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Our Program Offerings
Music History and Appreciation
We offer online lessons in music history and appreciation to beginner and intermediate students of all ages. Discover the origins of popular and classical music, and see how history and technology have affected music's evolution through the ages. This is an extraordinarily flexible option, as students may choose to focus on a particular era, genre, composer, or instrument, or they may opt for a general overview of the history of music. Students will be provided with a wide variety of supplemental recordings, and learn critical listening skills. Students will be given written assignments, and taught to view music through an interdisciplinary lens, as it relates to history, science, politics, and theology. The ability to read music is not a prerequisite, though it will be taught.
Piano Lessons
We offer piano lessons to beginner and intermediate students of all ages. Our goals for young beginners include keyboard familiarity and music notation literacy for all students old enough to read the printed word. We also emphasize healthy keyboard technique, and provide access to level-appropriate repertoire. As the student matures, we integrate studies in music theory, as we believe that only when a student understands what they are playing do they really have the tools to express it fully. Students will learn instructional pieces and classical piano repertoire, in addition to hymns, holiday songs, jazz, and modern musical idioms. Students must have access to a piano or keyboard at home for practice, and beginner students are expected to practice a minimum of 20 minutes per day, every day. In addition to time spent at the keyboard, students also complete written assignments that support keyboard skills, music theory, and notation literacy. Flashcards are provided for the student free of charge, but the cost of music books will be listed on the invoice for studio lessons.
Voice Lessons
Voice lessons for preteens and adolescents are a delicate balance. Too many instructors push younger students into techniques and repertoire that they are not physically capable of performing. Like any athletic sport or other physical activity, it's important not to overtax the developing bodies of young people and potentially cause damage that can devastate their ability to practice their craft as adults. In addition to these concerns, often preteens and adolescents are under a great deal of physical and/or emotional stress, due to developmental changes and other outside factors. This stress can often manifest itself in physical reactions that are detrimental to healthy vocal production. Because of this, we focus on removing physical stress from the body by incorporating techniques from yoga, Moshe Feldenkrais, and early 20th century public speaking practices. This unique approach is combined with a thorough grounding in healthy vocal technique and access to age-appropriate repertoire. By giving the student these tools, they are put in an excellent position to further develop their voices later in life.
Composition Lessons
Writing music is much like writing prose or poetry - in order to do it effectively, you need to have a thorough knowledge of the building blocks (whether grammar or music theory), an understanding of conventions which convey emotion, and an appreciation of the various forms and styles developed by the great writers and composers of the past. Composition students are expected to be able to read written music. Composition students will complete exercises in melody writing, functional harmony and modality, text setting, and writing for different instruments. Students will also be given weekly listening assignments and score analyses to broaden their appreciation of particularly effective composers who have gone before. These lessons are available online.