Christian H.

I encourage students to bring pieces of music that they find particularly inspiring or that they particularly like, and I would teach them the techniques required to play these. If they are beginner students, then I would begin by teaching them how to read music, the basics of building the major and minor scales in any key, and basic triad chord structures. I also encourage both learning by ear and reading chord sheets. I believe that teaching improvisation off of chord sheets is one of the most effective and fun ways of learning improvisational techniques. I hope to create an atmosphere where my students can find the joy in playing and get them to the point where they feel as though they can express themselves fully through their music.

I would teach students the basics of music theory, including the circle of fifths, basic music history, basic counterpoint theory, and modal theory. Students must be willing to try, and show what they've made. My song writing lessons are very non-traditional, and I would like students to quickly develop a personal style rather than copying the styles of those before them. I will also ask students to do theory analyses of songs, some chosen by them, in order to get a better grasp on the particular sections and harmonies of music that express what the student is desiring to express.