La Place, LA Piano Lessons

lassical piano department in the School of the Arts High School of San Francisco. There I went through rigorous classical training and learned vast amounts of repertoire. At the same time, I still studied and played jazz in the high school Big Band, Latin Jazz band and small jazz combo. It was during this time that I deeply focused on not only Jazz music and improvisation, but also Salsa, Latin Jazz, R&B, Funk, Pop. Basically all other forms and styles of music. I learned what it means to be in a band and how to make an ensemble sound good and to make an audience like and cheer for the music. I was lucky to have bands and musicians to play with all around San Francisco, including jazz festivals.

After graduating as the only student to study in the Piano department for 4 years in my graduating class, I was accepted with scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston. I started my first semester in 2009, and declared a Piano Performance and Jazz Composition Dual Major in 2010. At Berklee, I studied under amazing piano teachers to focus on my jazz playing and technique and repertoire. Some of the classes I took included music theory, ear training, composition and arranging, scoring and analysis, even guitar and bass labs. As well, I was the main piano player for the Berklee Salsa Ensemble for 3 straight years. I was also involved with bands and playing recitals, shows, clubs, outdoors and indoor venues throughout Boston and Massachusetts. I had the honor of being hired by Berklee to travel and play along with other selected students at the Carnaval de Barranquilla honoring Joe Arroyo. This was the most memorable musical experience for me yet, as I played along great musicians for hundreds of people in a theater, including Joe Arroyo sharing the stage with the band.

All of this experience and training is what I bring to my lessons and tutoring sessions. I teach my students how to prepare themselves for any kind of musical situation, from music theory and technique, to piano playing and repertoire, and understanding and playing all kinds of styles and genres of music. Most of all, I teach my students to be unique in their musical endeavors and to bring out their own voice through music. And the most important element of all, the happiness and joy it brings to the students and others.

*** Lesson Details ***
In my piano and music lessons, you will be learning music theory, proper piano technique, ear training, sight reading, and repertoire. It will be up to the student to determine what genre and style of music they want to learn and study. It can be anything from classical music, jazz, or even Funk and R&B music and more. My students will also develop an ear, meaning that instead of only focusing on written material and music in sheet music format, they will learn to hear intervals and chords, and also play or sing back melodies.

My teaching style is very easy to get along with. I don't pressure or push students by being too strict. When learning music, being hard and strict gets the student nowhere. I approach the student with listening and understanding. It's my job to see the students advantages and keep them strong, as well as working on bringing up weaknesses and what's needed to make the student excel in both playing technique, and all other musical aspects.

When it comes to proper piano technique, I always teach my students with "Hanon, the Virtuoso Pianist in sixty excercises", and "Scales, Chords & Arpeggios" by James Bastien. After 3-6 months as my student, you will progress in your technique skills, ear training, repertoire and memorization

*** Studio Equipment ***
Main keyboard: Nord Stage 2 88 keysRecording equipment: M-Audio ProFire 2626 interface (modified), Black Lion Audio Inst/Mic Preamp, Black Lion Audio Master clock, KRK Rokit 6's, Shure SM57/SM58, Sterling Audio ST57 FET Condenser microphone, MacBook Pro with Logic, Ableton Live, Reason, Digital PerformerBass: Fender '57 reissue P Bass, made in JapanGuitar: Fender Deluxe Players Stratocaster, made in MexicoAmps: Behringer PA/Keyboard amp, Fender DeVille 2X12 60W all tube Guitar amp

*** Travel Equipment ***
Sheet music material and copied pages from books. Student should be able to provide their own books.

*** Specialties ***
Classically trained in Piano. Most recent styles and genres include Jazz, Fusion, Blues, Rock, Funk, R&B/Soul, Latin, Latin-Jazz, Salsa, Afro-Cuban

is unique and individualized to each student. I set personalized goals to make every lesson a success, and I push my students to get the most out of themselves just like I do myself. I'm always enthusiastic and humor driven to create a personable learning environment for students of any age. Music is my life, and I'm so thrilled to have the opportunity to share my greatest passion with the hope that my students, too, will fall in love with music!

*** Lesson Details ***
My lesson environment is laid back and stress-free. I like my students to feel inspired and encouraged as they begin or continue their music education. I introduce fun and innovative ways to build students' musicianship and creativity while retaining classical methods to develop strong technique and proper performance and practice habits.

For beginners, we'll be exploring the basics of either piano, or voice, while focusing on proper technique, basic theory, and a solid skill set. Within 3-6 months, my students are able to read music and understand the language of it.

For intermediate-advanced, we'll focus on building musicianship and skill sets by furthering studies in music theory, varying styles of repertoire, proper techniques that will greatly improve your piano and/or voice abilities, songwriting, improvisation, and live performance skills.

I ask that my students come prepared to every lesson with the motivation and commitment to learn something new each week! Lessons are a fun and creative way to discover yourself as an artist and a person, so let's get started!!

*** Studio Equipment ***
Kawai CN25 Upright Electric Piano, 13" MacBook Pro and iPad mini (Apple), A-Audio Elite HD Headsphones, BeatsStudio Studio Headphones (beats by dr. dre) and G900DX Studio Headphones (Gear One).

olin, your voice is an instrument.
The purpose of voice lessons is to help you develop a beautiful and dynamic singing voice and also to teach you to use your voice in a healthy age-appropriate way that will keep you singing for many years to come!
As your teacher, I want your lesson to be more than just singing through a few songs.
While what specifically happens during a voice lesson can vary greatly from student to student and from week to week, the overall structure of the lessons remains similar.
We will always start with some combination of warm-ups for your breath, body, and voice. Just as you wouldn't go running without first stretching and warming up your muscles, you don't want to start singing full songs without first getting your body and voice warmed up.
Warm-ups will also introduce you to new techniques for properly using your voice in a healthy and beautiful way.
After warm-ups, we will work on songs. Typically, you will sing through the song once, and then we will go through it in small, manageable chunks, applying the techniques from the warm-ups to the songs.
During the lesson we will also work on expression and acting. A song isn't just pretty notes—it tells a story. If it's a song from a musical, there's a specific character that sings it. It's your job as a singer to tell the story and to make it fun and exciting for the audience.
While there's a lot of hard work that goes on during a lesson, voice lessons are lots of fun! As your teacher, I am here to encourage you, support you, and guide you in your vocal studies. I look forward to working with you soon!

*** Studio Equipment ***
Music studio room, 2 full size keyboards, music stands, book shelf, desk, parking lots (free).

*** Specialties ***
Classical, Music Theater, Jazz

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

vocal accompanist for Tulane students as well as for local churches.

I am able to offer lessons at Tulane University and am able to travel throughout the metropolitan area. As I am frequently performing throughout the state, I can also arrange special lessons in other cities. Feel free to contact me about scheduling a lesson!

I am also happy to assist you in finding an instrument, supplies, sheet music and method books. Having the right setup is the best way to ensure success!

niversity as an academic coach. In this role, I helped students process concerns and create goals regarding developing time management skills, coping strategies for anxiety, study skills, information processing and motivation. These experiences have helped me gain a continually growing understanding of facilitating the learning process with individuals and with groups.

I teach student development classes (critical thinking, motivation theory, study strategies, time management, stress management, etc.) at a local community college, I teach an upper-level learning and development course (views of learning, motivation, the memory process, memory strategies, critical issues in education, etc.) at a local university, and I work as an academic coach at another local university.

As the information above may suggest, I hold education to such a high, passionate regard. It is what promotes a healthy, well-informed society. As an auto-didactic learner, I believe that everyone has the ability to learn anything one desires. It is a matter of how one approaches it. Therefore, my approach is one that is peculiar to each of the individuals I work with.

I present concepts with the idea that the combination of experience, discourse, and meaning-making is the key to learning. This aside from my teaching tools based on the views of learning. With an aversion towards cookie-cutter approaches, I maintain an open mind to my invariably evolving approach of sharing knowledge and insight with others. This comes with my continual seeking of growth in the art of teaching with consideration of the process of learning. Further, I strive to create a warm, positive atmosphere that allows one to feel comfortable with making mistakes, with making progress and with being themselves. Fundamentally, this is my approach to working with people.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT COACHING: Using my insight gained as a counseling student, I am happy to offer my personal development coaching service. In this role, I help individuals develop their path of change, making sure motivation and focus is well-maintained. I provide a judgment-free and understanding atmosphere for one to reflect and process concerns as well as work towards making personal changes (e.g. self-actualization, career, anxiety management, lifestyle, life changes) from an existential perspective. I believe that such a space should be available for everyone, so I am especially happy to provide it.

My approach to personal development coaching is based on my therapeutic orientation called Gestalt Therapy (GT). The underlying idea of GT is that awareness is the key initiator of change. Awareness allows one to discern where such things as anxiety, unhappiness, ambivalence, etc. stem from. I believe that it is important for every human being to go through such a process so that peace and awareness within brings peace and awareness to the outer world. I am inspired by and influenced by the ideas of Carl Jung (Analytical Psychology- particularly the Psychological Types) and Carl Rogers (Client-Centered Therapy). I help facilitate the process in a genuinely humane, empathic and professional manner. If interested, please, see the details I have provided under Life Coaching. I work with grade school students and adults. I am absolutely loyal to the idea of confidentiality; therefore, I ensure that information of anybody I work with is not at risk of being shared with a third party.

ACADEMIC COACHING/STUDY SKILLS: Using my passion for education and my insight gained in my few years (so far) immersed in the world of education, I help students (grade school and college) develop areas of their academic life needing improvement. As suggested above, I help students develop time management, learning strategies, coping strategies for anxiety, and motivation (i.e. help them to see the value of learning). Though it is a valuable tool, it is presently not a service that is offered at most schools in the area.

WRITING: As a lover of reading and writing, I understand the value of expressing thoughts, feelings and ideas. As a writer, my focus is on creative writing (mostly short stories presently) and essays. Given my undergraduate and postgraduate experiences, I have written many academic papers, in APA format and in MLA format. I edit and revise papers as well as help individuals develop their writing voice, develop their ideas, develop an approach to structuring writing, maintain consistency with writing and provide genuine feedback. Beyond that, my help with writing is limited to the goals of the the individual.

TWO IMPORTANT THINGS: I strive to maintain a positive collaboration with those I work with. I believe this is one of the most important parts of the process. Also, I promote the idea of Soul. To me, Soul is any sincere display of passion. With Soul, we perform in a most genuine and graceful way. I personally believe that whether one is playing the piano, writing a story, living life, singing, giving a speech or anything (necessarily peaceful), one should do it with Soul.

LASTLY, I am open to: Going beyond my travel radius, at an agreed-upon adjusted rate; working with multiple students, at an agreed-upon adjusted rate; meeting at a public place that is convenient, if it is preferred; and meeting at a student's location, depending on the preferred time and the distance.

I mentioned everything that is above so that it may be known and understood. Feel free to send me a message if you have questions about any of the services I provide, my approach or anything!

PEACE BE WITHIN YOU