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Active - Public

Music Theory

My goal is to help students ENJOY the piano by finding ways to make it easier and doable.  I have a very useful approach in helping students become self sufficient to sight read very well, to see patterns, understand music theory to either help them play well, or to even create their own music(I compose a lot of great music as well)  

   I couldn't sight read very well until I was 16, but I had a great sight reading teacher that showed me how to develop it, and now I can say that I'm one of the best sight readers out there that I know.  I was a ballet pianist at Brigham Young University for several years where all I did was sightread binders full of ballet/classical music.  I play for choirs, church congregations, jazz bands, or musical jam sessions all the time, and I couldn't do that at all if I didn't learn how to sight read well.  I would love to help you learn the piano, and I will do my best to make learning as effective as possible.  I especially enjoy teaching those who quit and would like to try again, because I know what that is like.

Concerning my musical background, I've played, arranged, and composed piano for choirs, bands, jazz combos, singers.  I've been in bands all my life, and have composed for jazz bands, choirs, and orchestras at BYU and in Eastern Europe.  I also play about 10 different instruments.  I won two Student Emmys in Hollywood for my compositions to BYU's animations in 2010 & 2014.  

I am currently writing music for video games.

Get all your tricky music theory questions answered in this live Q&A session with piano expert, Richard! In this class, Richard is available to answer any specific questions you have related to music theory and will also provide a general introduction to music theory, including tips for beginners.

Music Theory Help for All Levels

Piano

Arrangement and Composition

Japanese

Composition

English

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

College Television Awards (Student Emmy) Winner 2014

College Television Awards (Student Emmy) Winner 2010

I've had up to 30 students, mostly local, with about a third being online.

Piano teacher

I played and sight read piano music for Ballet Classes from large binders full of classical music like grand waltzes, polkas, or ragtime pieces.  It was great opportunity because I got a lot of experience playing in front of people in a high pressure situation where I couldn't stop playing or drop the beat because I had dancers that needed me to keep playing and playing well.  

I had to communicate with various teachers and their different communication styles when many of them didn't know how to express the musical ideas they wanted me to implement.  In other words, I had to learn to "read their minds" to a certain extent.

BYU Ballet Pianist

I played piano for modern dance classes in which all I did was play piano without any music on the spot for the dancers.  They would change styles often and using my music theory knowledge I would come up with things to play on the spot.  I also played drum set for those classes.

BYU Modern Dance Accompanist

I compose music for films, video games, and for all kinds of genres.  My favorite is for epic orchestras.  I have developed a very simplified version of music theory that I believe anyone can understand.  I always make things simple and understandable.  I was in Prague last year recording the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra on an upcoming album.  So I really know what I'm talking about in this area.

Richard is an intelligent and gifted musician..
His music is very cool! His talk is interesting.
And he is good at teaching English logically.
Thanks to Richard, I could understand English pronunciation very well.

Richard is approachable, well organized and able to adjust to the speed I needed. Fantastic instructor!
My online experience exceeded my expectation!

I've had 7 weeks of lessons with Richard so far and each one has been great. I feel like I've made good progress with each lesson I've had.
Richards systematic approach to constructing sentences made everything very easy for me to learn and understand. I'm very happy with the lessons I've had.

I have been studying with him already 1 year. He is the best instructor ever I had.

After 4 lessons she is learning important details of time measurement in the rhythm that she had not been taught before. Beginning a new challenging song now so we will see how to apply this method to take her playing to another level...

Initially my son was reluctant to take lessons.  He would conveniently forget the time and day of his lesson.  But after three lessons the conversation changed, he reminded me of the time and day.  Over the last four lessons Richard and my son have recorded a song.  I recommend Richard to any Parent with children that are interested in music as the subject matter.  He is accomplished, gracious, demanding but patient.

The instructor seemed impatient and it was easy to tell he would rather be doing something else. If you don't learn quickly, you might struggle with this instructor.

I really enjoyed my lessons with Richard! He helped me break songs down and taught me tools to read the music more quickly. I was only able to take lessons with him for a few months, but I feel as though it made a huge difference in my playing and reading. Definitely recommend!

My son just started today with Japanese lessons.  Richard quickly found out what he was capable of and challenged him at the level he needed, providing a useful list of words to practice right away.  My son loves him!

Richard is an awesome teacher who worked with my daughter to help her learn. Although she is not taking lesson for much longer, we are grateful for all the effort he put into the lessons. Thanks so much for everything!

I am really enjoying my lessons with Richard so far. He is very knowledgable and his tips have been super helpful. Definitely recommend!

Richard provides a very organized approach to learning Japanese. I have really enjoyed the success I have had in only a few lessons!

Extremely professional, he taught me lessons for about year. The books he recommended were very helpful and easy to understand. Richard has taught me the most useful Japanese phrases for real situations. I would recommend him to anyone who is beginning or intermediate like me. I would not have the skill speaking and reading that I do now without his tutoring.

Richard is a great teacher, and is patient, always ready to answer my questions. I am becoming more confident in my conversations.

Music Theory Help for All Levels - Music Theory Class

About Richard W.

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