Dynamic and Results-Driven!

I grew up on a farm in South Dakota to hardworking midwesterners. These are the most impactful life lessons instilled in me as it relates to business.

1. Invest in yourself. If you can't invest in yourself, who can you invest in?

2. You have to spend money to make money.

3. Do what you love and pursue your passion.

For a vast majority of adults, this is something very personal and a hobby they are either pursuing for the first time or coming back to. Keep in mind, they are coming to you despite their fears of vulnerability. Think about your hobbies and if you approach them from a serious or recreational standpoint, and try to put yourself in their shoes. Here are the three classifications I see adults in and my recommendations:

1. Back to the Music. Adults who were successful in lessons as children. These adults primarily like to read music, (classical and maybe some jazz standards) since that was the emphasis when they were learning initially.

• Some familiar classical pieces they learned previously
• New classical music that is in similar style to some of their favorites from when they were kids
• Lush and patterned arrangements of jazz standards (must be written out at least to begin with)
• Work on 2-3 pieces at a time
• Some familiar technique if they'd like. It's a hobby, so I tend to not do anything too crazy

2. A Whole New World. 30-40 somethings that want to have a creative outlet and are feeling like they need a challenge. You need to find a balance of fun and rewarding music for them but make them feel slightly challenged where they reach their goals.

• I never emphasize too much technique here but make sure pinkies are up, thumbs are on the side and wrists are above the keys. 
• Hal Leonard Adult Method 
• Popular music!  MusicNotes.com is my friend 
• Supplemental books geared toward familiar classical or romantic may work
• After they go through the HL Adult books, we simply focus on songs that are popular and of their choosing as well as familiar classical music.
• Work on 2-3 pieces at a time

3. Serious Pursuit. These are the adults that are really gritty and want to acquire a new skillset that makes them feel pride, more than anything. These are typically your high achieving professionals. These are the trickiest! It's important they feel challenged and like they are "conquering" the instrument. I mostly do the same thing as I do above, with more emphasis on mechanics and give more music that may be outside the 'familiar music' realm.

No. For the majority of my students, we learn 40% classical and romantic with 40% popular or at least familiar, and 20% of our time spent on sight reading, theory and/or technique patterns. I believe good music is good music, and it's our responsibility as teaching artists to bring out the best in our students. That means choosing the right music for the student, at the right time. When someone teaches popular music at the same level as classical, doesn't mean they ignore the classical traditions. This is one of those old ideas that we need to move past. Fun fact: each May I have approximately 25% of my students take the Royal Conservatory Exam!

Ah, the work! I didn't enjoy the process of practicing, but I did enjoy the process (and still do!) of improving. Here are my best tips for students and parents to keep the journey as enjoyable as we can:

1. Aim for 5-6 days of practice and outline the minutes (or repetitions) you expect during each session. (We have a spring challenge that is 75 minutes a week for beginners, 120 for intermediate and 150 for advanced.)
2. No matter what, make sure you practice the SAME day (after) the lesson, and before you go to sleep. Retention is somewhere around 90% if you practice on the same day versus 60% if you wait until the next day. 
3. Section work; this is when you have the student play a short passage 3 times in a row correctly, before moving on. 
4. Have fun with it! Parents, a great idea is to have your child show you what they learned in their lesson that day. 
5. Make it part of the routine. When something is just part of the day, there is less resistance. And continuous improvement makes the activity far more enjoyable!

Yes, of course! Primarily, theory is best taught alongside the core work each student is working on. I love the Activity books that go along with The Music Tree, and since I teach popular music regularly, we use that as an opportunity with chords, inversions, 7th chords and how to leave out thirds. For our Pop Recital each spring, I also have my students write their own chord charts, which is a fantastic culmination of so many things that are useful to them. Then, in the summer all of my students write a song, which solidifies their understanding of keys, harmony, how to write notes, make their own music, and so much more. I also like Theory Fundamentals and Just the Facts.

I love using my iPad in lessons. Admittedly, I am not into the cutesy apps, but rather whatever is practical and gets my student to our goals in the most enjoyable way possible. The essential apps that I use weekly are:

• ForScore, for music reading
• GuitarTabs for students who like to sing as they accompany themselves
• Piano Maestro, especially for elementary students
• Flash Note Derby, for note-naming drills
• GoodEar for ear training (intervals, chords, etc...)
• Super Metronome Groovebox for rhythm
• DocScan if I need to make a copy of something 
• CamScan for receipt collection and record keeping