I teach my students the rudiments of music and the techniques necessary to master their instrument, but also try give them preparation on how to be successful in life. Three valuable lessons I’ve learned from music teachers, coaches, and family are to show up, show up early, and show up prepared. I believe that these edicts are important to pass on to any young person...
Read MoreAs the holiday season arrives, I find students are seizing extra opportunities to perform live – sometimes for the first time. Often, the last lesson preceding their event is spent discussing the finer points of stage presence, and its ability to boost a performance. Inexperienced performers are often overwhelmed by nerves leading up to and during a gig. Shaking hands, knees, racing heart, difficulty breathing:...
Read MoreI have long been searching for an alternative theory method for my string players. There are purely theoretical methods (Ultimate Music Theory), and Keyboard Specific methods (Snell Fundamentals), but few (and incomplete) methods for the string player. The biggest hurdle for a beginning string player is understand how their instrument relates to the music written on the page. This is especially difficult if a student...
Read MoreOne thing I’ve noticed being a guitar instructor is the wild fluctuations of the right hands of new students. From using a pick or thumb only, or a finger-style where the hand looks painfully contorted. Often these students are coming from a class room setting or self-taught back ground where poor technique tends to flourish. Most often when I question a student as to how...
Read MoreMy wife and I went on a wonder filled two-week vacation this past summer where we visited 16 National Parks in the states of Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah. I was struck by the parks beauty and enormity. Each park was new, different and built on multiple millennia of the building up and tearing down of rocks and...
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