Ear Training with Lucian W.

Lucian W is an alumnus of Berklee College of Music in Boston and former faculty member of the Hartford Conservatory. His vocal studies have been with Jacqueline Jarrett and David Baker in Connecticut, Jane Ellison at Loyola University in Montreal, noted operatic tenor Carmine Gagliardi in New York City, and Gina Moretta (whose students have included Gloria Estefan and Jon Secada) in Miami. He studied privately with world famous jazz guitarists George Benson and Chuck Wayne and has had a full time performing career of several decades as a guitarist, pianist, vocalist, bassist, arranger and orchestra leader. Lucian believes that by sharing his enjoyment of making music with his students, he can give them confidence in other areas. That is because, in order to make music, they must go through a process of physical discovery through practice. They are then empowered by experiencing the connections between inspiration, work, and pleasure. He performs, as a solo entertainer, an unusually wide ranging repertoire because of his versatility on guitar, piano, and vocals. Being an accomplished arranger with a vast library of charts also allows him to lead a ten piece orchestra as competently as a trio or quartet. He has performed extensively in New York, Chicago, Cape Cod, and Florida. *** Lesson Details *** I always try to make lessons as comfortable and enjoyable as possible yet challenging enough to maintain interest. I build lessons around the student's individual interests (specific songs or styles) so that he or she can learn the technical fundamentals in a relevant context. My own curriculum is supplemented by the following: Guitar: Hal Leonard Guitar Method, Aaron Shearer Classical Guitar Method Piano: Alfred's Basic Piano Course , John W. Schaum Piano Course Voice: Jeffrey Allen's Secrets of Singing, Nicola Vaccai Practical Method *** Studio Equipment *** Hardman baby grand acoustic piano OptimusMD1600 electronic keyboard Crate TX50D guitar amplifer *** Specialties *** - Singing lesson time is generally divided 50/50 between voice building and repertoire. I accompany vocalists on both piano and guitar, teaching the melody notes as they are sung along with the piano. Then, once the melody is learned, I often switch to the guitar with just chordal backing. The acoustic guitar is also softer than the piano and lets the singer hear their own voice better. For voice building, I use my own concepts plus approaches of famous voice teachers like Jeffrey Allen, Seth Riggs, and Anthony Frissel. - I am very experienced performing all styles of guitar and can cater to the student's specific area of interest, whether it be rock, folk, classical, or jazz. - With piano, I work on fundamentals of reading and technique. Learning basic harmony and chord construction starting with triads (3 note chords), the student can soon read single stave lead sheets (a form of music notation widely utilized by professional musicians) as well as the grand staff. This approach trains the ear and makes learning how to play popular songs much easier.