Belfair Music Lessons

will enable you to learn to play in any style you choose to study. Ultimately my job is not to teach you to play, but to show you how to teach yourself. I will arm you with a thorough understanding of technique and theory.

I love working with kids and adults. I love brand new players with no experience as well as seasoned players who just want to fill in some gaps in their knowledge. Whatever your age, and wherever you’re at with your playing, I hope you will give me the chance to help you have more fun and confidence in music.

Every player I work with gets access to a personal online Lesson Journal where you can see my notes from our lessons, do homework from your “Stuff to work on” lists, and access my entire digital library! Every lesson is designed just for you.

Let’s get started…

You can take lessons at my studio, in your home, or online via Skype.

For lessons in my studio, I can provide instruments and amplifiers for both of us.

There is ample seating for parents to sit in on lessons. Parking is available in the driveway.

You’re going to love your lessons!
-Alex

g The Total Experience Gospel Choir, Seattle Pacific University Women's Choir, and The Spokane Area Children's Chorus. Musical productions including Grease, Once Upon a Mattress, Chicago, and Les Miserables. I have been a featured soloist in ensembles throughout my life. I also performed in the Jazz Ensemble at Seattle Central Community College for three years as a vocalist and pianist.

I have an extensive background as a performer in small and large bands in the Seattle area. I have played in various venues throughout the area including Key Arena, Benaroya Hall, McCall Hall, Folk Life Festival, Marymoor Park, Highway 99 Blues Club, Tula's Nightclub, and the Nectar Lounge to name a few. I have also worked as a studio musician with various funk, soul, and electronic music producers and bands.

I study African dance and other forms of dance including hip-hop, house, and have traveled to Guinea, Conakry to study dance and music with Les Ballets African a premier African dance ensemble that tours the world. I also spent the summer of 2012 working with a non-profit organization in Chiapas, Mexico teaching music and dance to kids k-12 in the Indigenous Village of Ignacio Allende. More recently I have been studying and performing with Pat Wright and The Total Experience Gospel Choir since 2014.

*** Lesson Details ***
As your teacher I can help you thrive in music. I promise to provide a fun learning experience with lots of laughs and smiles. My number one goal is to help build a love and passion for music and boost student's confidence. I understand and appreciate different levels of experience and make sure to cater the lesson to the individual. Whether my students are young or old; whether they view voice or piano lessons as a just-for-fun hobby; or whether they wish to pursue a serious music career - I am happy to facilitate all of this and more, as we work together to reach their goals.

My musical foundation is one built on proper technique and strong musicianship skills. Students will learn proper posturing, breathing, and vocal production- in addition to reading and music notation, music theory and more. As students master these techniques I will work to help them bring out their own voice and creative expression. We will explore music from a variety of genres including Jazz, Classical, Pop/Rock, and more. Each of my students will be able to perform in ways that are not only healthy and technically sound but unique to them.

*** Studio Equipment ***
In the studio I have an acoustic upright piano, shakers, tambourines, and a library of music books. The studio is also used for dance lessons and has hardwood floors and mirrors. There is also a waiting room area for parents to sit and listen in during lessons.

*** Travel Equipment ***
I provide books, metronome, and keyboard stand. Students are expected to have a piano or keyboard.

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in Jazz, Classical, Pop, Rock, RnB, and Broadway style singing. I use an eclectic approach to teaching.

hare everything I've learned with you.

Students of mine regularly are chosen for lead roles in school and extracurricular musicals and operas and score very high in school music evaluations.

*** Lesson Details ***
During a voice lesson with me, we'll warm up and do vocal exercises for the first half, then we'll learn new music together or work on music you've already learned. I love teaching all styles of classical music and working in many different languages including French, German, Italian, English, and more. I teach lyric diction of all of these languages and the styles of each composer. Above all, lessons with me are relaxed and really fun!

*** Studio Equipment ***
Music room w/ electronic piano and seating for parents

*** Specialties ***
I specialize in Classical Vocal Technique. I feel very comfortable assigning repertoire of any difficulty and I am especially confident in my lyric diction knowledge of Italian, French, German, and English. I can teach audition preparation and audition technique, as well as acting and stage technique for singers.

books for a beginning drum student:
Fundamentals for Snare Drum by Garwood Whaley
Elementary Snare Drum by Mitchell Peters
Encyclopedia for Reading Rhythms by Gary Hess

Things that guitar students should have: A guitar, a guitar tuner, and a music stand.

Recommended book: Hal Leonard Guitar Method (Complete Edition) by Schmid and Koch.

My specialties:

Drum specialties: Jazz, Latin (Brazilian, Cuban), African, Rock, Funk, Metal, Pop, Hip-hop, R&B, Blues, Country, Reggae, and Marching. I am proficient in drum reading, drum transcription, practice techniques, and drum rudiments and their application on the drum set.

Orchestral percussion specialties: keyboard percussion (marimba, xylophone, glockenspiel, vibraphone, chimes), snare drum, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, orchestral excerpts, etudes, technique, important literature, and practice techniques.

Guitar specialties: reading music, tablature, chords, scales, improvisation, and technique.

I will work hard with you to make it a fun and enjoyable learning experience.

A Project which has been invited to play at festivals and platforms like: Ballard Jazz Walk, Earshot, KNKX..

ng so you can build stamina and avoid pain, I also have audio vocal exercises that I can provide. I don't like to put people down while they are learning because I know that singing and playing an instrument is a really sensitive thing and that could cause the singer or musician to stop singing or playing completely, which defeats the whole purpose. I have experience in all forms of music from live rock shows, to teaching music in pre-schools. I teach confidence!

THE BENEFITS OF MY MUSIC LESSONS:

-Higher self esteem

-Better grades

-More confidence

-Stronger social skills

-And so much more!

You are actually learning all of the above things, while simultaneously learning your instrument! If you follow the lesson plan that I provide you, my GUARANTEE is that you will become a noticeably better musician and singer and unlock a new found confidence within 4 lessons (1 month).

MUSIC EDUCATION:
Musicians Institute- Guitar Performance (April- November 2010)
Berklee College of Music- Vocal Performance (September 2007- May 2009)

AWARDS:
Berklee achievement scholarship (2008)

"My mission is to strengthen individuals by helping them build confidence, self esteem, and identity through the gift of music!"
-Joshua Turner

of music but he has an extensive acting resume as well. He was a Scholarship Recipient from The East West Players Conservatory (Los Angeles, California) in 1995, represented the USA in 1997 in Seoul, Korea at The International Theatre Festival (hosted by ITI and The Theatre of Nations) as Actor, Musician and Composer and is an active SAG member who is featured in Regional/National TV Commercials, Television and Film. You may have seen him onscreen in shows like: Constantine, John, Chuck, Alias, The Shield, Jake in Progress and Red Skies, just to name a few.

ASCAP

found!

A little about me: I've been happily married since 2003, and I have four children 12 and under. I love a large variety of music and I love the outdoors.