Lessons
"The role of the teacher is not to pass on his or her prejudices, but to help the student learn how to learn, to teach them what artistic elements go into making their decisions authentic."
—Leon Fleisher
The quote above from legendary pianist and teacher Leon Fleisher shows my philopshy about teaching. In one on one lessons, I teach principles of rhythm, melody, harmony, and form—all the pieces that form the materials students can use to build their musical vocabulary, and refine their musical signature. My goal as a teacher is to not only acquaint students with today’s musical landscape, but also to prepare them for the changing landscape of music composition and development, assisted by the emerging trends and research in music technology. Having worked and lived abroad, I am committed to bringing out the best in a diverse population of students and setting an example of living principles of unity and inclusion.
Hear from my Students
Hear from two of my students from Maryland Conservatory of Music (where I serve as a faculty member), Broxa and Josh as they share their latest compositions
Lessons include discussion, lots of listening to music, short excesses that can require playing, singing or other methods to explore and demonstrate concepts of music theory. In-class activities will be supplemented by take-home worksheets and composition projects as appropriate to the student's level. When they're ready, the student and I can work together to produce a recording of their compositions, and even have it distributed on major platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.
The best way to understand theory and composition concepts is to hear and experience them in real-world use. One of the primary goals of theory and composition lessons is that students become active music listeners. Students are expected to listen to music weekly and come prepared to discuss its musical aspects that captured their attention, and the possibilities of incorporating these aspects into their own compositions Music studied and written may be in any genre. Since different styles of music can teach and demonstrate a wide range of writing techniques, music explored in these lessons will not be genre specific.
Lessons are offered in 45- of 60-minute sessions, and although both lengths would be beneficial to students of all levels, I strongly recommend that students pursuing further music studies in college, or students who are interested in more serious individual study sign up for a 60-minute lessons.
- Available Online
One-on-one lessons theory and composition for students of all levels.
- Available Online
One-on-one lessons theory and composition for students of all levels.