide a piano or appropriate keyboard in a well lit room. I would also expect a bench and music stand.
I could provide a digital recorder and a metronome.

*** Specialties ***
blues, jazz, pop and rock

ce in their own musicianship. They discover the music within themselves, while learning the technique necessary to be the best musicians they can be.

I enjoy teaching high school, middle school, and elementary students as well as adults. I Love teaching beginners. I am trained in vocal pedagogy, music theory, music history, repertoire, performance practice and methods.

My formal education:
B.A., UC, Berkeley (Phi Beta Kappa)
M.A., Occidental College
M.S. Pepperdine University
Lifetime General Secondary Teaching Credential

Teachers and mentors:
Howard Swan, Mary Jones, Edward Lawton, Robert Commanday, Roger Wagner, Linda Anderson, Boyd Jarrell, Paul Smith.

In the last twenty years, I have enjoyed being a participant in music at the College of Marin, through choral, vocal, opera and piano classes. I currently serve as volunteer assistant to the Director of Choral Activities.

I am particularly proud of my experience as instructional aide and coach for music students with disabilities at the College of Marin, including students with developmental disabilities and autism.

Past classroom experience:
Long Beach Unified School District, Choral Music Teacher
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, Choral Music Teacher
Low Heywood School and King School (prep schools), Stamford, CT, Choral Music Teacher

*** Lesson Details ***
Voice students can expect to learn how to produce tone beautifully, using correct posture and breathing, and proper vowel production, rhythmic precision, pitch accuracy, carefully formed phrases, and musical and stylistic interpretation. But beyond technique is the amazing art of communicating with other people the wonders of the music. You should expect to make good progress in all of these areas in just a few weeks. I hope you will come with serious interest in developing your beautiful voice.

Repertoire might include folk songs, art songs and arias from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, as well as compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries. Songs might be in English, or possibly in Italian, Latin, German or French, if you interested. We would sit down together and decide what dreams and goals you have, and then choose music to get you going down the path to those dreams and goals.

You can expect to have learned several new songs, and to have brought them to performance level in the first 3-6 months. If you have a goal to learn music for an audition, contest or festival, that can happen.

Piano students can expect to learn everything about the keyboard, posture, proper use right and left hands, scales, chords, arpeggios, and fun exercises leading to good technique, rhythmic accuracy, speed and fluency. Playing beautifully, with artfulness and expressiveness will be priorities.

Repertoire might include beginning to intermediate compositions from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, as well as compositions of the 20th and 21st centuries. We would sit down together and decide what pieces to choose which would help you get on a path to your musical dreams and goals, and what would be appropriate for your age and development as a musician.

You can expect to be playing pieces with 2 hands within a few weeks, and perhaps a melody with chords, if you are a beginner. Degree of difficulty will depend upon your age, experience and development, but even very simple songs can be played musically, with grace.

Of utmost importance to me is that every student learn to read music, and develop an understanding of music fundamentals. The level of sophistication will depend upon age and experience, but learning good musicianship is essential. At the same time, opportunities for creativity to develop through improvisation could be on the horizon for you. It is important to me that you want to learn and and want to become the best you can be.

*** Studio Equipment ***
I have a piano and computer with Finale at my home. I provide music and practice sheets, etc.

*** Specialties ***
For voice, I teach classical style, including posture, breathing, tone production, vowel production, phrasing, diction, appropriate style and performance practice, and music reading. Materials I use include everything from folk songs to arias, and 16th century to contemporary compositions, in English, Italian, Latin, French and German. Voice is my primary interest. I am also competent to teach beginning theory, and beginning piano, both classical and standard popular, including improvisation from charts (melody, chords).

itar and start singing." -- Angelina, age 16

*** Lesson Details ***
Each lesson will begin with tuning the guitar and warm-ups. Then we'll move on to either our practice books or a song or piece you have chosen to learn and study not found in the books.

If you are beginner, we'll start with how you handle the guitar and any technique issues. Then we'll work on note and chord recognition, the ability to sight-read and play from memory.

*** Studio Equipment ***
2011 Apple iMac;
MXL 910 microphone;
Yamaha Nylon-String Electric-Acoustic Guitar;
Yamaha Steel String Guitar;
Gibson Les Paul Special Electric Guitar;
Esteve Spanish Classical Guitar;
Roland Cube 80 electric guitar amplifier;
Ibanez T80 acoustic guitar amplifier

*** Travel Equipment ***
Music Stands;
Foot Rests

*** Specialties ***
Song Transcriptions - Use your ear to learn and notate song melodies and the guitar parts

alian Higher School Certificate Music Extension course. In 2008 Ms. L. won the Werner Baer Memorial Award and the audience prize in the Cochem International Piano Summer Festival in Germany. Most recently, Leanna participated at the Banff International Piano Master-Classes in Canada last year.

Ms. L. studied with Margaret Hair in Australia and has made several appearances performing in the United States, Canada, Germany, Asia and Russia. She has also performed in master classes for Marc Durand, Gary Graffman, Robert Levin, Susan Starr, Jacques Rouvier, Richard Raymond and Sarkis Baltaian. Previously, Leanna attained a Bachelor of Music at The Colburn School Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles, California, where she studied with John Perry. At The Colburn School, she was selected to be a Teaching Fellow through which she had several young private students. She was also selected as a Teaching Assistant at Boston University, where she is pursued her Masters of Music Degree at Boston University with Professor Boaz Sharon. Currently, she is studying with Professor Anton Nel at the University of Texas, Austin, as a part of her Doctorate of Musical Arts. She is working alongside Professor Gilmson as part of the Piano Project and Teaching Assistantship at the Butler School of Music.

granted a merit scholarship to Le Domaine Forget International Music Festival, where I studied with Bruce Holzman. I was a finalist and top prize winner in the 2015 ASU guitar competition. During my last year of study at Peabody, I also studied privately with Matt Palmer, who authored "The Virtuoso Guitarist: A New Approach to Fast Scales."

In 2016, I was granted a scholarship to study at the Aspen Music Festival under Sharon Isbin. I am now pursuing my masters degree under full scholarship at the Florida State University College of Music, where I am also a graduate teaching assistant to Bruce Holzman.

I play and teach classical, jazz, rock, acoustic, and have extensive knowledge of theory, ear training, and guitar technique/pedagogy/fretboard harmony.

Here is an article of mine!

http://takelessons.com/blog/learning-classical-guitar-right-hand-technique

in to name a few.
Ever since he started to form his own group to play for the public, trio has been his most favorite ensemble. He played with his trio many times at different venue in Boston, while he was attending Berklee College of Music. Also he was a featured jazz artist at Club Bohemia, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
As a sideman, he played and recorded many times in Boston, Lansing as well as South Korea. When MSU Spartan Jazz Trombone Group was a winner of ITA, Winding Jazz Trombone Ensemble Competition in 2014 he was the rhythm section.
Junewon Choi is not only fascinated by jazz guitar playing but also jazz harmony, arranging, and composing. “Isn’t It Love”, one of his composition has been released by recording of New York City based jazz guitarist, Peter Bernstein in 2012.
Currently, he plays guitar with Shekinah Worship Band every Sunday at Sa-Rang Comunity Church in Anaheim, CA, while he is working on his debut album by composing, arranging, and rehearsing with his trio.