Early music activities and learning strongly influence the future abilities of a person.   Even in the womb, a child's experiences are critical.

No child is too young for musical training and experiences.

Serious music study has been proven to improve academic performance, abstract thinking, and intelligence.   Einstein credited his abilities with learning the violin as a toddler.

I am happy to teach children of all ages.   Lessons are individualized and age-appropriate.

I love to teach, am enthusiastic, motivating, and put my heart and soul into my lessons.

Develop a Child's Mind,

Introduce Music!

From the time a child is an infant, they should be exposed to a variety of great music.  Parents should sing and dance with their infants; this is the primary musical experience.  

Young children need a lot of repetition; they should listen to the same pieces repeatedly so they can remember and understand them.   

For example, when my son was an infant, I would improvise new jazz melodies to nursery rhymes, which was a great form of ear training for him.  My son, now 33 has a great musical ear.

One's musical ear is strongly influenced by early influences.

For example, when Mozart was 1, before the days of TV and Video games, the hottest thing going was his 3-year-old sister's clavicord lessons.  Thus, when Mozart started clavichord when he was three, he already knew what the scales and chords sounded like, a sense of rhythm to music and basic music concepts.

Musical Instruction for Infants:

I would like to recommend the videos and tools found at www.trebellina.com who create some musical education for infants, including DVDs.  This fun DVD is loved by children, teaches them many musical concepts, instruments, notes, a great background.

Later on, Kindermusic is a great program for very young children, with music dance, singing, and playing rhythm instruments. 

While formal lessons usually can start as young as 5, I  spend shorter periods with younger siblings on the piano, teaching them some simple notes and songs which will build their ear.

Often I will tack on a short session with a younger sibling.

Generally, for children between 3-5, I offer 15-minute musical experiences, gradually teaching them the notes on the piano, singing notes, learning scales, intervals, and recognizing the difference between major and minor chords.  We play and sing very young educational children's songs. 

Generally, music lessons are ideally started at age 5; the earlier the better.  However, it's never too late to start!  Just learning at a time when the brain is developing increases future potential.

I invent games to Nurture Creativity!

Both guitar and piano are great instruments for young children to start learning.   

With guitar students, I start by teaching them simple songs to play and sing, each song with a new skill.  Gradually, I introduce reading music.  Rhythm and pitch are introduced naturally and holistically.   We have a lot of fun.

Young piano students learn from a great methodology that I have used for decades.  It introduces music at a pace for success, which includes a variety of songs children enjoy playing.  The first day, they are playing some great melodies.

Appropriate instruments are part of the secret of success.  

Guitars should be properly sized for the child, play easily, be in tune, and have a sweet tone.   Sometimes I have used high-quality beginner or step-up instruments available for purchase, or know of a student that has outgrown their guitars.

A keyboard should have 88 keys and be touch sensitive.  There's nothing like a real piano, but it should be tuned regularly for a student as well as maintained.  I'll be glad to help obtain an instrument. 

Start with a reasonable quality instrument.  I'm happy to help.  

No one ever regretted starting on a higher quality instrument, something more likely to happen with adult beginners.   They are easier to play and sound better. Thus, they are more motivating.  

Beginner guitar players should start with an acoustic, nylon-string guitar, also called a classical guitar, even if they want to play rock and roll on an electric guitar.  They are easier to learn on, you get more for your money, and easier to play.

Many of my new guitar students, after I appropriately find what size guitars they need, get Yamaha solid-top classical guitars from Amazon.  Similarly, I help pick out keyboards from Amazon.   

Young bass students should start with a smaller bass as well.  It's often easier to start the bass after one has had some experience on the guitar or piano, but I have started plenty of bass students, both electric and upright bass.