Mililani Music Lessons

** For any students who are WITHIN 10 miles of my location, we can discuss lowering the price of travel. Feel free to contact me via the Ask a Question tool to discuss this

*** For any students who are OUTSIDE of my listed travel radius, we can discuss a custom travel fee, based off the time and distance to your home. Feel free to contact me via the Ask a Question tool to discuss this, as well.

. Jeff prides himself on customizing every student's lessons based on their particular preferences, goals and skill level. "It's a very personalized kind of instruction, as I never take a cookie-cutter
approach to teaching…".
Jeff's 3 promises to all students is to give them personalized lessons, be attentive to their needs and goals. and to make them feel like every lesson is worth their investment of time and money. As long as students practice regularly, they can expect to dramatically increase their clarity of playing, their chord "inventory", their musical ear and awareness and play the songs they've always wanted to learn.

After honing his craft as a songwriter and performer, Jeff created and taught music classes at colleges, universities, and music schools throughout the country for many years, including UCLA Extension, Santa Monica College, Pasadena City College and The Harrison School Of Music. Jeff is currently teaching ukulele classes and songwriting classes at Tacoma Community College and Pierce College, both in Washington state.

When asked to summarize his views on teaching and music: "Teaching and playing music always puts a smile on my face; especially when I see that the student is having fun, learning what they want to learn and feeling the passion about music that motivated me to pursue my own musical career".

As a working singer/songwriter/guitarist, Jeff is known for his memorable melodies, intelligently crafted lyrics and heartfelt vocals. His compositions have earned him over 50 awards from various national and international songwriting contests and he's a former staff songwriter for the long-standing New York City-based publisher, Bourne Music. He has also won best music video awards at 3 international film festivals.

Some of the artists that Jeff has been compared to as a guitarist and vocalist include Keb' Mo', James Taylor, Kenny Loggins, Ry Cooder, John Mayer, Bill Withers, Jim Croce, and Don Henley.

Jeff is a NJ native, but lived and performed in Los Angeles for many years, where he worked in the studio or shared the stage with well-known artists such as Dave Koz, Norman Brown, John Daversa, Hiroshima, Little Richard and N'Dea Davenport.

Jeff catalog of over 450 songs and compositions spans virtually every genre, but many of his tunes are amalgams of pop, blues, jazz, R&B, country and rock. Quite a number of Jeff's songs
have appeared in film and TV. One that Jeff is particularly proud of, is the dynamic pop ballad, "Journey Of The Heart" (co-written by Jeanne Smith), which was licensed by the N.C.A.A. (National
Collegiate Athletic Association), who deemed it "the official anthem" of their NCAA Hall Of Champions facility in Indianapolis.

Jeff has commercially released 4 CD's of his original material: The most recent of these is his 2013 release, "Blujanova" (a merging of blues, jazz and bossa nova), which was praised by platinum selling and Grammy-nominated jazz star, Dave Koz: "Jeff's voice is so clean and pure...the production is lovely...warm and inviting...I love the interesting and surprising takes on some classics too, especially 'I Feel Good'…that brought a smile to my face!".
The other CD's stretch into other genres. "Truthteller" (bluesy pop/rock and singer/songwriter material) "Me, Myself, and I" (acoustic) and "The Spin" (pop, rock, and country-tinged singer/songwriter material). All of Jeff's albums are on his label, Relevant Records. The late great John Braheny, author of the best-selling "The Craft And Business Of Songwriting (Writer's Digest Books), gave high praise to Jeff's CD, "The Spin", calling it "honest, crafty, melodic and the songs are all exceptional". Patch called Jeff "a consummate songwriter".

*** Lesson Details ***
At the first lesson, I will ask you to tell me what songs you want to play and artists you want to play like and I will set the table for that by providing the chords you'll need, chord and scales and exercises to enable you to play them and guidelines and tricks on how to make it happen as quickly as possible. I know a wide variety of songs in all styles and styles, including current hit songs as well as pop, rock, blues, jazz, country songs. if you have a song or artist that I don't know already, I will learn it (often on the spot) and if not right then, at the next lesson. I have taught my students to play songs by artists as varied as Taylor Swift, U2, Jason Mraz, Adele, Eric Clapton, Django Reinhardt, Doc Watson. And that's just naming a few.

I always make it clear to my students at the first lesson: "There is no such thing as a stupid question". I want you to feel comfortable to stop me at any time to clarify what I am teaching you, ESPECIALLY if it is too difficult or vague. I pride myself on always being organized for your lesson and making sure that you grasp whatever it is I am teaching you. The goal is to get you to be able to play what you want as quickly as possible. This will take practice and dedication on your part, but I will do everything in my power to help you get there.

I never force anything on any of my students. but I feel it would be beneficial for you to learn to read music OR read tablature and chord diagrams. You tell me which one and we'll go in that direction. If you'd like to read music, then we can decide on a book for you. I have used Hal Leonard instructional books (with CD's! this way you can play with a backing track and get a sense of rhythm, which is very important), but I'm open to other method books you might have or like.

After 3 to 6 months, you will feel you are significantly more skilled on the guitar than you were before we started lessons. You will know more chords (and move from chord to chord), be able to do at least some basic fingerpicking and be able to read some music or tablature.

*** Specialties ***
Acoustic fingerstyle guitar (a la James Taylor, John Mayer, Eric Clapton, Keb' Mo', Jason Mraz, John Martyn, Jim Croce, etc.

Blues guitar a la Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Keb' Mo', Jorma Kaukonen, Ry Cooder, etc.

Bossa nova guitar

Songwriting (any aspect and any level; musically, lyrically, structurally, etc.)

the songs of Taylor Swift---quite a few of my younger students want to play her material, so I have about 15 songs ready to teach you and always learning more (by popular demand)

Adapting songs that are keyboard-based and creating arrangements of them for acoustic guitar. Examples include songs by Adele, songs by Elton John, Irina Menzel's huge hit song from "Frozen", John Legend's "All Of Me", Coldplay's "Viva La Vida", etc.

Recording on Garageband.
I became so skilled with Garageband that I was asked to give seminars at Apple Store locations, showcasing my recordings and how to use the program.

Voice-overs; performance, recording, etc.

veled to China as the concertmaster of KSU Symphony Orchestra for a three-concert tour that included a performance at the Central Conservatory in Beijing. In 2012 I moved to Chicago to pursue my Graduate Degree in Violin Performance at DePaul University School of Music. I served as the concertmaster of DePaul University Symphony Orchestra and was very lucky to learn from some great world-class musicians and professors. I never stopped teaching, even while being in school I had 20+ students I was teaching full time. I love to teach because it gives me great joy to share my passion with other people.

After my husband got a job with the Navy Fleet Band, we moved to Hawaii. If you are looking for experienced, patient teacher for your child or for yourself, I am a perfect match. Please read the reviews my former students/parents were kind to leave on my profile.

*** Lesson Details ***
I conduct my lessons in a friendly and non-stressful way. I am a very patient and enthusiastic person. If the student has a willingness to learn, I make sure that I do everything to capitalize on that and help them to reach their highest potential.
I structure my lessons to be very organized so we do not lose any time. I always give 100% of my energy in every lesson. I try to make the lesson interesting so it never gets boring for the student by teaching technical aspects and fundamentals as well as exploring a wide variety of styles and genres of music.
I require all of my students to practice at home. Practice is essential in making music. If the student does not practice he or she is not going to learn as fast and it will take a while to improve in their playing.
I do not teach all of my students the same way. I try to find different approaches for every student in order to accommodate their level of playing and their needs. I believe that there is no one perfect method to teach a student. I usually combine traditional and Suzuki methods. I construct the lesson based on what student needs to work on to improve as well as what student wants to learn. I always talk to the student to make sure that we have set the same goals, because I believe that it is important to be on the same page with the student.
I also do not have any age limits for my students. I believe that children of a very young age are very observant and open minded. I can start teaching a child as early as 4 years old. I also believe that it is never too late to start learning to play an instrument.

***Cancellation policy***
I understand that emergencies happen. Please be kind enough to contact me as soon as you know that you won't be able to make it to the lesson so we can reschedule or cancel without you being charged for it.
If you cancel your lesson less than an hour before its scheduled time, the lesson will be counted as attended. If the lesson is canceled at least an hour before its scheduled time, it will be rescheduled or cancelled without it being counted as attended.

*** Studio Equipment ***
living room studio set up, chair/couch for seating, driveway parking.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I expect students to have an instrument, a music stand and a willingness to learn. I provide some teaching materials, but it might be necessary for you to purchase one or two music books.

*** Specialties ***
Traditional and Suzuki methods.

ion and programming.

As a composer, she studied with Robert Frank, Mark Dal Porto and attended masterclasses with Donald Erb, Wynton Marsalis and Samuel Adler to name a few. Her compositions have been performed in Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. A commissioned composer, her Dualities for Clarinet, Brass Ensemble, Electronics and Percussion; Fantasia pour Cor; Feline Romp for solo clarinet; works performed in the classical idiom.Plains of Lhasa and Tearing were composed in the electro-acoustic medium. She is a member of ASCAP, TMEA, TODA, ASTA, and self publishes. She has performed internationally and in addition to her professional schedule, taught music technology related courses and music theory as an adjunct professor at Collin College, Spring Creek Campus and maintains an active private teaching studio in Honolulu along with her duties as a faculty member in the music department at Brazosport College and retired Head Director of the orchestra program at Brazosport High School and its feeder school system.

cting: All levels

WHERE DO I TEACH?
*Piano: Mililani Homes, St Peter’s Episcopal & Online
*Organ: St. Peter’s Episcopal & Online
*Voice: St. Peter’s Episcopal (In person lessons only)
*Conducting: St. Peter's Episcopal (In person lessons only)

NOTE: Parents are welcomed to attend the lessons!
In fact, I encourage that!!

WHAT IS MY STYLE OF TEACHING?
Every student is different and what works for one may not work for another. It's important for me to know my students so I can better shape the lesson. I love questions, reflection, and humor. I'm very patient and understanding. We are all incredibly busy and accept that students may have weeks they are not able to practice a huge amount of time.

WHAT DO I DO IN ADDITION TO GIVING LESSONS?
I am the Coordinator for Therapeutic Music & Volunteer Coordinator at Hospice Hawaii and the Director of Music at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Honolulu.

rs call". I am full of repertoire and can recommend songs specifically for your voice to help build your book.

entiated Learning teaching techniques.

My experience as an intercultural and international musician, and as a teacher enables me to collaborate with people from varying backgrounds.

I strive to tailor each student's experience. Facilitating progression and learning at the individual level.

Throughout my teaching career, my focus has been centered around cultivating the students’ interest by awakening a sense of music appreciation while teaching them the technical skills of playing an instrument.

Apart from teaching, I have been a performer for 12 years with various orchestras. And now you can see me play with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra in Oahu, where I live and teach.

I am looking forward to bringing the joy of music into your life!

s. No talent necessary - learn at your own pace! I excel at efficient lessons and teaching you how to practice efficiently to make maximum progress with minimum time investment. I am happy to answer questions in between lessons, including reviewing a short video with a question and/or answering with a quick video to demonstrate the answer.