Shandon, OH Ukulele Lessons

with a variety of bands in my home state of New Mexico, as well as Japan, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Since 2006 I have been an active teacher. This profession has taken me everywhere from working with classical guitar classes in New Mexico high schools to Elementary students in Japan to a variety of private students of various musical instruments and genres everywhere I've been. Since relocating to the Bay Area in 2010, I've had the pleasure of working with lots of great students from kids to adults with a wide range of ambitions. Since 2012 I've been running my own full time studio.

Philosophy of Learning

Lessons are generally designed to work towards giving students the tools to accomplish their goals and become increasingly independent over time. While all students will study similar fundamentals regarding technique, theory, and performance, every lesson is as different as every person. What kind of music do you want to make? I'll tell you what you need to do to get there, and help you take the steps to achieve your aspirations.

I also love to help students put together a song, record, and produce it for them so that they can have a recording to share with their friends and family.

I also hold events for my students. (Check out our pictures and videos below!)
Younger students have opportunities to perform for friends and family at my studio every few months. Once or twice a year we'll also stage a larger event off site for more individual students and bands classes to perform.
Adult students also occasionally have events where they get a chance to get together and play music as well.

Aside from in-studio lessons, students also have the option to sign up for online lessons via Skype.
(*Online lessons offered during different times than in-studio lessons.)

*Unfortunately due to scheduling issues, I'm not currently accepting students for bi-weekly lessons. I can do regular weekly lessons, or occasional drop-in lessons, but bi-weekly appointments make it really hard for me to give the best scheduled times to my existing weekly students. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

My studio is equipped with:

*Music Stands

*A P.A. System

*Vocal and instrument microphones

*Guitars, Basses, Ukulele, Banjos, etc

*Two guitar amps and a bass amp

*Various percussion including a fully equipped acoustic drum set

*A Roland V-Drums electronic drum set

*An electric piano console and Yamaha organ

*A MicroKorg Synthesizer

*A Tuba, Trombone, Cornet, Saxophone, and Flute

*An extensive physical and virtual music library

*A recording system that students are not only welcome to use but encouraged to

*HD Webcam and condenser microphone for high fidelity online lessons via Skype

Will provide sheet music and exercises. My students should have a working instrument as well as any method book or sheet music we are working on.

*** Specialties ***
I teach all styles and genres

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

a structured practice routine and working knowledge of music and their instrument, but it has to be fun. I have students who learn Classical, rock, and Jazz. Each lesson is different. Some people just want to be able to play their favorite songs by a camp fire, and others want to go on to perform at Carnegie Hall. I enjoy teaching both lessons and put forth the same enthusiasm for each one. You get out of the guitar or bass what you put into it in terms of learning and practicing. The level of achievement is up to you, I will help guide you to meet your goals regardless of how large or small they are.

*** Studio Equipment ***
Spare music room: guitars, amps, bass; computer with recording software, ProTools seating for parents

*** Travel Equipment ***
I have all the equipment necessary. I would like the student to have an instrument, but if not I can provide one for the lesson.

*** Specialties ***
I'm really pretty versatile. Over 18 years of teaching anywhere from 80 to 100 students a week will do that.

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 Beginner to Advanced: Drums, Accordion, Piano, 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.

r, mandolin, bouzouki, keyboards, or bass in folk, classical,

ike to begin by letting the student lead.
In addition to learning from you, I intend to present you with new information, to try and broaden your musical tastes and teach you how to be an active listener.

What are your personal goals? We'll tell you what you need to do to get there, and help you take the steps to achieve your aspirations.

Lessons with small children are more focused on just having fun while developing a good musical foundation, but we prefer for them to have as much personal ownership of their lesson as possible.

d spent half the night practicing finger-picking and getting my hands to move across the fretboard. Fast forward years later, I devoted my education to the study of music education and classical guitar at the University of Vermont. I have always believed in the value in improving myself holistically as a musician, so in addition to classical guitar, I also studied jazz guitar, classical and jazz piano, performed saxophone in concert band, sang in large and chamber choirs, played in percussion ensembles, and routinely performed bluegrass, Appalachian, and Celtic music with an old-time music group. I am currently finishing a master’s degree in ethnomusicology from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, where I have been studying various Asian and Polynesian music traditions from Japan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hawai'i. I have also done fieldwork in Japan, studying traditional Japanese koto, shakuhachi, and ichigenkin music. Drawing wisdom from so many places and people I feel has helped me develop strength and versatility as a musician and as an educator.

As part of my undergraduate degree, I worked at Burlington High School in Burlington, VT, teaching and conducting concert band, leading small jazz ensembles, and teaching music theory and composition. I have over ten years of experience teaching private lessons with students ranging from five-year-old beginners to advanced adults; from children with special needs, to non-native-English students. I always develop each day’s lesson and each student's curriculum to fit the needs of each student.

My inspiration and philosophy

Early in my musical training, I studied guitar with Phil Sargent, a phenomenal jazz guitarist in the Boston/greater New England area. In one of our lessons, he detailed his daily practice routine. This involved scales, arpeggios, chord practice, ear training, solo transcribing, repertoire building, and more—all totaling six to eight hours of practice each day. I asked him why he spent so much time practicing, and I will always remember his answer: “to have the ability to play whatever I imagine on stage—to me, that is freedom.” I was awestruck by this seemingly counter-intuitive concept—that true freedom takes a lifetime of discipline. Of course, I don’t ask my young students to practice that much! But I do make it my purpose as a music teacher to gently guide students to developing the discipline to achieve their individual musical goals.

Discipline aside, I am greatly inspired by the power of music to bring people together, to foster passion and creativity in individuals, and to nourish the body and soul. It is my dream to pass on the many music traditions that have inspired me and brought so much meaning and wonder to my life.

If I seem like a good match to help further your musical goals, then I would love to hear from you!