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My Teaching Philosophy

I believe that learning to play music is challenging, eye and ear opening, empowering, and most important of all, fun!  Let me explain…

Challenging

Not everything will come easy the first time you do it.  There are many musical skills that take practice to develop.  The art of — not just practicing —  but practicing well is essential.  Learning to practice well (and to take joy in doing it!) is one of the most important skills I try to teach.

Eye and Ear Opening

When we play music, we trust what our ear tells us. It is amazingly knowledgeable about how music should sound!  Part of learning to play music is informing the ear about as much music as possible.  And how do we do that?  By listening.

As you hone your listening and observing skills through a musical practice, you will soon be able to apply them both inside and outside the world of music at a higher level than you did before.  You’ll likely see and hear things differently.

Empowering

Only you know the exact kind of music you would like to play, the sort of musical experiences you would like to have.  I believe that my role as a teacher is to supply you with as many tools as possible, so that you have them at your fingertips as you craft your own artistic expression.

Fun

To me, music is a truly joyful pursuit.  Playing music, performing music, and practicing music should be fun!  That means having a good attitude, being open to wherever the music wants to go, and focusing on the positives in every musical situation.