Philosophy and Vision for Each Student
The art of music, without a doubt, has reached many hearts over several hundreds of years. As a passionate teacher I feel compelled to help the young and developing student to develop his/her skills in a warm, calm, yet fun environment. My goal as a teacher is to help those interested in this art to flourish and bring their skills into fruition by providing a curriculum specific to the needs of the developing student. As an educator I provide the universal techniques, such as proper breath support and proper body alignment, as well as the science of pedagogy, especially for singers for proper care of the vocal anatomy. Nevertheless, I work with different exercise techniques for all singers, pianists, and trumpeters that properly suit each individual student, for each student develops differently and at different paces. Furthermore, I am adamant in the teachings of historical backgrounds of each work- period styles, performance practices, treatises, etc. - which I feel are of extreme importance in understanding the underlying significance of each piece, as well as to perform with much more precision, intimacy, and intensity. My ultimate goal is to prepare each student to the point that they feel confident enough and well-prepared to perform, teach, and/or carry out their music career efficiently.
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I encourage my students to ask questions (there is no “stupid question”, in my opinion) to relieve them from confusion or self-doubt. I never allow my students to leave the studio with doubts or misunderstandings as to what the goals of the lesson were, for helping them understand the technique process and how it is applied to repertoire is of much more value than anything else at the time.
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May no person, young or old, ever be deprived of an art and passion that lives deep within them.
Notes to Consider
As this art continues to reach hearts of individuals of all ages, I feel compelled to help the serious student develop his/her skills, regardless if they plan on achieving a career in music in the future. Nevertheless, the growth and pace of each student is never the same. However, as time passes THERE SHOULD BE some signs of musical growth. How can we achieve this growth? The student must be diligent in his/her studies, especially the beginning student, regardless of instrument. Practice, practice, practice! I cannot help you succeed if you don put in the extra work. This is a team effort!
The student should be willing to dedicate on a daily basis at least 20-30 minutes of practice time. Practice time should include reviewing what was considered in each lesson. For this reason, I suggest bringing a small recorder, or taking good notes after each lesson so that practice will be of significant benefit. If a student is in need of a piano to practice on, please feel free to bring this to my attention so that you can schedule some practice time in the studio. Aside from practice, the student should feel comfortable in his/her environment with the instructor, thus I encourage students to ask questions during each lesson.
Practice Tips
I provide worksheets, backing tracks, and exercise videos to help you practice. Plus, many of you take initiative in finding online resources to further improve on your instrument, which I highly encourage. The following educators are highly recommended and can be found on youtube and on their private websites.
For trumpet: Charlie Porter and Dr. Brian Shook. For voice: classical- any masterclass or belcanto teaching video from any of the great past opera performers (Pavarotti, Alagna, Freni, etc.); musical theatre/pop- Hannah Bayles, Cheryl Porter, Kristin Chenoweth. For piano: Dr. Josh Wright and Sonata Secrets.
