Hi! I’m a musician and a student at Columbia College Chicago. I have more than 20 years of experience at the piano and two years of studying theory and vocal performance. While I primarily play by ear/charts these days, I write my own music and so am proficient at reading sheet music and building leadsheets.
Before I went to Columbia, I spent a few years managing an ice cream parlor, where I spent the vast majority of my time working with and training high schoolers. Through my time there...
Hi! I’m a musician and a student at Columbia College Chicago. I have more than 20 years of experience at the piano and two years of studying theory and vocal performance. While I primarily play by ear/charts these days, I write my own music and so am proficient at reading sheet music and building leadsheets.
Before I went to Columbia, I spent a few years managing an ice cream parlor, where I spent the vast majority of my time working with and training high schoolers. Through my time there I learned a plethora of tricks for working with young people and engaging them, even on tasks they might really not want to do. It also taught me to learn the art of thinking on my feet, and how to problem-solve on the fly. I try to explain my reasoning for every decision I make when I attempt to solve a problem, and if I have a prepared strategy, I try to show others why I think my strategy is/will be effective. When working with students, I try to use these same approaches; explaining if I’ve encountered a similar problem before, or what I look for when I start tackling a new piece. I believe that music should accessible to everyone, and prioritize broad technique and skills-based approaches to learning instruments (knowing common chord patterns like 1-5-6-4 or common 5-finger piano patterns) as opposed to mechanical memorization of pieces, so that students who are passionate can take the techniques and theory I provide to them and apply them to learning (or writing!) their own favorite songs.
