As a teacher I want to provide an experience which is fun and inviting. I am interested in teaching people the music that they love and are really connected to. Usually I have students bring in their favorite music, either on CD, cassette or in a song book, then I teach them that music. Using this music as a spring board I focus on giving students a solid foundation so they can learn how to play scales, arpeggios, chords, fingerpicking, improvisation, ear training, theory and how to read and write music. In addition I also recommend method books to help supplement the lessons. Everything that is necessary to have a solid foundation and have music become an integral part of your life.

No two people learn alike so my teaching methods are very responsive to a student's needs, rate of learning and desire. Lessons have an informal quality to them and often creative lightning bolts can be seen in the room as both myself and students are laughing, and loving the process of learning and teaching music.

To me there is no greater phenomenon than the exchange of information between one human being and another. In a sense it is a collaboration where together you learn how to teach and study. Because every person is so different and has different needs, it requires a lot of sensivitiy, patience and willingness to use creativity and try things out.

The heightened contact between myself and students is one of the main things that sparks my life. The feeling of being able to learn something new and to teach what you have learned is worth getting up in the morning each day and shouting Yes!

Extra Monthly Offerings for Students Taking Lessons

"Music Is An Endless Ocean" Lecture Series / Monthly Class

To complement the individual lessons, once a month we offer a 2-hour group class, devoted to the broader aspects of music, such as working with rhythm, voice, the body, improvisation, and more, featuring the staff of the School and special guest speakers. The lecture series is available as a benefit to all enrolled students in the school at no additional charge. Click here for more info.

Kids Monthly Classes

At the Encouraging Hands Music School, the goal is to give students the fullest musical education possible. Included in the cost of lessons for children is a monthly group class which incorporates a variety of subjects including

• ear training
• work with movement
• improvisation
• music history
• playing in an ensemble
• exposure to ethnic music from around the world
• songwriting
• singing

These classes are meant to conjunct with the individual lessons and cover material that cannot be treated in one on one lessons.