Name: Henehene Kou 'Aka
Uploaded: 2023-08-27T17:33:06.539Z
Duration: 24 s
Description: Part of Henehene Kou 'Aka from the late great Iz.

Part of Henehene Kou 'Aka from the late great Iz. 

Ukulele

Guitar, Piano, English, Mandarin Chinese, and Meditation Teacher!

GUITAR AND PIANO LESSONS: A lifelong musician and songwriter, Ian has 17 years of extensive experience teaching guitar and piano to students of all ages both as a private music instructor and as a staff music instructor at several schools and arts programs. Ian has studied and performed with award-winning music artists, and has written, recorded, and produced over a hundred songs.  He plays and teaches a variety of styles on both the guitar and the piano, from classical to jazz to rock, and everything in between. Ian loves sharing the gift of music with anyone who wants to learn, and he is sought after by both local and online students nationwide for his unique and effective approach to teaching. His students consistently describe him as patient, friendly, and inspiring.

Ian was the guitarist in the Princeton University Jazz Ensemble for 3 seasons, was selected from a nationwide pool of musicians to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and was the recipient of the New Jersey Governor's Award in Arts Education.

MANDARIN CHINESE LESSONS: I have been studying Mandarin Chinese since 1994 (when it wasn't even cool to learn Chinese lol). I majored in Chinese at Rutgers University and studied at Donghai University in Taiwan. I can teach you correct pronunciation, grammar, sentence structure, and reading and writing. Get you brain ready for something new and unexpected!

MEDITATION SESSIONS: I have been practicing meditation for 20 years, and I understand how frustrating and difficult life can seem. Let me help you build a meditation practice that you can use as a refuge from the craziness of life.


*** Lesson Details ***
GUITAR AND PIANO LESSONS: I am very laid back and friendly. Through your lessons, you (or your child) will not only be playing songs you love, but will develop confidence and musical intelligence. I will make your lessons fun, enjoyable, and most of all effective.  Boredom is not an option!  Music is fun... let's keep it that way.  

The teaching methods I use will be custom-tailored to your individual needs, personality and specific goals. If it's guitar or piano you want to learn, I want to get you playing exactly what you want to be playing as soon as possible. That's what you're here for, and that's what I'm here for. If it's songwriting that you want to learn, I will help you access that place inside of you that is dying to express itself creatively, and will teach you techniques to harness that energy and translate it successfully into musical expression.

You can expect to learn all the basics of music theory, proper playing techniques, improvisation and spontaneous musical expression, and I will help you develop your "ear" so you can figure out songs you like just by listening to them. This is all about you and your goals, and I want you to achieve them in a fun and engaging way. Life is short! What are you waiting for?

*** Studio Equipment ***
Upright piano, acoustic and electric guitars, guitar amps, percussion

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in pop, rock, classical, jazz, blues, folk, fingerstyle guitar, etc.  I also teach improvisation and songwriting, and try to help develop the student's ear for figuring out songs they like on their own.

Henehene Kou 'Aka

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Music Performance

Mandarin

Country Guitar

Music Theory

Guitar

Piano

Classical Guitar

Acoustic Guitar

Meditation

Blues Guitar

English

Songwriting

Classical Piano

Beginner

Intermediate

•	Teach guitar and piano to students age 5 and up
•	Teach private lessons as well as group classes with up to 16 students
•	Develop and implement music curriculum for summer guitar program
•	Prepare students for semester-end recitals
•	Communicate with students’ parents on a weekly basis
•	Adhere to IMC regulations, guidelines, and objectives
•	Submit lesson plans and student evaluations at the end each     semester

Guitar and Piano Instructor

Guitar, Piano, Chinese, Meditation and Spiritual Counseling

MandarinChinese

I came to the ukulele with a guitarist background, and can teach it in the context of many styles. Ukulele is considerably easier than the guitar for many reasons, and I can help you learn everything you need to know in a simple and fun way so you can start playing songs you like as soon as possible!

As an older (aka mature adult) beginning learner, I found I'm to be informative, patient and flexible. 

Defiantly recommend for those more "seasoned."

I've been taking piano lessons with Ian for a couple of months now and it was the best choice I could have made! I thought I was "too late" to start learning how to play piano, but Ian has been very encouraging and a great support to make me feel at ease and more confident when approaching the piano. He's also proactively suggesting songs that I would like to make learning piano fun and engaging. I totally recommend Ian if you want your piano lessons to feel like a fun, stress-free time!

I’m rating Ian at 5 stars.  I’ve only just had my first lesson. Suffice it to say that I really felt a sense of calmness and encouragement from Ian, which is important to me as a beginner. He’s patient and the way he demonstrates and describes the material is perfect. That’s not to mention his expert level(very obvious, coming from a classical music aficionado). We are starting weekly sessions and I’m looking forward to the next session.

best guitar instructor! Ian's lessons are personalized and fun. I was able to learn tons of guitar techniques together with some musical theory along the way.

Extremely professional, knowledgeable and accommodating.

Ian is a talented, knowledgeable and thoughtful instructor. He listens to your needs and comes up with a plan to help you achieve what your looking for. Very personable and connects with his students immediately. Highly recommend.

I've learnt so much within a month!  I'm so excited for the future!   He's great!

Even it was my first lesson I can feel the progress and I am confident about achieving my goal. Thanks Ian!!

Ian is fantastic teacher. He was so patient with my toddler daughter. And when she became fuzzy during the class, Ian could be so creative to always come out with a way to calm her down and redirect her attention to other musical things. I would love him to be my daughter’s music teacher for as long as possible if I did not have to move.

Ian is very knowledgeable and is great in explaining theory and great in demonstrating so you can understand.

Ian is a fantastic instructor. In our second lesson, he completely changed the way I look at scales and soloing AND helped easily make sense of a music theory concept that always confused me (and how to apply it practically).

On top of it all, he is very approachable and easy to work with. Highly recommend!

This is a video I recorded for one of my students after his lesson, demonstrating to how to create a solo over chord changes.

Jazz improvisation - How to solo over Autumn Leaves

Here's my short but sweet arrangement of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". 
My advice: When arranging a chord-melody version of a song, always think about every little detail, and try to add a little flair. Spend time figuring out how to play what you'd like to hear, not just what you already know.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Chord Melody

This is a great piece to learn, because it sounds a lot more difficult than it actually is!

This is a video I sent to a student after their lesson, to reinforce what they learned during their lesson. In this excerpt, I show you how to play the beginning of the famous piano piece "Arabesque" by Friedrich Burgmuller. 

Have fun learning it!





How to play "Arabesque" on piano

In this video, you will learn the really important character 在 and how to use it to say where you are, or where something is. I will also talk briefly about the four tones in Chinese and how crucial they are when learning to speak this amazing language. 

How to talk about location in Chinese - The character 在

What awaits you when you learn guitar! I love improvising over the blues. Even just by myself, it's a perfect way to let out my emotions through the guitar. You can learn to do this too!

Blues

Using arpeggios to play the chords from "Lava"

LAVA - Sorry for my dog's butt in the background lol

What awaits you when you learn blues guitar...

I love improvising over the blues. Even just by myself, it's a perfect way to let out my emotions through the guitar. 

Ian S.

Henehene Kou 'Aka

Ian's Ukulele videos

Jazz improvisation - How to solo over Autumn Leaves

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Chord Melody

How to play "Arabesque" on piano

How to talk about location in Chinese - The character 在

Blues

Henehene Kou 'Aka

LAVA - Sorry for my dog's butt in the background lol

Blues guitar

Teacher Reviews (50)

Book online lesson

Start Fingerpicking in 5 minutes! Best Fingerpicking Exercise for Beginners

Simple Fingerpicking Exercise on Ukulele

Ukulele Lesson (E major scale)

NO POINTER FINGER Happy Birthday WALTZ STRUM accelerating trainer

Ode to Joy - Beethoven

The Parts of the Ukulele

My Top Favorite Guitar Picks

LAVA - Sorry for my dog's butt in the background lol

Beginner Ukulele Chord - Gm

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