Guitar, banjo, bass, Portuguese, Spanish, English, music composition, theory, English composition and many more facets of language and music are the areas of teaching and passions of mine.
I love to teach people of all ages. I have been teaching guitar and language for more than 20 years. I enjoy seeing others learn to write and play music and to speak a new language. I am a singer/songwriter with expertise in folk, pop, flamenco, electric and Brazilian guitar styles. I have lived in Brazil for 2 years and speak fluent Portuguese. I teach Portuguese to students who love this beautiful language. I also teach the use of Portuguese in Brazilian music for students who want to sing Bossa Nova, samba, or other Brazilian styles.
My love of good playing and good writing accompanied by beautiful singing keeps me interested in sharing what I have learned. My goal is that the music is fun and that it is an intuitive and natural expression for the student. I make each lesson specifically suited to the individual as possible. I shape my teaching method around the objective of the student as I help them learn to express who they are. Songs are approached with the ear and with the hands with the goal of bringing about the 'soul', 'duende' or special 'feeling' of your style of music.
I have been writing songs since I was 10 years old, playing guitar since I was 12 and singing since, or before I could talk. I have written songs with hit songwriters and support myself with my writing and performing. I learned to play flamenco guitar by joining in the juergas and dance classes around NY city. I have studied classical and jazz guitar at university both at Berkeley School of Music, Cal State University, East Bay and the Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. All of these experiences make teaching others exciting as I discover what they are motivated to learn and help them reach their musical goals.
I have five internationally available and respected Instructional DVDs. Two are in flamenco guitar and three on Bossa Nova. I am excited to teach people both in person and around the world on DVD and Skype.
Everyone can benefit from adding music to their life!
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