Piano with Athena M.

About Me If you can recognize your favorite song when you hear it, you already have what it takes to be a great musician! MY PROMISE TO YOU: 1. Your lesson will always be geared toward what YOU want to learn, and if it seems like we are working on something that doesn't match that, I will always take the time to make clear why what we are doing will have you be able to play what you want. 2. You already have every skill you need to be a great performer, and my job is just to steer the ship in the right direction to have that happen. All I am ever doing in a lesson is making sure that we are moving you in the ultimate direction that you want to be going musically. 3. I will do everything I know how to do to make sure that what I have learned that will benefit you becomes something you have mastered. If I could take the "computer chip" in my head and put it in yours, we would do that. Study with me and you will get the next best thing! 4.If I say something that isn't clear, or isn't useful to you, I will ALWAYS re-explain, or say it a different way, until it is useful to you and something you know how to use for your benefit on your instrument. 5. If you have a practice schedule set up with me, and for any reason you do not have time to practice or get an assignment done, I GOT IT! You can always tell me, because I've been there and I know. Music Lessons are NOT school, and I will never act like they are. OK, now for the credentials: MY EDUCATION I learned how to read music at 4 years old, before I had even learned to read English. If I can do that, anyone can do that given the right set of elements. 1. I started singing at three, piano lessons at nine, began teaching myself guitar at twelve and I have never stopped playing and learning since then. 2. I earned a B.A in Music from Towson University and graduated Magna cum Laude with a Major in Jazz/Commercial Piano Performance and a Minor in Opera. 3. I made my stage performing debut in a solo role at six, and I have never stopped performing since then. I wrote my first song, all by myself, at eleven and have composed over 1000 pieces since then. 4. I have studied brain science and practical neurology for fifteen years as part of my continuing education. MY EXPERIENCE In addition to my extensive study of the piano, I have had many other valuable experiences as a musician and teacher, including but not limited to the following: 1. I have been a choral singer for twenty three years, and during that time toured Italy, sang at St. Martin of Tours Church in Los Angeles for fifteen of those years, and worked on mastering just about every form of sacred choral and gospel music. 2. As a soloist, began performing professionally in 1988 and have done numerous performances of my own compositions around Southern California. I also have had songs of mine pitched to major artists in Nashville and currently compose both contemporary music and feature songs for film and television. 3. I developed a method of curing tone deafness, and authored a course that teaches this to anyone whether they are a trained singer or beginner. I also authored a second course specifically for karaoke singers to learn stage presence and better performance skills. 4. I have been teaching for twenty years, working with students from 3 to 78 years old at every level of musical experience. I have taught not only music performing and instrumental technique, but song-writing, arranging, and the tricky task of singing while playing an instrument to accompany one's self. Believe me, this is a skill that DOES take a separate set of lessons to master, but every student who studies it with me does! In short, if it's music, or even music-related, I've done it and I can teach it and I can figure out the best method to have your brain master it! My Specialties: Working with kids and young people in a SAFE environment to learn their instrument Rhythm, and understanding why it is your ticket to musical mastery How to use your own brain to be your own best teacher (when I'm not there in a lesson with you!) Pop, Classical, Gospel, Rock, Musical Theater, Education B. A. Music Subjects Taught piano, voice, guitar, music theory, song writing/composition, arranging *** Lesson Details *** Your BRAIN is your greatest musical asset, and I have spent the past twenty-five years learning how to make the musical brain easy for everyone. I've been a musician since I was in the cradle, and I learned to read music before I could read English! Over the past twenty years of teaching piano, voice and guitar I have learned how to use your brain, and the basic musical skills you ALREADY have to help you turn yourself into a great musician and performer. If you can tap your foot along with a song, and you can recognize Mary Had a Little Lamb, you've got what it takes. My specialty is taking these simple skills you already have and using them to teach you EVERYTHING you want to know how to do on your instrument. I also teach combined lessons so that you can learn more than one instrument in your course of study if that is what you choose. *** Travel Equipment *** Student provides piano in their home for piano lessons. Voice students provide a recording device to record their lesson for their practice. Guitar students provide their guitar, any amps, cables, anything else they need for their rig. All students provide any CD's or mp3's they are working with during study. They pay for all books needed. *** Specialties *** Beginner level through advanced in kid songs, pop, rock, gospel, contemporary Christian, Broadway and classical. Emphasis on rhythm and technique. Lessons specialize in using knowledge of brain neuroscience practical applications in hearing, learning, reading, practicing and performing music.