Music Performance with Tony D.

I've been teaching voice, piano, and song writing for 12 years to students of all ages. I'm currently studying sound engineering at Arapahoe Community College and am excited to teach recording and mixing skills to those who want to record their own music. Teaching is one of my greatest joys as a professional musician, and I hope to share that joy with you! I focus on three principles in every lesson I teach: be aware, be creative, and be efficient. As awareness increases, seemingly contradictory ideas become complimentary; as creativity develops, we laugh and smile on the journey towards musical fluency; when we think and practice efficiently, we realize we're capable of far more than we thought. If you're nervous, I get it. I can help you set clear goals—why do you want to know more about music? Whether you want to impress people with your skill, propose to your partner with an original song, learn music history, sing sweet lullabies to your children, or unlock the secrets of a joyful existence—if it's musical, I can help you understand it. Flexible Lesson Format: When I was taking voice lessons in college, they were always 1 hour long, always began with technical exercises, and always ended with repertoire I was going to perform soon. Consistent format is a good idea to encourage growth—but not everyone needs the SAME format. Some students need to talk about their week at the beginning of a lesson and blow off some steam to feel comfortable. Others want to get right to work, making the most of every minute of the lesson. Some students need exercises to increase the flexibility of their fingers or voice, but others just need to learn new music—learning and applying lessons as they naturally arise in each song. Some students will want a blend of all these elements, and more. I’m all about flexibility—I want to adjust to your individual style. Everyone needs a combination of challenge and comfort in order to get better at a skill. I will help you balance and maintain your growth on the way to musical fluency. There’s a way for you to integrate music into your life so that you remember what you’ve learned and keep improving long after you stop taking lessons. That’s actually my whole goal: to teach you to teach yourself. Don’t get me wrong—learning together is the way to do it, but the more you recognize how to improve your musical skill in every moment of your day, in a joyful way, the less you’ll feel like you NEED a teacher, and the more you’ll be able to teach others! Then you might have time to move from piano lessons to ice sculpting lessons, bringing more beauty into the world with your newfound knowledge. We often (even us teachers) make the mistake of thinking that learning skills that don’t directly contribute to how much money we make is a waste of time. But learning to do new things opens our minds to the diversity of life around us, and to the immense possibilities that exist for humans and life everywhere.