Kimmswick, MO Songwriting Lessons

ptionally good lesson.

Making music is a skill which can bring lifelong joy to the musician as well as everyone around them. While I can easily ensure that my students enjoy music-making while they are taking lessons, my ultimate goal is that students continue to want to make music throughout their entire life, even after they stop taking lessons. I firmly believe that my job as a teacher is to train my students to be independent and self-sufficient musicians. Many teachers teach by rote, playing a passage to a student and then having the student play it back. Though this method is helpful in some situations, students who are taught in this manner often find that they are only able to play the songs taught to them in lessons, and that to learn a new song they must have a teacher by their side showing them how the song goes. In my lessons, however, students are taught to learn their own music through sight-reading, ear-training, music theory, and listening to and critiquing their own playing. Over time, this allows the student more and more freedom to make music without a teacher.

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My students can expect professional, expert advise from a working performance artist. One of my main philosophies is a focus on fun. If music is fun, then students will practice more - which leads to accelerating returns. My students can expect lessons tailored to their specific goals. First I will discuss with the student musical influences and genre preferences, then I will assess the student's current abilities and we will begin designing a weekly regimen of practice and study. As a product of the Internet generation, I recommend using all the tools available to my students including the Internet to further their goals. My students will also learn to perform with other musicians, so we will typically have a segment of each lesson dedicated to jam time. Whether my students aspire to be professional performance artists, impress their love interests, or just rock out in their bedrooms, I work with my students so that they can do exactly that.

*** Studio Equipment ***
one bedroom apt...hardwood floor...central room for studio...music stands, room parents to sit, chairs...

*** Travel Equipment ***
I bring a music stand, an acoustic guitar, my handout literature, and any other equipment (mic, stand, vocal amp, electric guitar, guitar amp) based on what my students want to learn. I expect my students to own whatever instruments they want to learn.

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in teaching acoustic and electric guitar and stage performance. I teach using handouts that I customize for students and have lessons made up around different concepts such as - learning to identify what key a song is in - how to use 3 chord combinations - learning scales and when to use them - these type of things. I usually teach based on how I learned, which includes - using the Internet to learn songs - how to figure out how a particular song is played - getting into good practice habits - etc. My genres of specialty are Blues, Rock/Classic Rock/Southern Rock, and Acoustic Singer/Songwriter. What I like to do is ask a student what kind of music or songs they would like to learn, then build them up to the level they need to be to play those songs or that style of interest.

guitarist Peter Leitch.

In 1993 he started St. Louis SoundWorks with Grammy nominated Adam Long and Mark McClanahan that specialized in mobile recording, and composing music for films and commercials.

As a musician, David has composed over 200 pieces for various instruments and combinations from small chamber ensembles to full orchestra. He was bandleader of two creative ensembles that focused on alternative notation compositions and improvised music, and later co-founded the avant-garde influenced rock band Diverted Course which released two CD's.

As a teacher, David has taught classical guitar and musicianship as an adjunct faculty member at Meramec College and Webster University. He has given seminars on the music of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Anthony Braxton. He has been teaching privately for 23 years and many of his students have gone on to successful music careers and performed all over the world.

*** Lesson Details ***
I teach students of all ages in a fun and positive manner. I am flexible and will tailor the lessons to satisfy your own individual goals. Whether you are a beginner that wants to gain a foundation in technique, sight reading, and basic theory or an intermediate or more advanced player that wants to increase their knowledge and polish their skills, I will devise a plan to meet your needs. I encourage regular practice and like my students to keep a journal to monitor their progress.

I teach a variety of styles including classical guitar, blues, rock, jazz, and avant-garde.

Ultimately, I believe everyone needs a creative outlet, a way to express themselves, and has something unique to say, and I aim to help those students find their own voice.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Extra guitars and amps at both places. Mixing board at the studio. Only has a upright piano at his home address but has a keyboard at studio

*** Travel Equipment ***
Expect my students to provide the guitar. Amplification is optional.

*** Specialties ***
Classical, jazz, rock, blues, and avant-garde.

ory that I knew how much I not only loved the thrill of playing music but the discovery of how it worked. With this experience I can show you or your child why learning an instrument can be not only an exciting experience but an interesting and enthralling one as well.

I have been teaching music for over 7 years and have had the privilege of teaching children as young as 4 to adults in their late 80's. I am a very attentive teacher who can not only help get you moving in the right direction but keep you on that path until your are a self-sufficient musician. A level of musicianship that simply means you can learn whatever you want on your instrument on your own, whether it be for business, pleasure or for mere self-improvement.

Through my own student career in private lessons I had the chance to study with graduates of the Musician's Institute (MI), the California Institute of the Arts (CAL Arts) and Berklee College of Music. This has provided me with an inside look into how and what each institute teaches, as well as a first hand look at the techniques and ideas that the great players from these remarkable schools have come to produce.

My formal music education consists of 2 years at Pasadena City College where I obtained my general Associates Degree (much of the studies included music) and a semester at California State University Long Beach as a Jazz Guitar Performance Major. Additionally, I completed a great deal of California State University Long Beach's teaching credential program (focusing on the teaching of history/social studies), where I learned strategies and theories of how and what to teach my students - making me that much more knowledgable of my craft. At Pasadena City College I studied with jazz/classical guitarist, Ron Berman, who has played with such jazz greats as Herb Ellis and Jimmy Wyble. At Cal State Long Beach I studied with jazz guitarist Ron Eschete, a former teacher at MI who has toured with the likes of Ray Brown, John Dizzy Gillespie and Jim Hall.

Most importantly I hope to show you or your child a new way to love and appreciate music. And to provide you with the ability and know-how to have the most fun on your instrument as possible.

*** Lesson Details ***
Throughout my lessons, I always encourage basic skills including scales, sight-reading and technical exercises. But what I hope to give all my students is a basic understanding of music and their instrument, providing them with a practical ability to navigate the vast world of music for a lifetime.

Beyond these skills, I always have songs, styles and theory for you to work on but I am often more interested in what you as an individual want to learn on your instrument. Getting to learn concepts that you have chosen yourself will help encourage practice and will make the finished product all the more the rewarding.

I can custom tailor a teaching curriculum and/or style for any of my students: we can focus on learning songs, learning to read, how to write music, how music works, and even how to play specific styles of music (including funk, rock, jazz, Latin, flamenco, classical, country and blues). I also self tailor my own worksheets and set weekly goals with my students to help encourage practice, understanding and progress. For students interested in more advanced concepts, I can also teach ear training, music theory, advanced jazz improvisation as well as advanced playing techniques.

All this in a friendly and easy-going teaching environment.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Located in my home garage, it is equipped with a small stage, an upright piano, an electric keyboard, a PA system, amplifiers, a drum set, a lap steel guitar, a pedal steel guitar, 2 cellos, multiple guitars, 3 mandolins, a dobro, a 5-string banjo, a 4-string tenor banjo, 2 ukuleles, 2 accordions and 2 electric basses.

*** Specialties ***
Styles: Jazz, Rock, Reggae, Metal, Funk, Progressive Rock, Classical, Folk, Bluegrass, Country, Various forms of Latin Music, Blues, and a few others.

Instruments: Beginning to Intermediate - Drums, Accordion and Piano.

Beginning to Advanced - Guitar, Mandolin, Cello, Banjo (5 String), Irish Tenor Banjo (4 String GDAE), Tenor Banjo (4 String CGDA), Electric Bass, Ukulele, Dobro, Lap Steel Guitar (6 String C6 Tuning), Slide Guitar, Pedal Steel Guitar (10 String E9 Tuning).

I also teach the beginning and advanced concepts of:
Music Theory, Ear Training, Sight Reading, and Song Writing.

or artist development for musicians & artists of all kinds.

I use a unique-to-you approach in my coaching sessions. Using Life-Coaching practices in musical sessions allows me to dive deeper into goal setting and achievement for greater outcomes in your overall artistic expression and success.

My goal is to help you meet your goal(s) as quickly, accurately, and as efficiently as possible. I strive to coach for fast, meaningful, fulfilling, lasting results that you can actually use and apply in practical, real world musical situations for years to come.

Your friend and coach,

- Jake