Offutt Afb, NE Songwriting Lessons

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Teaching Philosophy -

My teaching philosophy is built on well rounded communication, explanation and examples. So, that a student can truly understand and learn a topic, surrounded in a very humorous, light and supportive environment.
Along with being provided good information, a student learns better and feels more motivated to learn when there is a balance of positive support and confidence building accompanied by constructive criticism and examples/information that can help a student assess what ever walls they may be meeting in their musical growth.

I understand that all students/artists have different goals they wish to achieve. So it is very important to me to accommodate each individuals needs and wants to help them grow in the fields they wish too; However, In that I have played music for a long time, I understand there are certain things that a student may not have been exposed to yet; It is important that while focusing on a students artistic goals they respect and are open to the suggestion and guidance of their teacher.

I truly believe music has an amazing influence on the world and has the ability to change peoples way of thinking. Therefore, I try and keep an open awareness to all music, so that I can understand all different musical languages utilized to communicate to people, and I don't believe I will ever know them all. I hold it to attention to influence my students somewhat similarly so that they can shape the landscape of how we communicate musically in the future.

I also try and be very patient with my students. Knowing that when I feel rushed, it makes information more difficult to comprehend, remember and allocate. I love watching the gears run in my students head, so I try and provide information that pushes a student but is within their abilities.

HUMOR is very important. I like to break people out of their shell by telling a joke and hopefully getting one back, so they feel more comfortable and free. One of a Artists worst enemies are nerves. Keeping things light-hearted and maybe even a little small talk can be very helpful to a students development and growth on a topic. After all, Art is meant to be fun and we should enjoy every moment of it, in fact we should enjoy every moment in life period.

I understand music requires focus and discipline and I have certain expectation of a student to understand that and practice. You can't buy chops, you can't buy music theory etc. you can get help but eventually your the one who must understand it and play it.

I am here to help you. Based on what I know and what I have extensively studied, I will do all that I can to help you achieve your musical goals. I am here to answer your questions and help you grow. I love teaching because I love sharing knowledge; As long as your seek it, it is here for you. Otherwise, I'd still love to hear some jokes.

Education -

MUSIC
_Bachelors in Music - 2016 - Guitar Performance (Musicians Institute, CA)
_Associates in Music - 2011 - Guitar Performance (Musicians Institute, CA)
_Major in Music - (Academy for Visual and Performing Arts) - 2008
_Garden of Angels - 2003 - Performance Academy

DANCE
_Krump, Pop-n-Lock - 2012 - (Xtreme)
_Break Dancing - 2011 - (Fun.Krew)
_Traditional Brazilian Dance & Samba - 2014

MARTIAL ARTS
_Capoeira - Current - (Capoeira Batuque with Mestre Amen)
_Wing Tsun - 2013 - (Johnny from the Emin Boztepe School)

ART
_Graffiti - 2011 - (Fun.Krew)
_General Art - 2008 - (AVPA)
_Painting - 2003 - (Garden of Angels)

Much Love,
Azuri Zen M.

*** Lesson Details ***
I'm very disciplined but am also very light hearted. It's important for me to assess things seriously, so that one can understand a topic or piece of information.

I generate my lessons based on the individuals needs and therefore draw from various curriculums, sources and examples, such as : MI curriculum for ear training, Theory, Single string Technique, Reading, Rhythm guitar, Ted Greenes Chord Chemistry, Berklee Guitar Method, as well as The Real Book, other artist books(Eric Clapton, etc.) The Guitar Players Hand Book, Bach pieces and self developed curriculums, relative to the topic at hand and students personal goals, amongst many others.

-Beginning students within three months of consistent lessons should have the ability to solo and playing chords to songs that they are interested in and songs provided in the lesson along with a basic understanding of the major scale and its relationship to all of the diatonic music.

-intermediate students should have an elevated understanding of scale and chord patters along with the theory that explains modal relationships and use of these concepts.

-Advanced students should learn all of diatonic scale shapes and modes assuming they don't already know them in which case their specifically situation will be assessed

-Professional students I expect to have specific questions therefore where they grow should be largely subjective.

Overall, in a short amount of time on a scale of 1 - 10 I expect to in three months at-least elevate a students musical abilities one full point if not more.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Studio in home in private room with guitars, amps, piano, and seating.
Em's studio is family owned cafe with studio in finished basement with an office, recording equipment, and teaching space for acting and guitar.

*** Specialties ***
As a Musician I try and play as many styles and be proficient in as many as possible and therefore can play most. However, in the fields of blues, jazz, funk, flamenco and Latin I excel.

king Suzuki piano lessons when I was 5 and quickly fell in love with the piano. Since the Suzuki method incorporates such thorough ear-training and the ability to play without sheet music, I quickly began to explore my creative side and was improvising on the piano by age 7. Naturally, this led to composition! Music was flowing through me, and I was able to both improvise and compose my inspirations on the piano. I entered and placed in the Reflections state composition contest each year. Throughout my youth, I was also very involved with the band (played trumpet), dance, drama and attended many symphonies, ballets, plays and operas - giving me a well-rounded artistic upbringing.

I pursued my passion and earned a Bachelor's degree in music composition from Mills College, followed by a Master's degree in music composition from the renowned California Institute of the Arts. My thorough education has taught me to compose for any instrument or ensemble as well as compose for film, dance, and theater. It has also taught me to understand the piano in-depth, along with theory and ear-training. Since graduating in 2006, I have scored several films, received commissions to compose for ensembles and musicians, and taught both composition and piano lessons. I also created an ensemble named SIRËoNa that I composed for, managed, and performed piano, percussion, and indigenous flutes in, and I was interviewed and featured on NPR along with local radio stations and newspapers. I have produced two CD's. Most recently, I composed a score for a silent film, premiering live with the Seattle Jazz Ensemble as part of the moisture festival in Seattle.

Do you want to learn to sit at any piano and simply play what you feel? Or turn that tune running through your head into a song that you or others can perform? Or to master every detail of a piece of music so that you can express it exactly as the composer intended? I can teach you! I encourage all ages and backgrounds to explore their creative musical passions and discover the endless possibilities of piano performance and music composition!

*** Lesson Details ***
When teaching piano, I take a similar approach to the Suzuki method. But instead of teaching from the Suzuki books, I teach my own composed exercises and pieces that I believe are more fun and accessible to today's student of any age! I create MP3 recordings of each exercise and have students listen to and memorize the exercises in their own time.This is a very important aspect of my lessons that thoroughly develops the ear - giving the student the ability to play the exercise from memory and to deeply understand the connection between their actions and the resulting sound.

I develop my exercises to progress each student through an increasing degree of technique difficulty and musical parameters - such as rhythm, melody, chords, harmony, key and range. Beginning exercises will isolate a specific musical parameter to bring thorough understanding of its possibilities, while advanced exercises and pieces will work on coordinating multiple parameters and techniques at the same time. Within 6 months, a beginner piano student will have tackled and perfected simple yet fun exercises that incorporate each major musical parameter, as well as develop correct posture and finger technique, and have developed some ear training and basic music theory skills. I also have my students do creative exercises, which develop more thorough ear training and the ability to eventually improvise and compose on the piano. More advanced piano students will perfect their ability to interpret and express each piece of music that they play and will receive thorough ear training, music theory lessons, and develop their creative abilities through piano improvisation and composition. Once they have tackled the fundamentals, intermediate and advanced piano students will learn the classics as well.

Along with piano lessons, I'm also highly qualified to teach music composition - including beginning to advanced composition, music theory, composing for any instrument or ensemble, Sibelius computer notation program, film scoring, and orchestration.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Private room, desk, professional digital piano - 88 keys fully weighted, piano bench. 2 professional cameras and iMac computer for online lessons. Percussion instruments for young students. Sibelius for composition students... Parents can sit in.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I expect students to have their own piano or keyboard when having a lesson in their home.

*** Specialties ***
Piano, Composition, Suzuki method, Classical, Contemporary, Ear Training, Memory Training, Piano Improvisation, Music Theory, Piano Ergonomics, In-depth Holistic Approach, Music History, Rhythm and Percussion. Success in teaching ages 3 and up, all backgrounds and ages.

rriculum. A couple of years later in 1998, Frixos found his true calling … music composition, Jazz and the Saxophone. Frixos’ purple tenor sax goes everywhere he goes!

“Part of my love for the Saxophone is rooted in this instrument’s versatility for improvisation.” Moving into music composition seemed a natural course for Frixos to follow, culminating in his graduation in 2013 with a University of Florida Music Composition BA from The New World School of the Arts in Miami.

“I was fortunate to be selected to play in various collegiate and other Jazz bands and be mentored by great jazz performers and educators.” Among them was Ed Calle, twice nominated for the Latin Grammy Award; Joe Donato, one of the most active and innovative musicians working in the field of jazz who has performed with many of the greats including Dizzy Gillespie, Art Blakey, Carmen McRae, Nina Simone, Jack Jones, and Arturo Sandoval; Rafael Valencia where “I was honored to play for his Latin Jazz Big Band” says Frixos; the wonderful pianist Jim Gasior who has played with Ed Calle, Wendy Pedersen, Fernando Ulibarri and Aaron Lebos; the published and well decorated guitarist Dr. Mike Di Liddo, to name a few.

Of course there were lesser known people that had a profound influence on Frixos for which he makes it a point to say that he is “eternally grateful”. He adds, “My passion for composing was further affirmed thanks to Dr. Susan Epstein Garcia who showed me that there’s no limit to musical expression.” Dr. Ferdinando De Sena brought Frixos another dimension through his teachings of electronic music.

Frixos seeks to create variety in his compositions, by using worldly rhythms and sounds expressed through a multitude of instrumental expressions to create his own unique contemporary sound. “I look for connections between different music genres, from classical, rock, pop, funk, reggae, fusion, jazz etc. These connections are what I bring to my music” continues Frixos.

In October 2007 Frixos released his first CD titled “Cause Frixion” which was dedicated to fund-raising for The Epilepsy Foundation of Florida. This album included a tune he wrote earlier that year called “Freedom”. Other works have been published more recently on the internet, namely cdbaby, iTunes etc. and are played on internet radio stations.

Frixos continues to perform gigs with different musicians and bands in venues around the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale area, including recording sessions for Fourth Dimension and others. He plays multiple instruments including alto, soprano and tenor sax, flute and keyboards. His performances comprise events at the renowned Van Dyke Café on Lincoln Road; Avenue D; Crescendo Jazz and Blues Lounge; Churchill’s Pub, a bastion for local musicians; Tobacco Road, the oldest music bar in Miami; Blue Jean Blues in Ft. Lauderdale where Al Kanovsky for The South Florida Jazz Scene wrote on October 15 2012, “They continued, raucously on, with everybody, musicians and audience having fun. A young man walked in, sax case in hand. Joe (Donato) invited him up to jam. What can I say. His name is Frixos, (yes it's right) and this kid can blow.”

to EVERY endeavor whether it's music or math or soccer. I require practice on the student's part. You will be able to play recognizable songs within your first month. You tell me what you or your child wants out of music lessons, and I will tell you exactly how to get it.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Lesson will happen in a space next to the family room which is upstairs. Teacher has a collection of instruments, music stands, couches for seating. Park on the street or driveway.

*** Travel Equipment ***
Instrument

*** Specialties ***
I'm flexible. I have taught everything from country western guitar to classical guitar, from Jazz trumpet to orchestral audition music, from barbershop singing to Broadway musical singing. I have even taught ballet. I cater my methods to the student's best learning style.

into all aspects of life. It's so wonderful watching a kid (or an adult!) gradually come out of their shells during the process.

During the first lesson, I sit down with the student and talk to them about their dreams and goals. That way, I can build a curriculum that perfectly fits their needs. We can learn anything their heart desires-from classical Beethoven to writing their own music! For basic piano I love to use the "Bastien" and "Alfred" basic collections because they are what I grew up on.

Can't wait to meet you!

*** Studio Equipment ***
In my studio I have a weighted keyboard, mic, amp, mirror and video for recording performances.

*** Travel Equipment ***
Mic, amp and video recorder are portable. Student must provide piano for in home visits. And plus, you'll need one to practice!

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in beginner classical piano and improvisation, beginner-advanced voice, theory, performance and songwriting of all styles.